I’ve been using Linux on my Toshiba NB205-N210 netbook for about 3 years. It seems much longer because of the sheer amount of information I have absorbed about Linux, open source, and operating systems in general in that time. Most of the people I know have very little experience with Linux. Many wonder why I would go through the process of converting from Windows (or OSX), given the learning curve one has to traverse to become comfortable using a Linux OS as a daily driver. Linux isn’t for everyone, but there have been significant improvements in its desktop environment(s) to make the transition not as frightening as it once was.

I started down the Linux path partly out of curiosity and partly out of presumed necessity. I had run Knoppix off of a live CD about 10 years ago, so I knew a little about Linux and wanted to try it out on a full install. When I came to Japan in 2009 I had just bought a $300 Toshiba NB205-N210 netbook. It was very resource limited running XP, even then, and ran clunky on the modern web. But it got the job done, for the most part. But as a couple years past it became more and more bogged down, updates took an eternity, programs locked up, and all the rest that comes from running a netbook on XP. This I cringed and coped with.

Windows XP (as some will remember) locked the operating system GUI into the particular language it was installed as. My XP was in English, but certain programs were needed here in Japan that used a Japanese interface (my ISP had software that needed to run to troubleshoot my connection). There programs would throw up dialog boxes filled with jibberish, making using them darn near impossible. Of course this became a real issue since I didn’t have the networking skills to manage my connection manually (yes, that is sad) and needed my ISP’s helper program to auto configure. My rather risky decision then was to install a Japanese copy of Windows XP (acquired nefariously) and start from there. Surprisingly this worked, but because it wasn’t a fully-legit install the Service Pack updates were held back, locking the OS from important security updates.

This setup was good for only a few months as XP drained away my mini netbooks already meager resources. This led me to experiment with Linux again, first with a Debian live CD, then a botched dual boot that made my Windows partition inaccessible. Finally, I fully wiped everything and put Debian Wheezy on as my sole OS – and my computing life changed.

It was smooth, fast, reliable, and offered all the same functionality and more. I stuck with standard Debain 7 for a few months, learning Linux as I went. Eventually I became proficient enough to begin searching for a new distribution that could run the best on my extremely low-spec machine. That led me to Crunchbang Linux (#!), a Debian based distro that is stripped down and uses the openbox window manager, tint2, and conky – giving it a retro look but making it lightening quick. Boot time clocks in at 46 seconds (power on to login screen,1:01 after login and all the services load) and that is after a long hard drive encryption pass phrase is entered and GRUB2 is prompted via a keystroke. It could be even quicker! My desktop environment isn’t clogged up with icons and widgets. In fact, icons aren’t even a possibility (by default) unless you install another full desktop environment, defeating Crunchbangs primary purpose. Have a look for yourself:

I have lived within this setup for about 2 years and loved every minute of it. Crunchbang is not for beginners, but I came to it still relatively fresh to Linux and have learned as I went. This distro has been extremely helpful in my learning process since it doesn’t hide behind all the bells and whistles the modern desktop based systems exploit (Ubuntu). It has kept my crap Toshiba netbook alive well past its expiration date. Oh, and it works!

Using this distribution has significantly impacted my Linux IQ. I plan to take the Linux LPI Essentials and the LPIC-1 in a few weeks time. I am doing that just for my own amusement, since I don’t work in the technology sector and probably never will. Pass or fail, I am certain that my knowledge of computers, operating systems, and Linux is far better than the average bloke.

Having said all that, it was sad to hear that my Crunchbang distro is ceasing to be developed by the maintainer (one person!). There is a chance that it might be continued by other developers, but you never know. In the meantime I have been experimenting with Puppy Linux (a small distro that I can run entirely in memory and off a SD card) and looking into switching to Arch as my next distro. (it’s big enough, always current, and a rolling release so I never have to to a clean version install) Linux is always an adventure!