Linux Etiquette
I missed a few points.
Besides, I am on "Holiday Mood" and basically very lazy to check spelling mistakes and the like.
Linux looks after your hardware for decades unlike Microsoft which burns RAM / DVD Drives and sometimes cause fire if stuck with a heavy file.
It has happened to me long time ago.
Linux call it “incremental file access”.
1. Linux Box is meant to be run 24/7 day schedule and some of house cleaning work is done at midnight or around that time, automatically.
2. One need to keep it on from 11 P.M to 1 A.M. to get best use of these utilities.
3. I do not use the computer on day time to save money on Electricity (the fans that cools the computer takes up lot of electricity).
So if you are not using it switch it off except at mid night.
4. I sleep during day time (it is a luxury for me who had been on call for 48-72 hour duty rosters) and switch on the computer after 9 P.M.
5. The added benefit is our service provider does not provide a fast service day time and looking at few emails cost lot of money BUT at night it is breezy.
6. I make sure at least one torrent file is downloading, if I am not particularly not browsing anything or doing something else (watching a film or writing a blog piece).
7. If I have a rare torrent file I leave it open at least for 3 days for others to access.
What one takes one should reciprocate.
That is an etiquette of Linux Guys/ Girls.
Do not be SELFISH.
Microsoft Update (Ceylon), Misleading the Masses
I do not want to go
into detail why a Microsoft computer becomes painfully slow within
three months.
It is the job of the
user to choose an Operating System that suits him/her for his daily chores.
If one is not
interested in Heavy Duty Work and want to play games, Yes You buy a
new computer with a good graphic card and PAY Microsoft and install it
without any utility and pay for every software you need including
office package.
What Ceylonese do is
to use pirated copies.
Of course there are
lot of FREE Linux utilities including Wine (Wine is to use Microsoft
packages in Linux, if one wants) for Microsoft addicts.
I believe what the
Microsoft intends to do (lure) is to get the new users to use Scan Device
and keep a hook on the user for eavesdropping of his activities
including pirated copies.
Then they display
warning signals every time you boot.
If You want to be really
free what you ought to do is to use Linux.
Most of the Linux
distributions have assortment of utilities prepacked with the DVD.
If an utility missing is all
what you have to do is go to the software center and download it,
which is breezy and automatic configuring of the computer without
pressing the restart button.
Linux comes with over
44,000 utilities in Debian Software Domain alone, all free.
Only down side is there are
few Heavy Duty Games.
For a Linux Fanatic or
Microsoft converter, there is Linux Gamer called STEAM but one has to
pay for the games.
Coming back to why a computer gets slow (never happens with Linux
-one does not have to be a geek but new comers included-even if you
use it continuously for 10 years), there are many reasons.
1. The primary reason is your choice of Microsoft.
Surely, Microsoft using the Scan Device-Software is accepting its own
failure to give you a SOLID, Regimented Solution.
I won't say anything except, if you buy a poor product, be prepared
for all the pitfalls, pit-stops and ultimate crash (racing
terminology).
If you are a racing driver use Linux.
Mind you NASA use it in Spaceships and smart racing drivers use Linux
in their cars.
For the last 15 years, I never had a hiccup, not a single file lost
or corrupted.
I am a writer and only failure in my case is my memory.
I forget where, I had placed the file (or the name of the file).
2. Microsoft loads everything at boot time, if you do not intend to
use a particular device why mount it.
Why use resources to run the DVD disk when you are only using your
USB stick to mount a file?
Mount is a solid program word in Linux.
It mounts only what it needs.
3. File integrity.
In the case of Debian when it boots it reserves 90 seconds to check
the file integrity.
That's all.
Microsoft takes ages to check file integrity and it never does it at
boot time only afterward.
4. Cash and history are taken care by Linux and only the oldest and
not so frequently used pages are refreshed.
There is a utility to clean up.I never use it and forgets it name.
If one is a Linux fanatic one can write a script to to do these jobs
at a particular time of the day or week.
In my case I do it (the cleaning) once a year. Read the note below.
Microsoft cannot do it.
Somebody else has to do it.
5. The biggest culprit that slows down your computer is not your
operating system but your own browser with cookies and its redendant
history and bookmraks.
Firefox/ Chrome are culprits.
Solution use a lighter browser or Opera.
I use several browsers in different workplaces and overcome this
problem BUT one has to have at least 1 GiB RAM in a 32 bit computer.
Switch off the browser if you are not using it.
6. The sixth is your email provider.
Yahoo is the culprit. Yahoo is trying to load its utilities (for the
last one year and making a hash of it) like Microsoft to make it
superficially lively BUT failing miserably.
Microsoft and Yahoo are on the same boat trying to lift up their
flagging images.
I use try to use minimal features but there is no way I can do it
myself.
Instead I use Gmail for family work and AOL for critical writing work.
I call Yahoo the JUNK mail, affectionately, though.
I cannot do without it now (addiction).
Yahoo Web site is pretty good but again very slow to browse
individual items.
If your computer is slow there are three reasons.
1. Number one you are using Microsoft not Linux.
2. Your Browser is Fatty.
3. Your email is too Fatty.
Linux Update
This is the time
Linux Guys/Girls go on Christmas holidays after posting their latest
version of Linux distribution.
This is also the
time, I update my Linux distribution to the latest.
Then I have to
download all the packages I want.
It is a bit of a
haste only because it takes time.
I have many
distributions including Debian but my work horse is Peppermint
(Debian and Ubuntu based but Light Weight and independent).
May be Peppermint 5
(it does not state).
But Debian were 8
and 8.1.
Debian did not have
a rolling distro but recently according to Linux Magazine they are
addressing this issue (LTS Version which Ubuntu does a pretty good
work).
I have Ubuntu but I
rarely use it after the Unity Version.
I am becoming lazy
and I did not want to go through the rigid rigmarole of installing a
new version.
What I did was to go
to Software Installation and click update all packages.
It took little over
half an hour and updated all the packages including the Grub File.
I was worried, if
something goes wrong I had to re-do all the work.
It removed all the
redundant stuff and installed the new packages.
For the first time I
got thesaurus installed (I tried before and failed) in Libre Office.
Even Gimp was
updated.
Only downside was
that the Firefox / Chrome became bulky and slow.
I am soon going for
Ducky Duck alternative browser soon.
If you have old
Peppermint update option is sleek and I hope other Linux distribution
copy this strategy for desktop users.
It is altogether
different strategy for commercial distributions.
They need LTS
version with support.
According to Linux
Magazine, Debian has finally decided to offer this option for
commercial users.
Thanks guys and
girls of Linux (sorry for the Microsoft users), You are way ahead of
Microsoft in both Desktop and Commercial Versions.
The Linux Magazine
distribution with its links with Linux Voice (good strategy,joining
hands) has dropped Maddock's feature article.
I miss it very much.
