@Robbie if I understand correctly you are about 15 years old, and you are out here to learn and looking at your possible future. If that's so it's great.
I don't give you advices, but I can answer (some) questions and I can share about what I've seen so far.
(This is a public post, anyone feel free to comment, by the way.)
So, I posted #newhere (again 😀) but skipped the (re)introduction. A short intro about me (or you can check the world of knowledge).
Kind of intro
I'm Hungarian and working with computers. But let me tell you how it went, since it's more relevant for you right now.
When I was a kid I met with my first computer, and I loved that it's a machine that does whan I tell it, and tried to write programs, which I still do. Apart from that I went through various computers until I met my true friend, the C=64. I have played a lot of games, and in parallel I did programming, so I was curious how the games worked, so learnt (by myself) assembly, and started to take programs apart, like cutting out and repacking music. 😀
Also, I learned English because of the text adventure games, so I had a notepad with the words I don't know, and a dictionary, and I wrote the meaning, and after a while I kind of remembered them. I remember most of them even now so people believe I speak English but in reality I only play a text-based adventure where they are the NPCs. 😀
Then I met a real programming language (apart from assembly and BASIC) and it looked weird, and I was curious so learned C. For fun.
Then come the IBM PC age, and in my school there was a computer, which was even faster, so started playing games there (Larry, I'm looking at you!), which was pretty useful for learning more English. But then these machines had even more interesting programming languages (like Pascal, but fun was to check Forth, Prolog and Smalltalk), so half of my time was spent programming, creating various little fun stuff ranging from simple drawing program to simple games.
There was no internet, but I met the first modem and I was also hooked by the possibility to connect remote machines and transfer data (games!) so I spent some more money on modems, which lead to creating my first open online free community resource: a BBS. There it went on: I virtually met a lot of nice people, met a lot of intersting programs (shareware, freeware), I knew a bit English, I knew a bit programming... I wasn't bored.
And it have determined me to learn the stuff I loved to do, which was about computers, interconnects, programming... so I went to college learning about just that. (It was not an easy ride, but that's another story, and Hungarian education used to be free back then, so I didn't have to generate debts.) And college wasn't an university so I got a lot of useful knowledge apart from theory.
Then I got some whatever job, mainly to cover my hobbies. So I ran my BBS, and then Internet came, so it was just logical to create an ISP using those modems. And meeting new people (and hanging on iRC a lot, and talking with everybody). And it leads to new friends, some of them asking me to join their companies, do new jobs, larger scale, more money, more interesting tasks, larger stuff, faster stuff, .... and it just goes on and forward.
In the meantime (apart from the work where I do what I like) I meet people introducing me to new hobbies. And I find new projects on the internet. Like, I found google before it was Google and was amazed by the idea of the ranking, or created part of DMoz just because I wanted to share. And then I happened to find the English #Wikipedia and thought it would be nice to have a Hungarian one so I have created it. And it grew pretty big today (both English and Hungarian). And I met again a huge lot of people through all these hobbies. And some of them became jobs.
Or, I like to bike, and I found a nice map project, also free and open, so I started to edit OSM. And it grew as well, and I meet a lof of people through that hobby project, where I give away my work for free. Some of them asking for my knowledge and willing to pay for that.
You see, all the jobs I get paid for are based on stuff I gave away for free. And the people I met through it. And that people have seen what I can so and asked me to do that for them for money. It worked out pretty well. Giving away stuff for free I mean. 😀
Moral of the story? Learn. Be open. Talk to smart and worthy people (and do not waste too much time on the stupid and no-good ones). They may find what you can do worthy.
like this
Clara Listensprechen {in stickershock}, harry haller and Robbie like this.
Robbie
•Just for fun I Googled a little about free software and libre software. I might even write a school paper on it for English Comp class, since no one I know has ever heard of it before even though we're all probably using it everyday in phones, appliances, and cars as well as computers and gaming consoles. I should probably find out all the ways I'm using it myself, like the browser I'm using (Firefox) and the social network I like (Diaspora).
My grandparents told me about BBS when they were a little older than I am now. From there it was Compuserve and then AOL. All using the old wired telephones to connect. My grandfather found some software that allowed him to connect on the phone to a computer and automatically get all of his incoming new stuff and send all his outgoing stuff in about a minute, then he could leave the phone line free and do all his forum reading and replying, plus his email. When he was ready, he'd connect, do this quick upload-and-download and be off the phone so my grandmother could use the phone. Maybe I'll interview him for my school
... show moreJust for fun I Googled a little about free software and libre software. I might even write a school paper on it for English Comp class, since no one I know has ever heard of it before even though we're all probably using it everyday in phones, appliances, and cars as well as computers and gaming consoles. I should probably find out all the ways I'm using it myself, like the browser I'm using (Firefox) and the social network I like (Diaspora).
My grandparents told me about BBS when they were a little older than I am now. From there it was Compuserve and then AOL. All using the old wired telephones to connect. My grandfather found some software that allowed him to connect on the phone to a computer and automatically get all of his incoming new stuff and send all his outgoing stuff in about a minute, then he could leave the phone line free and do all his forum reading and replying, plus his email. When he was ready, he'd connect, do this quick upload-and-download and be off the phone so my grandmother could use the phone. Maybe I'll interview him for my school paper, talking about how computers were used to exchange information even before the internet.
I am very curious about one form of libre software I read about called Linux or GNU-Linux. My computer is making me mad all the time because Windows just does whatever it wants while I'm trying to do schoolwork or just about anything else. It interrupts me, delays me, distracts me, and pisses me off because I'm busy! Some of the claims about Linux sound too good to be true, though. I can't help but be a little suspicious. Virus-proof? Runs fast on old computers? Doesn't make me defrag, scan, wait, and clean up after it? I just don't know.
Clara Listensprechen {in stickershock}
•Well hello there Robbie--I happen to be someone who has worked with the BBSs of yore and the biggest most popular BBSs had multiple telephone numbers to call because they'd otherwise keep generating busy signals.
The method of dialing up a BBS, downloading all your email then read them and reply to them offline so that your telephone wouldn't be tied up alll the time is called "packet". This required a number of different types of software to pull off but it worked well all the same. Online you would read text; a file compressor would take all that text and put it into a single packet file, then you'd download the packet, then hang up. Offline you'd need packet reading software which would also take your replies, package those up into a reply packet that you'd upload and the BBS would unpack the packet, sort, and deliver the messages to the nodes they needed to go to.
We're still, today, using the file compressor known as ZIP but there were others that were more efficient. Your email packets didn't have the extension .ZIP on them though--they'd have an extension that w
... show moreWell hello there Robbie--I happen to be someone who has worked with the BBSs of yore and the biggest most popular BBSs had multiple telephone numbers to call because they'd otherwise keep generating busy signals.
The method of dialing up a BBS, downloading all your email then read them and reply to them offline so that your telephone wouldn't be tied up alll the time is called "packet". This required a number of different types of software to pull off but it worked well all the same. Online you would read text; a file compressor would take all that text and put it into a single packet file, then you'd download the packet, then hang up. Offline you'd need packet reading software which would also take your replies, package those up into a reply packet that you'd upload and the BBS would unpack the packet, sort, and deliver the messages to the nodes they needed to go to.
We're still, today, using the file compressor known as ZIP but there were others that were more efficient. Your email packets didn't have the extension .ZIP on them though--they'd have an extension that was specific to the reader you were using....but then popular use resulted in standardization and the winner of packet standardization would have the .QWK extension.
Destination routing started out by FIDO node notation until IP addresses came into prevalence.
grin ✅
•grin ✅
•@Robbie if you went to write about free software really start on Wikipedia (what I linked), and look up Richard M. Stallman: he is the Free Software God. (And as gods in history: he's eccentric and assertive and very loud.) He also wrote a lot about whys and hows.
About the magical Linux: what you wrote is, accidentally, all true. But there are a lot of things to know about Linux, and if you never seen that you have to prepare yourself for learning a lot. For example most modern games do not work on Linux since they are written specifically for Windows (a lot of them works more or less perfectly with windows emulation, but it never works flawlessly and needs a lot of fiddling). Using Linux almost always means choice, and sometimes it is very hard to choose: there are a lot of distributions, and all of them have their up and downsides. I am using Debian, which is usually labeled as "hackers' and servers' OS", lot of peop
... show more@Robbie if you went to write about free software really start on Wikipedia (what I linked), and look up Richard M. Stallman: he is the Free Software God. (And as gods in history: he's eccentric and assertive and very loud.) He also wrote a lot about whys and hows.
About the magical Linux: what you wrote is, accidentally, all true. But there are a lot of things to know about Linux, and if you never seen that you have to prepare yourself for learning a lot. For example most modern games do not work on Linux since they are written specifically for Windows (a lot of them works more or less perfectly with windows emulation, but it never works flawlessly and needs a lot of fiddling). Using Linux almost always means choice, and sometimes it is very hard to choose: there are a lot of distributions, and all of them have their up and downsides. I am using Debian, which is usually labeled as "hackers' and servers' OS", lot of people use Ubuntu (which is Debian with pink wrappings and friendly welcome titles), others use hardcore hackish distros like Arch. There are different "window managers" which means that Linux does not have one look, you can make it look something else.
Also Linux people use a lot of console commands, it's like the CMD.EXE in Windows (or PowerShell, which is a Windows clone of the Unix console), and it worths to be familiar with it, even if you can survive without.
Most linux users also use lot of free software, which is sometimes way better than Windows commercial software but often not. There are programs on Linux which are not free and also excellent, most faster usually than on Windows.
There are viruses, but not the same as on Windows, since Linux usually separates the running programs, the operating system and the user, so the viruses have hard time to infect the system. Still, Linux has bugs too, and "hacking" into the system may happen if someone do not keep their system fresh and patched up.
I am Windows free since about windows v3.0, and I can do (almost) whatever I want on Linux for free (and legal). It is a result of the work of hundred thousands of people in multiple decades.
If you are curious it is possible to try both! Though should be done carefully but it's possible to have "dual boot" system, which asks you at the start whether to start Linux or Windows, and keep them in separate partitions on the disk. Or, it's possible to run a Virtual Machine on Windows and try Linux (it'll be very slow but you can look around without risk).
All of these have extensive documentation on the 'net.
About modems, it is important to mention that back then there was a huge difference betwen the USA and Europe, their telephone systems (you know, those using wires) were completely different. We (in Europe) just listened to the stories from the US, where people were doing various misdemeanours using blue boxes and various abuse of telephone exchanges making expensive long-distance calls for free; while local calls were free of charge there, what we just watched in awe since for us every call costed a little fortune. We did our different misdemeanours using rich government companies to call us back and pay the bill, I do not suggest to read about "socialism" and "communism" but we had them all, with all the positive(?), negative and weird effects. Modem users were a huge subculture, and in a subculture everyone is your bros and sis'.
electronic device used to illegally place free long-distance telephone calls
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)Robbie
•WHEW!
What can of worms have I opened here? looks like a whole universe of stuff I never heard of. I will try a "Live USB" instead of a virtual. But what distribution? There are lots that say they're good for beginners. Well, maybe on the weekend. I am having a look at libre office now, though. It seems "busy" and complicated.
I wonder if free software users are a subculture. Hackers, computer geeks, etc. I wouldn't fit in. I love the "big picture" and hate the details. Except on a hike or a camping trip, fishing, climbing, swimming, or skiing. Then details matter to me!
Yet this libre thing opens all kinds of doors that I didn't know were there. For school at least, and maybe a lot more.
grin ✅
•@Robbie 😀
Try Debian (or Ubuntu, it is said to be easier on newcomers, but I prefer the real thing to clones). Why Debian? Why not? 😀 Live USB is excellent.
LibreOffice: it is just different. When trying out non-Windows environment always keep it mind: it is harder because it is not familiar. (Technically it does almost the same as Microsoft™ Word®, except the annoying paperclip.)
There was a sentence in Matrix (the movie, the first), when Neo asks why his eyes hurt after entering "reality", and gets the answer: You've never have used them before. You've never have used anything else but Windows, it will hurt first to be free. 😉
It is a subculture, and you will fit in just fine. It is not exclusive. It is more of a shared interest.
As for libre opening doors: you don't even know how much. But,
... show more@Robbie 😀
Try Debian (or Ubuntu, it is said to be easier on newcomers, but I prefer the real thing to clones). Why Debian? Why not? 😀 Live USB is excellent.
LibreOffice: it is just different. When trying out non-Windows environment always keep it mind: it is harder because it is not familiar. (Technically it does almost the same as Microsoft™ Word®, except the annoying paperclip.)
There was a sentence in Matrix (the movie, the first), when Neo asks why his eyes hurt after entering "reality", and gets the answer: You've never have used them before. You've never have used anything else but Windows, it will hurt first to be free. 😉
It is a subculture, and you will fit in just fine. It is not exclusive. It is more of a shared interest.
As for libre opening doors: you don't even know how much. But, for example, there are a lot of libre stuff which is awesome, and have no counterpart in windows world, or there is, but it's very dissimilar.
One of my favourite example is Blender which one can use to create 3D computer animated movies (and that's easy to grasp for non-tech people too), but most of the webservers today are Apache or Nginx, both free software, cloud infrastructure uses Kubernetes, Petabyte-sized storages use Ceph, and the list is long.
For school I used GeoGebra (it is not "completely" free software but it's pretty close, and it's open source), Interactive simulations, or MolView, which is itself not "libre" but is based on libre libraries, and various tools for things like Math typesetting (one way is TeX and LyX, the other is using LibreOffice Math), and of course writing (did you know, that you probably use about 10% of the features of your Word Processor, and possibly using half of them wrong anyway? 😀).
PhET Interactive Simulations
PhETRobbie
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