Shulou(Shulou.com)06/02 Report--

My journey to Linux began three years ago. At that time, I ended my high school career and began to focus more on computer and network security. Learning something in this field really fascinates me. There are a lot of new things to learn. I was immediately attracted to enter.

First of all, security and Kali Linux always go hand in hand. It's hard for you to be a security researcher without it. So I started by implementing a dual operating system for Kail Linux on the Windows operating system.

At that time, I didn't like GNOME very much. Personally, I think everything looks too big on my small monitor (1366X768 resolution). In addition, my laptop running linux will be very hot (85-90 degrees). Then, at that time, I felt that I didn't need all the features that Kali Linux brought at all. I only need to learn Metasploit Framework, this security software can also be installed on other linux systems.

At that time, Edward Snowden released the secret to the public. It was then that I first discovered the PRISM program and the company it mentioned. Microsoft was one of them, and I felt very uncomfortable using their operating system at that time. As an European citizen, the product that runs most of the time is American, which is my personal feeling. I am concerned about my online privacy, so the disclosure of Snowden has a great impact on me, I want to make a change.

So I started experimenting with different distributions. I've tried Fedora,Linux Mint and OpenSUSE. Every previous experience was quite similar. I installed the system, used it for a month or two, realized that the laptop's fever problems were still there, and finally crashed when I tried to solve those problems. I used open source drivers for AMD graphics cards, and they didn't work well at the time. The support of AMD is very helpful to me. Proprietary drivers for the graphics cards I use are only compatible with older versions of the Linux kernel, so every time I install them and restart my laptop, I can't see anything on the screen.

But I'm stubborn. I don't want to give up. Because I don't have sense of security because I use Windows. So I decided to give Arch Linux a chance. Installing it is an intoxicating experience. I learned a lot in the process. But once again, the problem of fever is in front of us. When I tried to solve them, I made the system useless again.

I was a little discouraged after that. I'm going to admit that I've been defeated. I think my laptop is not really compatible with Linux and uses Windows again. But soon it didn't feel good. I can't change things I don't like (like the Ribbon interface in a file browser). And as Snowden revealed more information about the NSA bill to the public, my negativity only increased. After that, I started reading about basic OS. Elementary OS turns on what looks like a beautiful, well-designed operating system. I burned it on an empty CD I got handy, but I'm not going to give Linux another try. Then, one night, I got drunk with a friend, came home and said to myself, "Oh, what the heck!"

So I installed it, and when it was installed, it looked light enough to make my laptop less hot when in use. I installed and configured the tlp package according to my needs, and the problems were much smaller than before. Of course, it still doesn't beat my Windows system in terms of power consumption, but it's much better than the Linux release I've tried before. And the system actually looks good. I enjoy every minute of using it, and it has some small features (such as multiple workspaces) that I can't find on Windows. A few months later, Elementary OS released a new version of Beta 1, codenamed Freya. I installed it right away, and I've been using Elementary OS ever since. I feel like a member of the Elementary OS community, becoming active on their social networks. Soon after that, I began to report on the bug I encountered, translated the system in my home language (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and even made a contribution to the new look project on the Elementary OS project website once or twice. Seeing the Freya release evolve from Beta 1 to a stable version is a life-changing experience. And I'm one of them. I can't believe I'm part of the campaign to create something new, something great!

In the meantime, my family has bought two new laptops and a new desktop, but I haven't used them. I have a special relationship with my old book because we have been through a lot together. Try it. I'm still using it. About a month ago, the performance of power consumption improved significantly. My notebook is no longer overheated. In fact, the temperature is much lower now than when I was using Windows. Up to now, I don't understand what will lead to such a significant improvement in power performance, and battery life has indeed increased from half an hour to an hour and a half (compared to two hours and fifteen minutes compared to Windows).

I was a volunteer at the Dutch conference in April this year, and I was also part of the European volunteer service. Our team used my notebook to create a presentation that must be shown to other volunteers to coordinate our volunteer project. We used Microsoft's PowerPoint so that we could use OneDrive to easily share the presentation with others. But at that time, this guy Windows decided to update. My notebook was restarted at the beginning of the presentation. The update lasted too long (more than 15 minutes), and I had a task and needed to make a quick decision. I had to forcibly shut down my laptop despite the "Don't turn off your computer" warning. Then I started my good Elementary OS, mounted the drive on Windows, found the presentation on that drive, and opened it in LibreOffice Impress. The demo can be played continuously without any problems. LibreOffice Impress fully supports the presentation we created!

After that, I never checked to see if my Windows system had completely collapsed. Because I don't have to worry about that anymore. Elementary OS has completely replaced it as my main operating system. I never saw myself using any system other than that sexy Pantheon desktop environment. After a long and painful transition, I finally felt completely comfortable using my laptop. I installed it on every other computer device in the house. My whole family uses Elementary OS every day now, and they all like it. Now my family is completely liberated from Windows, and all our smartphones are running Cyanogenmod.

I won't lie to you. My transformation is not easy. This is a long and painful process. But in the end, I finished it, and it felt nothing. Thanks to my stubbornness, I can really embrace open source in my life. I have made some small contributions to some world-famous open source projects, such as Reddit and Tor projects. I also often write about my experience in open source on my blog. I started contributing to Opensource.com and free software magazines in the Serbian language. I even became a resident guest blogger for two open source and IT-related blogs.

Contributing to open source software was my first volunteer experience, but this is not the end. I actively expanded my volunteer service experience on different occasions in my local community and had the opportunity to participate in an one-month volunteer trip to the other side of Europe. Thanks to this experience, it was a life-changing experience for me. Open source allows me to accomplish so many things, if it hadn't been for that test, I would have achieved nothing. Open source allows me to embrace openness and collaboration, and I will apply these principles to other areas of life.

Reproduced from: open source Chinese community

Original link: http://www.oschina.net/translate/my-linux-story

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