“Anyone who has used Linux for more than a year or two knows the
change that has taken place. Linux has indisputably moved from a
primarily console-based operating system for hackers and Free
Software geeks to a mainstream phenomenon, taking with it all the
pros and cons of success. One of the biggest changes to have taken
place is the influx of new users, affectionately called
newbies.”
“I remember when the Linux bug (penguin?) bit me and I began to
read “Running Linux” by Matt Walsh, the definitive book to starting
Linux. He said repeatedly that Linux was not recommended for anyone
without *nix experience, and that one should learn Unix before
Linux – not the other way around. At the time, everything was
console-based, with the X Window System hardly mentioned, and a GUI
(graphical user interface) install was too good even to be hoped
for. It was a long, somewhat intimidating process. But when I
booted Slackware my first time and saw the user prompt, I had the
rush of climbing a mountain and looking at the scenery below. After
much tinkering, I even got my XF86Config file working, done by hand
in a console-based text editor (I don’t need to get into the
specifics).”
“But times have changed, and many of the old guard are
frustrated. The crowding that has resulted from the hype has left
some feeling like endangered animals without a
habitat….“