Is 50 too old to be learning Linux
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50 should be a perfect age to cultivate the epic neckbeard required to fully get into Linux.
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Like the rest, I am going to say no, it's not too late. I think the articles Vince posted on the CP sister site is a good place to start: http://www.rootadmin.com/Articles/298/Learning-Linux-for-Windows-Users-Part-1[^] Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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Paul S Wilcox wrote:
I don't mind getting my hands 'dirty' with writing scripts and using a CLI as I've done this before on the Amiga (which was Unix based) and on Wind :O ows.
The fact that the AmigaDOS was based on Unix will not help you a single bit under Linux.
Paul S Wilcox wrote:
I'm wondering if it's time to try a Linux distro.
Trying stuff is always a good idea. Try a few of them; you can install them on a USB-stick and boot from that. Besides Ubuntu, I'd recommend trying "Damn Small Linux". And, you might be interested in trying AROS[^].
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
Eddy Vluggen wrote:
The fact that the AmigaDOS was based on Unix will not help you a single bit under Linux.
Except for knowing what cd and rm stands for. As in don't try this at home:
alias rm=rm
cd /
rm *First *nix machine I did that on was some SCO installation I tried out and was tired of. :^)
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Having used all the flavours of Windows since Windows 3.1 right up to Windows 8 and having used Amiga OS 1.3 to 3.9 before then I'm wondering if it's time to try a Linux distro. What I'm wondering is, have I left it too late at the age of 50 to start to get into the intricacies of Linux and which distro would be a good one to start with? I don't mind getting my hands 'dirty' with writing scripts and using a CLI as I've done this before on the Amiga (which was Unix based) and on Wind :-O ows. Any thoughts?
I'm 50 and have been a reluctant (for work reasons) user of Ubuntu the last 8 months or so. I have come to a greater appreciation of all things Windows as a result. Even the fonts look like crap in Ubuntu. Now, on a sort of positive note, it's an OS, and like any OS, I want it to get out of the way of doing work. I think Windows does that better as well, but I've appreciated learning more about the Linux world. People think differently using Linux. I had an ah-ha moment yesterday, when I realized that most people in the Linux world use basic text editors that don't have intellisense, code completion, etc., and as a result, their code is very, very, different -- I believe the emphasis on strings and parsing rather than well designed OO classes is a direct result of the kinds of tools that Linux devs use. Bear in mind my experiences are limited to Ruby on Rails at the moment, but from all the code I see out there, there is very little good OO architecture and lots of one-off parsing and bizarre formats. Anyways, 50 is not too late, it is an interesting experience, but at the end of the day, I'm left yearning for the pleasure of Windows, Windows applications, and doing development in C# and .NET--Ubuntu, the apps under Ubuntu, etc., are simply klunky, in my opinion. Marc
Testers Wanted!
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Paul S Wilcox wrote:
I don't mind getting my hands 'dirty' with writing scripts and using a CLI as I've done this before on the Amiga (which was Unix based) and on Wind :O ows.
The fact that the AmigaDOS was based on Unix will not help you a single bit under Linux.
Paul S Wilcox wrote:
I'm wondering if it's time to try a Linux distro.
Trying stuff is always a good idea. Try a few of them; you can install them on a USB-stick and boot from that. Besides Ubuntu, I'd recommend trying "Damn Small Linux". And, you might be interested in trying AROS[^].
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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Having used all the flavours of Windows since Windows 3.1 right up to Windows 8 and having used Amiga OS 1.3 to 3.9 before then I'm wondering if it's time to try a Linux distro. What I'm wondering is, have I left it too late at the age of 50 to start to get into the intricacies of Linux and which distro would be a good one to start with? I don't mind getting my hands 'dirty' with writing scripts and using a CLI as I've done this before on the Amiga (which was Unix based) and on Wind :-O ows. Any thoughts?
I’ve seen people at 50 do more daft things than learning a new programming language or OS. When I look at doing or learning new things I never think “Am I too old?” But I do think of two things.. “Can I physically do this without injuring myself too badly?” and more importantly, “Do I want to do this?”
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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Paul S Wilcox wrote:
...the Amiga (which was Unix based)...
I had always thought it was based on Exec (or something similarly named).
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"Show me a community that obeys the Ten Commandments and I'll show you a less crowded prison system." - Anonymous
It is. There were four main parts to the Amiga OS, Exec, AmigaDOS, Intuition and Workbench. Each performed a specific function: Exec is the underlying kernel: similar to the Windows & Linux kernels AmigaDOS was the Disk Operating System; Intuition controlled UI elements Workbench was the GUI.
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Do you feel too old to spend a weekend in Paris?
If there is one thing more dangerous than getting between a bear and her cubs it's getting between my wife and her chocolate.
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Don't be ridiculous. Why would it be? Ubuntu is just fine. It will even install as a dual-boot without interfering with your current OS. (I think they call it the 'wubi' installer or something.) It's definitely worth noodling with, especially since you're asking on a programming forum :)
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I’ve seen people at 50 do more daft things than learning a new programming language or OS. When I look at doing or learning new things I never think “Am I too old?” But I do think of two things.. “Can I physically do this without injuring myself too badly?” and more importantly, “Do I want to do this?”
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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Paul S Wilcox wrote:
Amiga (which was Unix based)
I am pretty sure it wasn't, unless you installed Amiga Unix on it.
My reference to the Amiga being Unix based was maybe in error. Although the Amiga did use a multi-user, fully pre-emptive multitasking kernel. Workbench (the GUI) only implemented a single user interface though. Still, it was way ahead of its time for a consumer computer. What other home computer had a pre-emptive multitasking kernel and a GUI in 1985?
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My mother-in-law did a tandem skydive for her 50th birthday.
“I believe that there is an equality to all humanity. We all suck.” Bill Hicks
I have thought that doing something like skydiving would be fun to do once just for the experience, But think I'll wait 'til I'm eighty.
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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Save it for the judge, sonny. It's been a while since I got my hands so dirty that I got involved with Linux but I've found very few problems with Ubuntu. I'm not sure what release they're up to but I have an 11.04 box that runs and runs. The flash player likes to crash a lot but then again the flash player in windows is a massive drama queen as well, so I think we can automatically blame Adobe for that one. I've heard positive things about Fedora too, but have never used it.
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Wouldn't we all? [The above post is made in humour and should Mrs Wife read the aforementioned post it was a joke]
Reality is an illusion caused by a lack of alcohol
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I'm 50 and have been a reluctant (for work reasons) user of Ubuntu the last 8 months or so. I have come to a greater appreciation of all things Windows as a result. Even the fonts look like crap in Ubuntu. Now, on a sort of positive note, it's an OS, and like any OS, I want it to get out of the way of doing work. I think Windows does that better as well, but I've appreciated learning more about the Linux world. People think differently using Linux. I had an ah-ha moment yesterday, when I realized that most people in the Linux world use basic text editors that don't have intellisense, code completion, etc., and as a result, their code is very, very, different -- I believe the emphasis on strings and parsing rather than well designed OO classes is a direct result of the kinds of tools that Linux devs use. Bear in mind my experiences are limited to Ruby on Rails at the moment, but from all the code I see out there, there is very little good OO architecture and lots of one-off parsing and bizarre formats. Anyways, 50 is not too late, it is an interesting experience, but at the end of the day, I'm left yearning for the pleasure of Windows, Windows applications, and doing development in C# and .NET--Ubuntu, the apps under Ubuntu, etc., are simply klunky, in my opinion. Marc
Testers Wanted!
Latest Article: User Authentication on Ruby on Rails - the definitive how to
My BlogInteresting.
Marc Clifton wrote:
Bear in mind my experiences are limited to Ruby on Rails at the moment, but from all the code I see out there, there is very little good OO architecture and lots of one-off parsing and bizarre formats.
I suppose that could be because there appears to be much more open-source software available for Linux; even the kernel is open-source and I suppose with no authoritative guidance, people 'do there own thing' with regard to programming.
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I’ve seen people at 50 do more daft things than learning a new programming language or OS. When I look at doing or learning new things I never think “Am I too old?” But I do think of two things.. “Can I physically do this without injuring myself too badly?” and more importantly, “Do I want to do this?”
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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S Houghtelin wrote:
“Can I physically do this without injuring myself too badly?”
What about mentally!
I'm too old to care anymore. :D
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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Interesting.
Marc Clifton wrote:
Bear in mind my experiences are limited to Ruby on Rails at the moment, but from all the code I see out there, there is very little good OO architecture and lots of one-off parsing and bizarre formats.
I suppose that could be because there appears to be much more open-source software available for Linux; even the kernel is open-source and I suppose with no authoritative guidance, people 'do there own thing' with regard to programming.
I'm curious, what is your interest with exploring Linux distros?
Paul S Wilcox wrote:
and I suppose with no authoritative guidance,
Well, as far as I can tell, most people come from a C background, or from FP languages like Python, but the weird thing is, how software is architected is just plain different, and not to my personal tastes. Here's a great example:
f 'labor_baby_mult',
:label => 'Multiple birth',
:type => 'integer',
:followups =>
{
'Y' =>
f('labor_baby_num',
:label => 'How many babies? ',
:constraints =>
{
'range' => '2:8',
'err_range' => 'Use a number between 2 and 8'
}
)
}Now, first off, I prettied that up for you. The original is all on one line:
f 'labor_baby_mult', :type => 'string', :label => 'Multiple birth', :followups => {'Y' => f('labor_baby_num', :label => 'How many babies? ', :constraints => {'range' => '2:8', 'err_range' => 'Use a number between 2 and 8'})}
Now to pick at things: A string for type? What about an enumeration? What about a derived field (that's what "f" is, a field definition) that describes the type? Why all these hashes - why not define a class with a property "label"? A range constraint defined as a string? Seriously? Custom parsing (the "2:8") for that range? OK, maybe that's regex (I have no knowledge of regex) and I know that the range constraint can use regex, so maybe that's OK. But a string 'err_range' for what could be a property? And not to mention, the question, why are some hash keys symbols (the ":label") and some strings (the 'range' => syntax) ? The inconsistencies, overuse of hashes, lack of OO (especially where, for things like this, OO actually really is good), are all things that make it burdensome and slow to work with this particular open source component (not related to Ruby or Rails, though you can find similar reliance (but not as abusive) on hashes in Rails.) Marc
Testers Wanted!
Latest Article: User Authentication on Ruby on Rails - the definitive how to
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Having used all the flavours of Windows since Windows 3.1 right up to Windows 8 and having used Amiga OS 1.3 to 3.9 before then I'm wondering if it's time to try a Linux distro. What I'm wondering is, have I left it too late at the age of 50 to start to get into the intricacies of Linux and which distro would be a good one to start with? I don't mind getting my hands 'dirty' with writing scripts and using a CLI as I've done this before on the Amiga (which was Unix based) and on Wind :-O ows. Any thoughts?