So I'm writing this entry in a blogging client I just installed, called LogJam, on my netbook, which as of Monday night runs the Xfce version of CrunchBang Linux. Until a few months ago my nerdy tendencies and know-how had been declining for many years; I'd wanted to be a programmer when I was much younger but ended up focusing on writing music, photography, an arts degree, all sorts of other things. I always used computers heavily but they became simply a tool to me.
It's now a few years since I dropped out of my arts degree, and I'm thinking of going back to uni to study something more technical, so late last year I tried Linux on one of my own computers for the first time (Ubuntu Netbook Edition). It was okay. A lot of things didn't work, and it was slower than Windows XP, but I really liked the customisable user interface and it was a good way to start forcing myself to learn Unix terminal stuff. It didn't take long before I grew tired of Ubuntu and wanted something faster, leaner, more customisable and... well, 'more geeky'. Something that I would really enjoy getting my hands dirty with, trying to optimise and improve it, and thus getting back into really tinkering with computers along the way.
I had picked Ubuntu because it is the most visible choice for user-friendly Linux, and I think it was a good pair of training wheels, but having gotten past that stage, CrunchBang just somehow looked like 'the one for me'. Kind of like when I picked out my guitar in the shop years ago... it was the first one that caught my eye after walking in and even after looking at others, I knew it was mine. I've spent the last few nights working out the kinks, plenty of time in the terminal interface, getting the touchpad to work correctly, fiddling with Unix/Linux/Debian/Xfce configuration stuff; tonight I tried out an alternate kernel version. It's been a good learning experience and now that the setup nerdiness is mostly done, I have a great OS environment to use day-to-day on my netbook that is way more responsive than Windows or Ubuntu was; even videos play back more smoothly. Xfce is frankly marvellous.
The one thing that isn't great (also goes for Ubuntu and all other Linuxes as far as I know) is that I have no control over colour output in the video drivers - in Windows I adjusted the gamma/brightness curves for each colour channel independently to compensate for my netbook screen's rather washed-out blue-tinged response. In Linux all I can adjust is the gamma factor with a command-line utility, which doesn't really cut it. So I just have to live with it, but it's only a minor drawback. Maybe, in time, I will have the expertise to craft a solution myself!
