The GNU/Linux Diary

Diary of my switch to GNU/Linux An excerpt from my my diary, from the 12th of February, 2024.

Preface I’ve been sent on a journey since the middle of 2023, that has entirely turned my Internet and software habits on their head. My perception of using large, proprietary providers of any service, went from complacent and unquestionably necessary, to incredibly hesitant, and begging for serviceable alternatives. As I sought out more free and open source applications, replaced the proprietary software I could, and began using and financially supporting federated Activity-pub servers, there was still an elephant in the room: Windows. The very operating system I used every single day—for everything—is entirely proprietary.

Windows is non-free software, which is what my entire life’s understanding of computing and compatible software is based upon. From when I first navigated through Windows ME at home as a small child, to 2000 and XP in schools for computer classes, Vista and 7 at home in my teens, and 10 for the last several years too. This is all to say that I have absolutely zero experience with any GNU/Linux platform, and trying to make a switch that actually mattered seemed very daunting. I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’m not exactly adept at coding either. I’m just a man with the ability to web search, open to some change, and a desire to push through some friction. With that said, this will act as a diary for various days I work on my transition to a freer operating system. Observations, successes, failures, frustrations—all the sort of fun that comes from the voyage.

All writing is licensed under CC-BY-ND with attribution to Foxfire. The FSF recommends this license for opinion pieces.