by Unclefragger » 05.30.10
or you could just "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda (given that you use a 2.6.X kernel and only have one hdd installed) bs=1024 count=1", that will write zero into the first sector, aka the master boot record. dd also is a (bsd) core-util found on pretty much any (live) posix system (bsd/solaris/linus/"OS/2" and even Mac OS).
Hmm first time I installed linux was some 10 years ago, my father had the idea of a home router (back then those little boxes weren't popular nor cheap) so he gave me SuSe Linux ... 5 I think ... which sucked big time, of course I had no fucking idea what to do with it and click, click, router up wizards weren't around that time. Ditched the crap. Half a year later or so I installed fedora 2 and it was better, used it till they started removing codecs, I really didn't like it and when I choose a distro then I do not want my first thing after setup to be adding some crap to get key features running. Went over to debian and used that for years. I had the constant struggle between unstable dieing on me after one month tops (due to broken packages) and testing being too old again, therefore I went out looking for a distro that would fit my needs and likings. Tried a lot (Ubuntu wasn't around back then), forgot most of the names, then found gentoo. Usually when you use a distro they have their default every thing, whilst they offer large varieties in their repositories you are on your own if you want an other WM, kernel, some support in an application that is not default in the distro and therefore have to compile it on your own (the irc guys really don't like if you do the last thing) ... but in gentoo there pretty much is no default, the userbase is fairly big and since you have control over pretty much everything each system is unique, and the people still try to help you instead of saying "use package blabla, dun care about self compiled versions" where the program's authors tell you "ah (your distro here) messed up this, this and that, also it's outdated, compile your own binary" ... (some authors still don't like gentoo, but well)
Anyways gentoo is the distro for me because I can decide in detail what I want, and what I do not want. However, the first install (and likely the 5 to 10 following) is a pain in the ass and usually leaves you with a broken system. The reward after setting up a system like that for a few times however is that you really know how your system ticks and you do see who is responsible in case of a problem.
Today especially the Ubuntu community is so big that if you encounter a problem chances are very high that someone encountered the same thing and that someone already found a solution. But I still don't like it enough to install it on my systems (well I tried installing it on my 2008 mbp but it won't work - not a help thread, do not give ideas how to fix it :P)
OK after this essay it's clear that I use gentoo. Where? Everywhere!
What makes Linux such a great server OS?
It's fully script able from the CL, you can access all major features via just bash automating pretty much everything. Also it doesn't require a graphical interface (X) whilst you also can do that with windoze ... it's pain in the ass and you loose more then half of your features (and that's a friendly estimate). This changed a little with the introduction of windows powershell, but I'm gonna leave that to an other topic, let's just use this paragraph on XP and before.
Why is Linux such a great desktop OS?
You decide what you want, you don't want to have every room in your building (or country) look the same, do you?
Why is Linux such a great corporate desktop OS?
It's fully scrip table, easy to maintain and since lots of employees only do office stuff anyways you need way less resources.
Why does it suck for everyone then?
Driver support and the amount of commercial programs (professional and games) just suck. The most popular applications for professionals (like adobe suite, Auto CAD) are not available on Linux. Guess one of the problems is that it forces you to write better quality code, an example not really showing the quality of algorithms but just quality of intensity is mac os 10.5 with case-sensitive fs; steam will refuse to install (guess why, and therefor I do not see steam on Linux happen any time too soon) and warcraft 3 > 1.0 (or at least w/ TFT installed) will just crash, it works when your fs is case-insensitive though.
So much from me, don't talk with me about Linux or you will have to read a lot :P
(and yes I did stop myself or chance would have been high that I kill the 60000 character limit here)
"Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live."
- Martin Golding
(okay 1/2 of posts is offtopic but whatever)
)
