Live CD's - Sweet!

I love opensource projects - we've been using a bunch of them at work for almost two years now, and I think they're fantastic. Here and there, I've gone beyond small opensource Java tools (like Struts, Velocity, etc.) and delved a bit into the Linux OS.

Much like learning Java for the first time, there is a HUGE learning curve involved with Linux. Don't get me wrong, depending on the distro (that's distribution, for all you Windows kids out there - there are about a billion slightly different distros of Linux), some are easier to use than others. But installing them usually takes a bit of time. And, as we all know, time is money.

One of the toughest things for this meager programmer is to let go of his attachment to his machine. I have one main desktop, and I'm not about to go re-formatting the hard drive into partitions everytime I want to try a new flavor of Linux. What's a guy to do?

Live CD's! We're not talking Throwing Copper here; no, rather an entire OS contained on a bootable CD that doesn't install ANYTHING to your hard drive. Download the .iso file (which is usually just a single OS image file that most burn software knows how to handle), flip the BIOS to boot from CD-ROM, and you're golden.

I've downloaded live CD's from Ubuntu, Knoppix, Gnoppix, and Mandriva - and let me just say, they are sweet. You get a chance to play with the features from the OS, without fear of messing anything up (which, as anyone who has tried installing a version of Linux to their hard drive knows, is always a real fear). When you're done, shut down the computer, remove the CD, and you boot back up normal as pie.

These cd's are also useful for recovering data from hard drives that won't boot, and are great for public computers - like those at libraries, campuses, internet cafe's. Most of them come with the latest versions of Firefox, Gnome/KDE, OpenOffice, and more. Not bad for a >700MB disc, eh? Look them up, and give them a whirl. You just might have some fun, and learn something while you're at it.

Why. (its not a programming entry per se, but hey, who asked you anyways?)

A legacy? Nah, not really a legacy - more of a philosophy from perhaps the greatest mentor in my life.

"Why?"

As of late, I've had to ask this question more and more. It used to be that someone asked it for me (see above comment on aforesaid mentor), but those times are gone. Now, left to my own meager devices, I must continually bring this question to the forefront.

I used to program relentlessly - eagerly digesting any new language or tool or technology that was placed in front of me, or eluded to in some fashion from a project. I only mention this, because, note the word "used". The environment has changed, and now I am walking down roads I swore I would never walk down. "Why?" was never asked. Not by any fault of me or any of my fellow unpossible programmers, but because of management crap.

Where did this culture of not doing the right thing come from? When did we become less than a bottom line?

Crappy quote time:
"Sometimes, we have to do things. We have no choice, because [blank]". Insert the following into the [blank] - "of the budget", "my feet are held to the fire", "just because we have to do things we don't want to do sometimes since I was told to get it done by blah". Bullshit. Sorry for the swearing, kids.

Good grief, you ALWAYS have a choice. It may not be the popular choice, or the choice your management wants to hear, but you always have the choice to make the decision thats right for your customer - whomever they may be. And if I take one thing away from my mentor - it's that.

Movie quote time:
Calvera: "What I don't understand is why a person like you would take a job like this in the first place."

Vin: "It's like a fella I once knew. One day, he just took off all his clothes and jumped into a mess of cactus. I asked him the same thing - 'why'. He said, 'it seemed to be a good idea at the time.'"

-from the Magnificent Seven, the greatest western ever. Damn straight, Vin.

I'll always ask "why" and not blindly accept things, even if certain people in my life are incapable of doing that for themselves. It was high time I finally stood up for something, and besides, I have no doubt that it will always seem to be a good idea at the time.