Linux incentives and backgrounds
Recently I installed arch linux on my main computer, replacing the former Windows 11 system. Using Linux for daily tasks was one of my dreams for long, since it just looks cool. However, I needed a lot of time to realise it. This is how I have got gradually prepared for becoming a Linux user.
I am not sure since when I know Linux. Probably I had never heard of it before entering into secondary school. At the age of 13 or 14, I started frequently use the public library near my home, and maybe I found Nikkei Linux, the magazine on Linux in the magazies corner there. Otherwise maybe I learnt to know its name somewhere else. Anyway, at least I remember I already knew it when I was Yr 8 (in Australian manner of counting school year). At that time I would listen to a radio programme whose main speakers were named Rumi and Rina, and I found it interesting that there were some products whose name resembles their name, Linux for the OS and Lumix for the camera series.
Despite my recognition, I didn't imagine that I might be able to use it, taking it granted that it was something more professional. I was Yr 9 when I first touched them. At that time I had a long free time during the club activities, which allowed me much more room for my agency, despite I was not the senior year in the club. It also required me invent some tasks, most of which should be achieved with a computer, and it results in a serious shortage of computers. Then a math teacher offered our club an old laptop. It originally worked with Windows Vista, whose support had been already expired, and the teacher advised me to run it on some Linux distro. After web surfing of several hours, I decided to install CentOS, which I heard similar to Windows maybe in some of the misc web articles.
However, it was not a great success to introduce a Linux PC to the club. Most members were not familiar with it. Besides, since most of files were edited with Microsoft Office, resources in our club was not compatible with Linux. WPS Office or Libre Office damaged the members' mindful adjustment of layouts in the PowerPoint slide. Only preset games on Gnome interested them.
Since then, except for some short-time crush on Linux with VMWare, I didn't touch any Linux distro. In virtual environments, I preferred Ubuntu, since it seemed to be CJK language speakers friendly, and it was famous. Its African origined naming pleased me, too, since it sounded like a symbol of resistance to Eurocentrism. Mihi placet filiam, quam amabam, noscere eius nominem, cum studens in universitate eram.
In my late-student years, I started using WSL and termux on Android, both of which let me learn common unix commands. At that time I often used PowerShell rather than the classical command prompt on Windows, but the unix ones were usually much easier to memorise for its length, so I started using some of them on Windows either, by setting unix commands the alias. Some were set by default.
Maybe I have to address my other motivation for Linux: simplicity. Linux distros, especially arch, are characterised by its minimalistic design. Any necessary packages should be installed and run manually.
In my junior high days, I used Sony Xperia GX, which is the local version of TX, released 2012. Already it was becoming gradually outdated at that time, and some of the major applications started discontinuing the support for Android 4.1, which was the last update for this model. It let me install custom ROMs. The great advantage of Xperia series in introducing ROMs was Companion X, the official and strong tool for factory reset by introducing the official ROM to the fastboot state devices. It saves my phone many times from hard bricking. On the other hand, the major inconvenience was that it was customed. Sony phones, like ones from most suppliers, employ highly moderated ROM from pure Android for the compatibility of its hardware parts. It meant that the famous ROMs like Lineage cannot be installed directly. Even worse, my domestic version model disabled unlocking bootloader, so alternating recovery was difficult either. I took advantage of unofficial rootkit (surely used my own device) published in a tech blog. It was an enough reason for dreaming purity of Google Pixel series (, which I found partly illusory.)
In spite of those backgrounds, I have more recent and direct incentives.
One is the expiration of Office licence. My eligibility for Microsoft 365 access being dependent on my student ID, graduation let me find alternatives for Office documents. Now I have few historical documents which requires MS Office. Another is the local generative AIs. Though it's not a strong logics, I heard rumors saying Linux is more efficient for them. Thirdly, Linux is more flexible with ssh connection, which I started using this year, after stopping bringing my private computer with me and use the device at the office desk, which implies I have no access to my private data outside but for it. Lastly, though I found it unconsiderate later, I believed in the discourse that Linux is less exposed to security lisks. For sure my background longing was a motivation, too.
Anyway I installed Arch for the experiment on my ThinkPad X201, which is quite classic and is no longer used for daily purposes. It was a great success to me, and so bravely, I replaced the operating system of my main computer, too. I started using a new desktop environment, which is a second-hand from my father, with limited amount of the internal storage. I store most data outside, which facilitated the transition of the OS.