Adding users

Going through the various installations (i.e., adding users) went ok. I can mechanically enter the commands and follow the step-by-step instructions for the exercises. Several times I had questions about some instructions that weren't clear to me but after reading and re-reading the instructions and trying a few things on my own, I managed to forge forward. There is also so much to do, start here, load this, go here, do this, that I have a hard time getting my 'compass to turn north'! In other words, the hardest part for me is trying to make sure I understand the objective of what we are doing each week, completing all assignments, and reflecting on the exercises. I appreciate the way Bruce organized the class (though sometimes it's a bit confusing), how much time he invests in helping all of us, and how supportive my classmates are. I am learning, slowly but I'm learning.

Text editors

I think the tutorials and readings describing text editors are really helpful. I find it useful to hear the audio and see the commands executed on the screen. I only wish the transcripts were available so that I didn't spend a lot of time taking notes. The commands are really overwhelming to remember but that's not an issue in my mind because I know I can easily pull these up online or by other means. I am getting the intended results in the hands-on assignments; however, I don't really understand why we are running the commands. To help with this, one thing I do is review the lecture and assignments just to get an overall sense of work for the week. I then read all the posts in the "Activity" and "Discussion" section so that I am aware of some things I might encounter when I work through the assignments. This strategy has worked wonders for me because I am relaxed and prepared with fixes if things don't work like they are supposed to. I only hope that I am able to connect everything as the course advances.

Ubuntu Desktop

I finally got the downloads to work. I literally attempted ~12 times for both the server and desktop so I was angry and frustrated. I still don't understand what md5sum is and I wonder why with our technological advances why one can't check this before the download occurs?! At the end of every download, md5sum'ing was a natural instinct for me. I even did it for the VMWare Workstation :)

I feel pretty foolish because I expended a lot of time listening to the uacbt tutorials and taking notes. I liked seeing the commands and screen video shots but I found the written notes from our course reserves the most helpful (my preferred learning style). While I spent an immense amount of time on the uacbt tutorials I did find it helpful when I worked with the Live CD.

I was dreading the boot because of the aforementioned problems with the downloads; however, to my surprise it went well. I played around with commands but I don't know what I was doing nor how I can apply it in my job. I hope this becomes clearer as we move along the course.

Thoughts on ubuntu absolute beginner talk

I read several posts and none were what I would call absolute beginner. If they are then I am a zygote beginner. What I observed during my perusing was that people responded very quickly and in true web 2.0 fashion are willing to share their knowledge with others. What I found somewhat entertaining were the forum policies - yes I actually read them. These were a couple of my favorite:

"Individual flame-bait may be deleted or edited at the moderators' discretion. Certain users who continue to post flame-bait or engage in other questionable practices (such as trolling) may be subject to more serious sanctions."

"Please refrain from using "leet" speak or slang. These forums are a tool for communication, which will be obfuscated by those types of writing."

"Any replies for help that contain language disrespectful towards the user asking the question, i.e. "STFB" or "RTFM" are unacceptable and will not be tolerated."

I think I can deduce what flame-bait means and I don't know what "leet" speak means but I did figure out what the acronyms stood for :)

Frustrations With Technology

I am feeling very overwhelmed with software downloads and readings that I am having a hard time learning. My first attempt to download the first of two ubuntu files failed and my second attempt isn't going that well either. I currently don't have high-speed Internet at home so I am at my local public library downloading to my laptop but as I shared in the activity section of our course I might need to upgrade my RAM. It's driving me crazy the hours involved to download. Is this normal? I wonder whether my classmates' experience is similar. I hope future activities don't require this amount of time. I suppose I could let these things download overnight while I'm sleeping peacefully but I guess I won't know until I get service which won't be for another week because I am going on vacation starting tomorrow.

I'm not faring well with the readings and assignments. I keep reading and rereading the same things. I have a hard time keeping straight what we post where, etc. But I know I am not alone and I am glad you all are out there because I'm going to need you!