At our recent LUG meeting, resident gigabrain and living member of the endangered âofficer that runs linuxâ species Daniel Blittschau (aka dblitt) took the floor to share his experiences using Linux at Notre Dame. Below are some of the highlights of the meeting:
Why use linux? - CLI efficiency - Customizability and control over your system - Avoiding dependence on student machines and resources
Before making the switch to Linux, itâs important to consider your needs and use cases. Ask yourself: - What do you use your computer for? - Are there Linux alternatives to the software you use? (weâre looking at you, niche enterprise softwareâŚ) - How committed do I want to be? (dual boot? VM? nuclear on bare metal?)
For all of those moved by dblittâs oratorical prowess, the following pieces of advice were offered to any linux considerers: - Most enterprise laptops will do just fine, but a laptop thatâs 1-2 years old (or some extensive hardware research before proceding) will yield a smoother experience - WSL can be faster, but different system calls can be an issue for CS classes - Save yourself from live linux environments (e.g. two flash drive janky boot đ¤˘)
If youâre interested in using Linux at Notre Dame, we hope you found this presentation helpful. With the right tools and guidance, making the switch to Linux can offer greater efficiency, control, and customization over your personal computer. Of course, all of dblittâs lovely presentation materials can be found here.