Hi, from Washington State

by Jason Minks (J2M)

Wow! Finding this forum has provided me with my second PCLinuxOS-related Eureka! moment in just a few days! Google is indeed my friend! A few days ago, I decided I was finally going to go open-source on an OS to replace the XP that had been on a laptop I have. I had been putting that off for a long time, but just liked the driving concepts behind the open-source movement. So I looked into what Linux derivative might be best for a windows-familiar trier-outer. When I went to the download site to get the PCLinuxOS ISO is when I got the first pleasant "Eureka" surprise. I was delighted to see PAGES of available distros! I thought, "This is so cool! If this PCLinuxOS thing is any good, then this is definitely something I want to be a part of."

So far, (only three days, admittedly, but so far so good) PCLinuxOS has exceeded my expectations! It sure isn't Windows, but I'm having a lot of fun figuring the new stuff out! Like any new venture, I'm sure eventually I'll go from just kind of laying on the ice, as I am now, to waddling towards the shore, to gliding through the ocean. Maybe someday I might even understand some of what the advanced folks here are saying!

Well, that's where I'm at, anyhow. Physically, I live in the greater area near MS headquarters, so I'm not quite sure if I should be afraid of their enforcement squads or what. (Just kidding.) It's so handy that there are so many resources on the web to jumpstart "dead noobs" (as my son might call us - yes, I'm old enough to have a son who says stuff like that - dern whippersnappers!) like me. It's amazing how people work together for a purpose with this open-source stuff. It's pretty cool.