Are you a driver or a passenger?
by
zen
There are really only two types of computer users in the world, and some good analogies to explain these two types are drivers and passengers. Some insist on driving their hardware, while others are content to just be along for the ride. This post is made with the intent of helping us all understand how and why we individually ended up being one or the other, or maybe you share some traits with both. Think of this post as a computer culture research venture, but one that will also have a strong intent to inspire others by sharing personal stories.
My definition of the two types:
Drivers
These are people who aren't content with the Apple and Microsoft abilities/limitations, and desire more control and capability from their hardware. These are people who don't settle for what the mainstream industry spoon-feeds them, and demand more from themselves and the people they share knowledge and helpfulness with. People who refuse to stagnate or devolve their computing education and journey as they continue computing throughout their life.
Passengers
People who are content with pretty much any solution that just works, regardless of limitations. They will happily sacrifice ability and skill evolution by always choosing the path of least effort. Many of them also like to encourage others not to bother evolving; without realizing that no one needs help to not learn something. Basically... people who don't like to combine computing with too much thinking. This is not to say they are dumb - certainly not - but rather that they have been conditioned to believe the two (computing and genuine thinking) don't go together.
What I need from you:
I want to know which you consider yourself to be and why, along with a brief history of how you arrived there. This will also help guide us here to a better understanding of what type of new content to write in the future. I personally have not made a truly meaty post in a while, and would like to have a better understanding concerning the current state of the audience here.
My (zen's) story:
I consider myself a driver, and I arrived there naturally by UNIX/BSD being the first OS I ever used, and continue using today, both personally and professionally. I started in the mid-80's on UNIX and didn't use another OS (full-time) until the early 90's. So I started as a driver and stayed that way.
Please share your user type and story in comments. I look forward to reading them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
a former passenger striving to be a driver would best describe me i guess
ReplyDeleteI’ve been using computers since I was a kid, although I really didn’t take interest in them until college. Hardly ever used a Mac either until I bought my first MacBook in college. For the longest time, I thought I was the driver of my technology experience, but soon realized I was taking the high road and only just a passenger. It became apparent to me that I was not a driver when I purchased a used G5 PowerMac off of eBay. I was extremely disappointed when I learned that it was not supported by newer versions of OS X as Apple had switched to Intel. It was in that moment that I realized that I no longer wanted to follow the masses and take my own path of computing evolution. Fast forward a few years and I discovered your blog and the ability to run Linux on my old PPC machines. Its been nothing but uphill since. So thank you for doing what you do here. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a driver, I guess. Got a Computer Science degree doing a lot of initial programming on Linux machines in the computer lab and a dual boot Compaq Pentium 133 machine. I also had a Performa 460 as my main college machine and eventually a Power Mac 7200. And eventually a whole bunch of other Macs, including my favorite Powerbook G4 12" 1.5 Ghz, 2.3 DC Power Mac G5, and now a solid MacBook Pro. I'm actually typing on my gaming machine, a modded Optiplex 960.
ReplyDeleteI run a variety of OSes - Elementary OS beta on an old crappy netbook, Elementary OS and Windows XP in a VirtualBox setup on my MBP, Leopard on my G5 (still the best Mac OS), Leopard on my Mini G4, Yosemite on my MBP, Windows 7 on my Dell. I've fiddled with a lot of others too, though.
I'm in general though not a fan of Linux - I've just gotten tired of fixing things to make it work, dealing with anemic and poorly written software, and watching the developers fight about silly things (like systemd). Elementary OS is intriguing because of some of its efforts to make it more of a cohesive experience, but I can get so much more done on in Leopard or Yosemite.
However, the demise of Dropbox for PPC machines is going to challenge me to come up with some workarounds to keep my G5 really integrated. I've got some ideas on how to fix it.
You certainly don't sound like a driver; at least not now. It seems like you once were (at least in school) but decided that was too much fuss for you. Your very description of yourself shows that you devolved by choice.
DeleteI'd say that I've always been a driver. I am of the opinion that digging in and learning the ins and outs of any system that you're working on, as well as keeping the most up-to-date OS on them, is of utmost importance. My daily driver is a Powerbook G4/1.5ghz running Wheezy, and I'm constantly tinkering with the machine to make it a fast, optimized experience. I also have a Wallstreet Powerbook/300 mhz, also running Wheezy (using an Oldworld MintPPC disk that I put together and shared on their forum) and OS 9, that I use for experiments to this end, and transfer the knowledge gained to my G4. My G5/dual 2.0ghz runs Leopard, but has to due to the music/recording hardware and software I use, but has also run Debian at one point (and will again someday). I'm currently learning the ins and outs of the linux kernel, and wish to configure and compile my own to attempt to alleviate the CPU spikes I experience with the G4. I may put up my own blog someday, time permitting, outlining these experiments.
ReplyDeleteI'm also returning to college to get my computer and electrical engineering degree in my middle age. I'll be 50 by the time I'm finished, but better late than never :)
A wise person never stops learning, and you sure haven't. Good on you!
DeleteI'm not far behind you, being in my mid-40's. I started computing late though, because it wasn't until I was 18 (in 1986) that I started taking them seriously and using them daily.
Using PowerPC hardware a decade or more after its manufacture date is a great way to naturally understand hardware better. It forces you to look at the effect every task you run has on your hardware and performance, then to weed out the stragglers.
ReplyDeleteUser-efficiency = skill development, and that's what you're doing. Keep it up.
I vacillate between being a driver and passenger. I can only sort-of read Python and can't write anything useful with it, so my technical skills are limited. However, I've written the odd bash script and edited some applescripts, and I've used multiple package managers, so that points in the driver direction. However, after editing all the configuration files and googling and googling and more googling, I've lately come to appreciate a great GUI with really simple solutions. Sometimes I don't want to think. I just wanna point and click.
ReplyDeleteI plan on looking more into compiling source code. I always envied people who compiled some open source program to work on Tiger or Leopard, so hopefully I'll find the time to give it a shot myself. I also think it's great, and a little surprising, that the number of PowerPC blogs continues to grow. A lot of marriages don't last this long.
You certainly don't need to know code or software development to be a driver. You know Debian far too well to be a passenger. In fact, I would even say that anyone with just half your Linux ability is a full on driver.
DeleteI appreciate your humility, but you're a driver in my book.
Everything I learned about configuring Debian (with a few exceptions), I learned from Dan.
DeleteHe's definitely a driver...
Am I a driver or a passenger? Hmm... Actually, I'm a Special Education teacher who has been working in Mac, Windows, and Linux environments since about 1989. Sometimes I have been a happy passenger just content to go along for the ride. But ultimately, to continue to metaphor, I get thrown under to bus by the major players, Apple and Microsoft, when they stop supporting my older machines. Linux has been a great alternative, but even Debian dropped support for Sarge on my trusty old PowerBook 1400. Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of your current or past habits; you get the importance of true user control over ones own hardware.
DeleteMaybe one day we can work together and shoehorn Debian onto that 1400.
I am now a driver in a constant state of learning.
ReplyDeleteI had always tinkered with Windows based PCs since a very young age. Then as I grew up I began to build them and eventually support them professionally.
I was finally exposed to the world outside of Microsoft in 2007, when I got my first PowerPC mac, an iMac G4. I rapidly gravitated towards OS X personally.
I do still use modern supported versions of both Windows and OS X so that I may support people from experience instead of conjecture. My personal computers run a mixture of Debian, OS X, and Windows. I have grown increasingly disenfranchised with OS X and Windows. Intel Macs are turning into non-upgradeable iToys by the quarter and Windows is well... Windows. If I wasn't disenfranchised with both platforms before, I certainly was after the Snowden revelations. This has shown me the benefit of free (as in respects your freedom) and open source software.
My Linux experience was limited to (U)(K)(X)(L)buntu on various x86 machines up until a year or so ago. Apple's abandonment of PowerPC macs and the writings of Zen and Dan are what got me on the Debian path.
I see many passengers in my line of work and enjoy helping them be better passengers. I believe passengers still have a responsibility to practice safe online habits and run a supported, up to date operating system.
I absolutely feel like I have more control over my computing than I have ever had in my life.
One of the best and most balanced user evolution stories yet. I still use Mac OS PowerPC daily, but rarely for internet activity. I only visit this and the other authors blogs on Leopard these days.
DeleteI have to admit to being a passenger for some time. For too long, I happily used more and more of what Apple dished out only to end up feeling like my Mac owned me, more than I owned it (little did I know how deep this particular rabbit hole really went). I have my beloved eMac to thank for moving me toward the driver seat. When I replaced it my eMac with a MacBook, a thought occurred to me: "You know, this bulbous creature still has more processing power, by about a million times, than what took the astronauts to the Moon. Do you really believe it is trash? Useless? Scrap metal/plastic? Just another piece of disposable 21st Century America?" "No!" I said to myself, "Who says?!" And I plopped the old girl on my basement workbench for an as yet undetermined future.
ReplyDeleteIf my eMac story was the first light of dawn, reading Glenn Greenwald's book on the Edward Snowden story was the loud 6 AM alarm: I realized that I have to exert some measure of control over my computing life, especially anything done online, because the corporate entities we are forced to deal with have surrendered control. I realized that I didn't control what I used, how I used it or what it was doing when I wasn't looking. I wanted that control.
The search for control drove me to look for alternatives to Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and WindowsPhone. I wanted an operating system that didn't come with built in back doors. I wanted the ideas, talents and quirks of many, rather than the monolith. I wanted music playing software that wasn't part of an ecosystem meant to sell me more stuff. I wanted to use the cloud for storage, sharing, calendars, without relying on Google, iCloud, or OneDrive. I wanted to be able to use the hardware I chose, instead of what one or the other corporate entity deemed worthy of continued attention. I wanted to keep my eMac alive and well, as a fat, plastic, heavier-than-all-get-out poke in the eye. So, what did I do next?
- I found Dan the Luddite and saw in Linux a long and productive future for my eMac. I bought an insanely cheap iBook G4 on eBay as a test machine and embarked on my first Linux install. Long story short: my eMac now dual boots Mac OS X and Linux. Linux for anything online, Clementine for music, experimentation with Python, and more. OS X for photos, movies, Classic Mode (I still play Civ II - sorry, some habits die hard) and as a "bridge machine" for my stable of old Powerbooks (a 5300ce and two 1400s).
-I bought a Raspberry Pi and learned how to put this remarkable little device to two uses. 1) Using an old Logitech webcam and the Motion software program, it serves as a home remote webcam to keep an eye the kids outside, my birdfeeder, or any room I need to keep an eye on from somewhere else in the house. 2) I learned how to use SSH, format and mount an external hard drive, setup both Samba and AFP networking, and Voila, I had a poor man's NAS that was accessible from every computer in the house from my Toshiba laptop to my old Powerbook 5300ce to my eMac to my family's MacBook. Very useful for storing the ridiculous number of software downloads for the Classic Mac OS that have been sitting on CDs, ZIP disks and (gulp!) floppies for years. I still think it's kinda cool that my son can use a Powerbook 1400 to write a school essay distraction-free, and print it to a PDF on the shared drive for me to review or print for him later.
-Lastly, I bought a domain and web hosting account to setup my own Owncloud site - cloud services without Google, iCloud, Yahoo, Microsoft or anybody else.
Does all this make me a driver? Eh, I'm not sure, since to do all of the above I used a lot of resources others already created - followed directions, improvised where necessary and got very familiar with forums. What I am is someone who is willing to get his hands dirty building a solution that works for a problem I need to solve.