Chapter 5 — The path

5.1 You are OK, the computer is OK, the programs are not always OK

People often see the computer in a mechanistic way, as a perfect machine in which every input must produce a fixed output. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

The computer gets its own behaviour from the programs running on it. Programs are written by humans, who may not have foreseen every situation in which they will operate. Even the interaction between several programs can produce conflicts that no programmer could have predicted.

Quality informatics admits its own imperfection and does not make others pay for its mistakes.

When you sit in front of a computer, insist on knowing the terms of the licences you use and the kind of support the supplier guarantees.

If you are asked to pay for a product whose proper functioning is not guaranteed, know that there is often a free and open alternative that does the same job, backed by a community of users who help each other and improve it.

The economic model behind free software can be summed up as free program, paid support.

Consulting firms, large and small, sell these services to those who ask for them.

If you buy a GNU/Linux distribution from a commercial company, you will usually be entitled to assistance during installation and in the first days of use.

5.2 Analysing your computing needs

Many people start out wanting to browse the Internet, read email and write a few letters. Then they fill the machine with programs and utilities that do a thousand other things, not all of them well documented, with multimedia CDs given away by magazines, assorted games, and whatever a friend recommended. There is nothing wrong with this, as long as you know the risk. On many common operating systems, programs can replace parts of the system that other programs also use, creating conflicts that can only be fixed by reinstalling the operating system.

Someone new to computing should first study the operating system (the basic set of programs that run the computer), and then concentrate on one program at a time. Decide what level of knowledge you want for each application, and move to the next program only once that level is reached.

Back up your data regularly, and always before a new installation, since an installation can break the system if it modifies files you do not fully understand.

Keep a notebook and record your progress. This will also show you which questions your documentation does not answer, and when it is time to find a teacher.

5.3 Finding a teacher

Feeling lost in front of a monitor happens even to very skilled people. When you take your first steps in a new discipline, you need someone to give you good advice.

Many people have a friend known as the computer wizard, whom they call whenever a problem appears or a setting breaks.

Turn that friend into a teacher. Do not be ashamed to ask them to show you the steps behind their work. If they are generous, they will be glad to show you how to solve a common problem.

Do not take up your living guide’s time with problems you can solve yourself, with some effort and with other kinds of guides.

Even patient people will eventually stop helping if your attitude is wrong (the kind that says everything now, please!).

If you have no friends who enjoy computers, search online for the nearest Linux User Group (LUG). LUGs are groups of GNU/Linux users, enthusiastic enough to help anyone who wants to learn this alternative to commercial operating systems, free of charge. LUGs often organise install fests, where new users learn to install GNU/Linux alongside the operating system the machine came with.

Each LUG also runs a free mailing list, where subscribers can ask questions that experienced members will answer.

5.4 Techniques for finding information on the Internet

The Internet is the most complete resource for solving almost any computing problem.

The first place to look is the newsgroups (discussion groups). Reading their archive, you will probably find people who had the same difficulty as you, and others who pointed them to a solution.

Search engines have made it easy to explore newsgroups, and their conversational style makes beginners feel at home.

Before posting in a group, read some of its messages, and ask focused questions that fit the group’s topics.

Other sources are the documentation projects: sites that collect free documentation on how to do almost anything with a computer, and manuals written by users for other users.

5.5 Effort and study

Once you have found the information, it is time to study.

Every web page you read, every newsgroup post and every manual widens your mental map.

Do not scatter your energy. People often follow too many projects at once and get lost in the data they have collected.

Keep a checklist of the concepts you want to study in depth, and tick a topic off only when you are sure you have mastered it. Chapter 7 contains the checklist the author recommends to his friends, which takes inspiration from the study programme of the European Computer Driving Licence.

Do not be discouraged by the number of new terms. Behind every acronym there is a logical concept that is easy to grasp, if you want to learn it. To find the meaning, a search engine is often enough. The glossary covers the most common terms.

Do not try to understand material far above your current level.

Many articles are not written for beginners, so it is best to avoid them in the first stages. A practical rule: if you understand less than about a third of the terms in an article, set it aside, come back in a few months, or ask the meaning of the terms you do not know in a beginners’ newsgroup.

Take notes, and make an index of the topics you already know and of those you want to learn.

If you feel you have no time for these activities, remember the friends who want everything now, please!. A few minutes of planning usually save a lot of confusion in front of unfamiliar screens.

The author closes with a traditional Arab proverb: everything is difficult before it becomes simple.