Why I love Linux so freaking much:
...because when it breaks, it breaks nicely.
The other day I had a bad idea: Kubuntu has released an unsupported quasi-update to include components of KDE 4, and I thought maybe I'd try to install it.
At this point, I have to confess, a little man inside my head was jumping up and down and screaming "No! Don't! Don't do it!"
Long story short, I broke my computer again. For twelve hours. Eight of which were actually spent sleeping, and don't count.
The key thing was a decision I made the last time I broke my computer: I formatted my hard drive to contain separate partitions for Kubuntu and for my home folders. Which meant that when I re-installed Kubuntu this morning, every single one of my preferences was already in place except for two fonts I had to re-install. My desktop wallpapers, my toolbar panels, everything.
Okay, it wasn't quite that simple: I'm having to reinstall The GIMP and one or two other little applets). But it's pretty damn close to that simple. And some of those little things I'm having to reinstall through Adept--e.g. Firefox--are coming back with all their settings intact because those settings were in the safe partition. There was a little bit of twitchiness with getting the nVidia drivers back--just like always, but we're locked and loaded and ready to go now.
Anyway, I'm happy: I broke my computer, and I fixed it, and it was so easy I could do it for fun if I wanted. (I don't. Just so we're clear on that.) A toast to the geniuses around the world who are responsible for this operating system!
The other day I had a bad idea: Kubuntu has released an unsupported quasi-update to include components of KDE 4, and I thought maybe I'd try to install it.
At this point, I have to confess, a little man inside my head was jumping up and down and screaming "No! Don't! Don't do it!"
Long story short, I broke my computer again. For twelve hours. Eight of which were actually spent sleeping, and don't count.
The key thing was a decision I made the last time I broke my computer: I formatted my hard drive to contain separate partitions for Kubuntu and for my home folders. Which meant that when I re-installed Kubuntu this morning, every single one of my preferences was already in place except for two fonts I had to re-install. My desktop wallpapers, my toolbar panels, everything.
Okay, it wasn't quite that simple: I'm having to reinstall The GIMP and one or two other little applets). But it's pretty damn close to that simple. And some of those little things I'm having to reinstall through Adept--e.g. Firefox--are coming back with all their settings intact because those settings were in the safe partition. There was a little bit of twitchiness with getting the nVidia drivers back--just like always, but we're locked and loaded and ready to go now.
Anyway, I'm happy: I broke my computer, and I fixed it, and it was so easy I could do it for fun if I wanted. (I don't. Just so we're clear on that.) A toast to the geniuses around the world who are responsible for this operating system!
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