All Linux Adventurers, but most especially new ones, will find it beneficial in the extreme to keep notes of their adventures as they progress in GNU/Linux Land.
My Linux Notebook is a simple bound composition book that you can buy in any grocery or general merchandise store. It looks like this…
… and costs a buck or so. If I had known then what I know now, I would have chosen a loose leaf version. I have many additions to my current notebook. I just slide in loose leaf pages within this existing composition notebook. A loose leaf binder would have been neater.
I divided up my notebook with stick on tabs. They divide the notebook into “General Linux” and “<insert name here>” distributions. I have a tab for each distribution that I’ve ever installed on any of my systems.
From the very start of the particular Linux adventure, the downloading/burning of the CD/DVD, I am taking notes. I write down the source of the download, the date of the CD/DVD creation, the method and means of partitioning, etc. After that, I take notes on everything that I do to setup and customize the operating system.
As I continue to use and learn more about the particular distro, I maintain my notes for that distribution. Not only is it helpful in learning the particular ins and outs of a distribution, but it’s very handy to have these notes when helping others or when reinstalling months later.
In the General Linux area, I keep all my notes about BASH, general scripting, init script tricks, tweaks for hardware, tweaks for GUI interfaces, etc. Basically, anything that is useful across Linux platforms gets jotted down in this area.
I cannot tell you the number of times in the past 3+ years that having these notes has saved my rear end. If my house caught on fire, I’d grab four things…my three cats and my Linux notebook!
Best of luck with your Linux Adventure!
Until next time…
~V. T. Eric Layton
***Tempus Fugits***
