Another newbie and convert

[lonewolf]

I guess I'd best at least present something on this board. LOL!

I've just recently completed installing Sparky XFCE on one of my laptops. I haven't done a lot on it because I had a slight hiccup in getting my forum registration approved. Seems the firewall locked me out, but the problem is all resolved, and very quickly I might add, so I can now start using that laptop. I wanted to be sure I had a place to direct questions or problems I run into before I started doing much on that laptop with Sparky.

As for me, I'm an old fart. I spent 30+ years working in the computing industry. I started in 1976, while in the US Army. That was back in the days of mainframe computers. I eventually got armpit deep in Windows and got all the fancy certifications. Those really didn't do a whole lot for me, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time. Unfortunately, by the time I figured out that Windows is NOT the way to go, I was too burnt out to get deep into the workings of Linux. I only learned enough to get it installed and running. Beyond that, I just didn't get into it and still don't.

I started running nothing but Linux on my PCs about 2000 or 20001. I can't recall exactly when. Since that time, my own PCs have had nothing but Linux on them. I converted the wife about 15 years ago, give or take. She was a bookkeeper and had to use a Windows PC at work. She'd come home all bent out of shape because she had to reboot the thing 5 or 6 times a day and on most of those occasions she lost a certain amount of the work she had completed. It wasn't long before she was telling her friends about Linux and how much quicker and more stable Linux was. She is now retired and one of the things she says she is happy about is that she never has problems with her Linux laptop. She says she sure doesn't miss that Windows PC.

So, we're a 100% Linux family now. I did a bunch of distro hopping and shopping the past few weeks. The distro I had been running for a few years is suddenly giving me nothing but problems. I wanted a distro prepackaged with XFCE. Yes, I know it can be installed on any distro, but it's so much cleaner if it is a prepackaged deal. There are also specific forums or boards for distros that are prepackaged with a specific DM. That makes for a really great place to pose questions. I also was looking for a distro that doesn't eat a huge amount of system resources, then NOT release those resources when all the apps have been closed. Sparky seems to be what I have been looking for.

I expect to have a few questions as I start using Sparky as my daily driver. There is just no way I'll know how to everything I want to do. So, all you gurus get ready. LOL!

[shortarcflyer]

Welcome to the forum!