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This is very true and sadly missing in this era of getting things that "just work". I must have lost several dozen hours trying to get audio working on an ancie
by noufalibrahim 2y ago
This is very true and sadly missing in this era of getting things that "just work". I must have lost several dozen hours trying to get audio working on an ancient RH Linux installation in the late 90s but all the stuff I did set me up for troubleshooting and working things out in a way that no "just works" setup could ever have.
I think it's very useful to work with barely working outdated systems early in ones education. They can teach you a lot which and the knowledge will compound very quickly.
- ironmanszombie 2y agoIsn't that some form of "accidental learning"? All you wanted was to get the audio working not to pick up troubleshooting. Maybe you're meant to be a musician and perhaps we all missed out on the next Mozart / Kanye. IMHO, if one wanted to know how computers work, they should take them apart and build them back up, modifying them here and there. Just my 2 cents.
- noufalibrahim 2y agoI suppose that's one way to look at it. The audio was just an example. I meant to say that it was hard to get things going. One had to put in some effort and usually enjoyed the reward which was definitely a step in the right direction as far as learning is concerned.
- gosub100 2y agoIn college I was interested in DEC alpha, which at the time was one of the only 64bit computers. It had an onboard NIC but wasn't compatible with Red hat Linux, but the 3com add on card was. It annoyed me that it didn't work perfectly and I eventually learned how to build and install the kernel driver for the onboard. It was my first experience in rpm hell. But it was so satisfying when it worked.
- noufalibrahim 2y agoExactly. The crackle from a speaker after a week or building and rebuilding all the necessary parts to make it work was music to my ears.