When I was at the New York Code + Design Academy (NYCDA) in 2018, I was one of 5 students who used Windows 10. The problem with that was the teachers and TA wasn't always hipped to how stuff works in PC. A few students told me I should get a mac computer. The problem with THAT is Macs are over a thousand dollars and I couldn't afford one at the moment. I also would tell them to get me a Mac if you think I should have one so badly. Nobody obliged.
When we got to Ruby On Rails, I realized I was in trouble. A lot of Rails isn't fully supported on Windows and I was running into a lot of unique problems that the teacher and TA can't solve.
One afternoon, I finally broke and after some encouragement, I decided to dual boot Ubuntu into my windows machine.
Why Dual Boot?
The question I keep getting is:
Why dual boot? Windows sucks, just wipe it clean.
I hate to inform you but for me, this isn't something I want. I left Windows on there for troubleshooting proposes and also so I can keep my files in since I was still in the boot camp. I also am a designer and unfortunately, there aren't any good designer products for Linux. In the future, I do want to purchase a separate machine and wipe it clean and have it all be Ubuntu.
How did I dual boot?
A TA from the main campus of NYCDA sent me this video.
I played it on my phone and followed the steps to dual boot. It took me about 2 hours to do it but it was worth it. I by no means think this is the best video. It helped me as a beginner.
I Love it!
I have moved most of my programming to Ubuntu. I feel more comfortable using the terminal and learning new languages on Ubuntu. At times, I am on Ubuntu more than Windows. I have been finding out there are a lot of apps I can use that is open source and free. I only go back over to Windows if I really must use my Adobe products or play The Sims.
I like that I can update in the terminal. It feels cooler than how Windows does it. How Windows handles updates is time-consuming when stuff gets updated and the less said about which release doesn't wipe your files the better (this didn't happen to be but I remember what a mess that was.)
Issues with Ubuntu
Aside from the aforementioned design software problem, there is one major problem I have been having since I had it on my machine. It would lock up unexpectantly. Not freeze, lock up. The cursor would freeze and all functionality of the machine would stop working. I can't even access the keyboard. I cannot find a solution to this problem online so I do a force restart (hold down the power button to restart it.) I know that isn't good for the machine but at this point, I learn to accept it as an ongoing issue. If anybody has experienced this and know how to solve it, let me know in the comments.
I also have been having weird issues with updating Ruby which I only noticed today. I didn't realize there was an update and when I went to update it, it still stayed with the previous version. As you probably guessed, I don't use Ruby on Rails since finishing at NYCDA. This minor issue is keeping me on my toes since I find that I love troubleshooting problems. If you want to help me troubleshoot this problem, post in the comments below.
In Conclusion
I love Ubuntu, aside from the issues I have been having. It's making me a better programmer and if it weren't for the people at the now-defunct NYCDA, I probably would never have gotten a chance to use it.
Latest comments (6)
Same here. I've installed Linux Mint Cinnamon several months ago, and I can't be more satisfied with my decision.
Right now, I only use Windows when I need to use Windows only software (my machine isn't powerfull enought to run virtual machines properly).
I find Linux Mint easy to use, powerfull for software developing, and I've noticed that the battery management is also better than Windows 10, so, for me, the future is to have a Linux Only machine.
I was also considering another Linux OS. There are so many. It may be down to Red Hat and Fedora. I am going to check out Mint Cinnamon.
Secondhand Macs are still out of my pricing range unfortunately.:( I have to wait to get a job that makes a lot of money to afford any kind of Mac.
I have heard of the NVIDIA issue and am going to see if my PC even has NVIDIA. If not, I now see what the problem is.
I retract my statement about secondhand Macs being out of my price range. I was able to find a few websites that has them within my price range. :)
Better Programmer: Yes, Better Designer: No.
I agree with this so much!