feisty fawns in your backyard

Dell computers now come pre-loaded with Ubuntu (Linux). Even if you're not on the bleeding edge of the tech industry, there are indications that Linux is creeping farther into the mainstream. It isn't just weirdos like my brother who run Linux systems these days.

Corey is a strong promoter for Ubuntu, so he's happy about it. In fact, Canonical is sending him to Spain for a conference next week. (Yes, I'm jealous.) But it's interesting to be close to someone so passionate about open source technology. I'm learning things—and finding interests—that I never knew were accessible to non-techs like myself. I'm not going to be playing around with source code any time soon ever, but that doesn't mean it isn't something I can support. I've chipped in on a couple of the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletters, editing and smoothing out bumpy grammar. It isn't much, but I find that the sheer passion behind open-source is a hard thing to ignore. People put forth professional-quality work… for free. It boggles my inner cynic, but they do it out of love for the concept.

Think that Linux is nerdy stuff that has absolutely no bearing on your existence? Try using the multiple desktops that come with something like Ubuntu, then go back to using Windows. It feels kind of cramped. Switching to Ubuntu after years of Windows is a bit like putting on a running shoe when you're used to wearing hiking boots; it feels really weird for a few days, but once you're adjusted, you can appreciate its virtues. Running shoes and hiking boots are both comfortable, but they have different strengths. Linux systems aren't much for video games, but they're pretty spiffy for usability.

Linux also opens new subcultures. Before I started dating Corey, I put a passing reference to using Linux systems at work on a dating site profile. The queries came pouring in, titled things like, "linux?" or asking about my workplace. I'd tapped a new vein of nerd-subculture in the mining expedition of my geekiness.

More importantly, Linux opens up work experience and career opportunities. Corey could probably turn his high-level volunteer work into a real job in the industry, if he were willing to live in another country. All I seem to be able to get out of it is a broader dating pool. But maybe, someday, using my editing skills to contribute (albeit in a tiny way) to the Ubuntu community might make a difference in my career.

Alas, no trip to Spain for me. And I worry about being "just a girlfriend" almost as much as I worry about crashing in too much on Corey's hobbies. It seems to be the catch-22 of being the rare female in male-dominated fields; you get so used to people questioning your reasons for being there that you end up questioning yourself just as much.