WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.520 Think about the devices you interact with every single day, 2 00:00:03.560 --> 00:00:07.160 right your Android phone, that smartwatch on your wrist, or 3 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:09.400 like the Wi Fi router sitting quietly in the corner 4 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:12.080 of your living room, or even the servers hosting the 5 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:15.039 website you literally just visited. What if I told you 6 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:17.920 that the invisible engine powering almost all of them is 7 00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:19.039 the exact same thing. 8 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:20.960 Yeah, it's kind of mind blowing when you really look 9 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:21.760 at the scale of it. 10 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:25.239 It really is, and even wilder. Between like one third 11 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:28.280 and two thirds of all websites on the entire Internet, 12 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:32.119 plus the absolute fastest supercomputers on the planet. They all 13 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:34.640 run on an operating system that started out as a 14 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:38.600 hobby project, right, just one guy, Yeah, just Linus Torvalds 15 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:42.600 coding in his bedroom in Finland in what nineteen ninety. 16 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:46.240 One, nineteen ninety one exactly. It is an incredible origin story. 17 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:50.320 I mean, going from a single student's hobby to literally 18 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:53.880 the foundational infrastructure of the modern digital world. Right, and 19 00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:57.719 the system, of course is Linux. Understanding why it works 20 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:00.600 and you know why it's everywhere is just essential for 21 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:03.479 anyone navigating today's technology landscape. 22 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:08.640 Absolutely so welcome to this custom tailored deep dive into 23 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:13.040 Linux for beginners, whether you are, you know, prepping for 24 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:16.480 a high stakes IT meeting, or maybe looking to revive 25 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:19.040 that dusty old laptop in your closet, or you're just 26 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:22.200 wildly curious about the invisible engine of the Internet. Our 27 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:25.840 mission today is to demystify this operating system. This is 28 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:29.680 your shortcut to being well informed. So, okay, let's unpack 29 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:32.959 this because the sheer footprint of Linux is massive, but 30 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:35.040 for a lot of people listening, an operating system is 31 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:38.599 really just the screen you click on to open a web. 32 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:39.879 Browser, right, yeah, the visual part. 33 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.120 Yeah, So what actually makes Linux fundamentally different from the 34 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:44.799 commercial software we're also used to? 35 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:48.239 Well, to really grasp that, we need to take one 36 00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:50.280 step back and look at what an operating system is 37 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:52.879 actually doing under the hood. Okay, at its core, and 38 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:55.120 OS is the bridge between your physical. 39 00:01:54.799 --> 00:01:56.799 Hardware, the CPU and memory. 40 00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:00.799 Exactly, your CPU, your memory, the hard drive, bridging that 41 00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:03.560 with the software applications you want to run. Because without it, 42 00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:06.400 every single app you use would have to be written 43 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.800 with like thousands of lines of custom code just to 44 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:12.120 know how to save a text file to your specific 45 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:13.000 brand of hard drive. 46 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:15.599 Oh wow, So the OS handles all of that heavy lifting, 47 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:16.960 so the apps don't have to worry about it. 48 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:21.360 Yeah, precisely. Now, historically the gold standard for heavy duty 49 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:25.960 enterprise computing was an OS called Unix. But U and 50 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:30.520 is was and still is completely proprietary, and it is 51 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:31.919 incredibly expensive. 52 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:34.439 Right. I read that top tier U ANDIX servers can 53 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:38.120 literally cost upwards of five hundred thousand dollars, which is 54 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:40.400 just insane. It was assive, and that usually comes with 55 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:43.759 mandatory vendor support contracts too, right, so it's essentially a 56 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:45.800 walled garden for massive corporations. 57 00:02:46.039 --> 00:02:48.719 Yeah, it was a huge corporate expense lockdown by vendors. 58 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:51.479 But Linux was built with a completely different philosophy. It 59 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:54.919 was designed to be a free, open source alternative. So 60 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:57.759 instead of the core architecture being locked behind a corporate vault, 61 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:01.039 its source code is open for absolutely anyone to see, 62 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:01.840 modify and. 63 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:07.159 Improve, meaning you have thousands of developers globally updating it constantly, exactly. 64 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:11.319 But the real secret to its legendary stability, I mean 65 00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:15.120 the reasonable limit server can run for years, sometimes decades, 66 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:16.919 without ever needing to be rebooted. 67 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:18.360 Yeah, kid's without a reboot? 68 00:03:18.439 --> 00:03:21.159 Wow, Yeah, it happens It comes down to its brilliant 69 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:26.319 systems architecture, specifically how it completely separates what is called 70 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:28.599 kernel space from user space. 71 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:30.319 Okay, wait, I want to make sure I'm getting the 72 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:33.240 mechanics of this right. So the kernel is the absolute 73 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:36.840 core of the OS. It manages the CPU, the memory, 74 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:39.919 and what's called the process scheduler. But user space is 75 00:03:39.960 --> 00:03:41.599 where our everyday apps run. 76 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:42.240 Correct. 77 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:45.560 Wait, so is the kernel basically like a VIP bouncer 78 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:48.280 at a club and the apps are the guests in 79 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:50.960 user space partying having a good time. But if one 80 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:53.960 gets completely out of hand, the bouncer ensures they are 81 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:56.000 isolated so they don't destroy the entire building. 82 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:57.639 That is a great way to look at it. It 83 00:03:57.719 --> 00:04:00.560 acts like a bouncer, yes, but even better, imagine that 84 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:04.520 bouncer puts every single guest in their own soundproof VIP room. 85 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:05.560 Oh interesting right. 86 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:09.280 The kernel achieves this through a mechanism called memory mapping. 87 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:13.039 It tricks every single application into thinking it is the 88 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:15.039 only app running on the entire computer. 89 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:17.199 Okay, So if someone in one of those VIP rooms 90 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:20.519 starts breaking things, say your web browser. 91 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:23.519 Crashes, nobody else in the club even notices the crash. 92 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:27.279 Happens in total isolation. That makes so much sense, because 93 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:30.920 in a poorly designed operating system, a crashing application can 94 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:34.519 accidentally overwrite critical system memory and bring the whole machine 95 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:36.839 crashing down. You know, you get a blue screen of death, 96 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:39.920 that total free You've all been there, right, But in Linux, 97 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:44.160 the kernel remains completely untouched, keeping the system rock solid. 98 00:04:44.759 --> 00:04:47.199 And what's fascinating here is how the kernel manages all 99 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:50.519 these isolated guests using that process scheduler you. 100 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:53.560 Mentioned, because it acts as the ultimate manager, right exactly. 101 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:57.639 The process scheduler is obsessed with absolute fairness. Since the 102 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.680 CPU is the single most valuable resource in your computer. 103 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:05.240 The scheduler is constantly pausing and restarting processes in fractions 104 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:06.519 of a millisecond. 105 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:09.000 So no single app can hog the entire system. 106 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:13.839 Precisely, it assigns very specific states to every process. An 107 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:17.160 app might be running, or it might be waiting because 108 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:19.120 it needs to fetch data from the hard drive. It 109 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:22.439 could be stopped. And then there's the zombie process. 110 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:25.600 Okay, I have to admit seeing the term zombie process 111 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:29.279 in computer science is amazing. It sounds like something straight 112 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:30.240 out of a horror movie. 113 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:33.560 It's a highly accurate name. Actually, a zombie process is 114 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:37.879 essentially a dormant process. The application is finished excating its code, 115 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:40.439 it's done its job, but it still has a data 116 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:42.720 structure hanging around in the system's. 117 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.800 Memory, so it's dead. But the system hasn't fully cleaned 118 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:46.759 up its remains yet. 119 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:50.040 Yeah, exactly. And the kernel is constantly managing these states 120 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:53.160 in the background, sweeping away the zombies, keeping the CPU 121 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:56.120 perfectly balanced, which is how it keeps everything running so 122 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:58.199 efficiently without you ever noticing. 123 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:02.079 It's just wild to realize that this incredibly secure, perfectly 124 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:05.079 balanced foundation is just out there for the taking, which 125 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:07.920 brings up a really practical question for you listening. If 126 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:10.439 it's completely free, how do you actually get it? Yeah, 127 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:12.800 because you don't just go to a big box tech 128 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:15.720 store and buy a shrink wrapped box that says Linux. 129 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:19.279 That leads us into this entirely unique world of what 130 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:20.879 are called distributions. 131 00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:23.480 Yeah, and this is where beginners often get tripped up, 132 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:27.040 because Linux isn't just one single product you download. Technically speaking, 133 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:31.240 Linux is just the kernel that VIP bouncer we talked about. 134 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:35.079 Oh right, But a bouncer in an empty concrete building 135 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:37.399 isn't very useful to a regular person. 136 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:40.399 No, you need the music, the drains, the lights exactly. 137 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:43.959 Yeah. In computer terms, you need a desktop environment, file managers, 138 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:48.160 web browsers, visual installation tools. When developers package the raw 139 00:06:48.279 --> 00:06:51.560 Linux kernel together with all that software to make a complete, 140 00:06:52.279 --> 00:06:55.759 usable system, it is called the Linux distribution or a distro. 141 00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:58.600 And I was looking into how many of these distributions exist, 142 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:01.759 and the number absolutely blew my mind. There are over 143 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:05.399 three hundred actively maintained distros out there right now. 144 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:06.279 It's a lot to take in. 145 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:10.439 It really is. And they generally split into community distributions, 146 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:13.920 which are free and maintained by volunteers, and enterprise distributions, 147 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:18.079 which companies pay for to get official support. But for beginners, 148 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:21.720 the consensus seems to highly recommend something like a Boontu, 149 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:24.600 which is backed by a company called Canonical and is 150 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:29.560 highly polished. Or even better, Linux Mint Mint is great. Yeah. 151 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:32.120 Mint is actually built on top of a Berncho's foundation, 152 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:36.160 but it's specifically designed to feel incredibly similar to Windows 153 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:40.240 using traditional desktop environments called Cinnamon and mate E. 154 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:43.439 Those are excellent starting points for anyone making the jump. 155 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:45.800 They really hold your hand through the setup and all 156 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:48.120 the hardware drivers usually work right out of the box, 157 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:51.600 But then on the exact opposite end of the spectrum, 158 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:56.199 you have specialized distros for absolute experts. Take Arch Linux 159 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:58.879 for example, Oh boy, yeah, it is designed for hardcore 160 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:01.879 users who literally want to build their operating system piece 161 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:04.879 by piece from the ground up, choosing exactly which audio 162 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:06.639 server or networking tool they want. 163 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:07.639 That sounds intense. 164 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:11.560 Or Slackwaar, which is the oldest surviving distro, dating all 165 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:14.319 the way back to nineteen ninety three. It has almost 166 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:17.879 no visual setup whatsoever. It relies entirely on text files 167 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.000 and command line scripts to get running. 168 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:22.360 Okay, I have to play the skeptic here for you listening, 169 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:25.160 because if I am just a regular user trying to 170 00:08:25.160 --> 00:08:28.439 get my work done, having three hundred different options sounds 171 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:30.639 like an absolute nightmare of information overload. 172 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:31.160 Oh totally. 173 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:35.279 Why doesn't the Linux community just pool all of their 174 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:40.679 brilliant collective resources into one massive super version to just 175 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:42.960 completely crush Windows and macops. 176 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:46.480 That is a very common reaction, But if we connect 177 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:50.720 this to the bigger picture, that fragmentation is actually Linux's 178 00:08:50.759 --> 00:08:54.159 greatest superpower. Really, how so think about it this way. 179 00:08:54.440 --> 00:08:58.159 An enterprise distro like red hat or seoc is driven 180 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:01.840 entirely by what massive corporate clients need for their server farms, 181 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:05.919 maximum security, long term stability. But community distros are driven 182 00:09:05.960 --> 00:09:09.039 by what individual developers and users are passionate about. Ah, 183 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:12.240 Because there isn't just one monolithic version, a user can 184 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:15.480 find a distro perfectly tailored to their exact needs. You 185 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:18.960 can install a visually stunning heavy desktop distro on your 186 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:22.679 brand new gaming rig or you can install a tiny, 187 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.559 stripped down embedded OS on a fifteen year old laptop 188 00:09:25.639 --> 00:09:28.200 and make it run like it's brand new. You simply 189 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:31.000 cannot do that if you only have a one size 190 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.720 fits all product designed by a single corporation. 191 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:37.440 Okay, that makes perfect sense. It's about ultimate choice and flexibility. 192 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:40.720 So let's say you are listening to this and you've 193 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:43.559 picked your ideal flavor, let's say Linux Mint, because you 194 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.879 like that familiar Windows feel. How do you actually try 195 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:50.159 it out? Because the idea of wiping your current Mac 196 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:53.399 or Windows machine, formatting the hard drive, and risking all 197 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:55.879 your photos and documents just to test a new OS 198 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:57.080 is terrifying. 199 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:00.399 Oh completely, and it is completely unnecessary to take that risk. 200 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:00.720 Good. 201 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.120 Yeah, the barrier to entry has never been lower. You 202 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:05.679 don't need a computer science degree to test drive Linux, 203 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:07.799 and you certainly don't need to risk your current setup. 204 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:12.960 There are two incredibly safe, risk free methods that isolate 205 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:15.919 the experiment from your daily files. The first is using 206 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:18.320 a virtual machine or VM. 207 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:22.120 Using software like Oracles Virtual Box. Right exactly, Here's where 208 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:26.000 it gets really interesting. So a virtual machine is essentially 209 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:30.960 an inception style computer within a computer. How does that 210 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:33.600 actually work without messing up my main computer? 211 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:35.879 Think of a virtual machine like renting out a small 212 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:40.039 apartment inside your existing house. Okay, you build fake digital walls. 213 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:43.879 You allocate a specific amount of electricity, which is your CPU, 214 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:46.919 and a specific amount of closet space, which is a 215 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.639 file on your hard drive. The tenant, which is the 216 00:10:49.720 --> 00:10:53.360 Linux operating system, has absolutely no idea it is inside 217 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:54.120 a bigger house. 218 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:56.200 It thinks it has its own physical hardware. 219 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:59.080 Right. It runs in a regular window on your Windows 220 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:01.519 or Mac desktop, just like your web browser or your 221 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:02.320 email client. 222 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:06.080 So it's completely cordened off. If my Linux VM accidentally 223 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:09.200 downloads a virus or I completely break the system trying 224 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:12.440 out some advanced settings, is my main host computer totally safe? 225 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:16.519 One safe the VM acts as a self contained compartment. 226 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:20.720 In fact, this isolation is exactly why professional software developers 227 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:25.159 rely on vms to safely test new, potentially unstable code. 228 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:26.039 Oh that makes sense. 229 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:28.200 Yeah, if the VM crashes or gets corrupted, you don't 230 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:31.080 call it. You just delete that single virtual hard drive 231 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:34.279 file and spin up a brand new, pristine Linux system 232 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:35.120 in minutes. 233 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:38.440 That is amazing. And the second method for testing it 234 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:42.440 is the live CD, or, more accurately, today, the live 235 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:43.519 USB method. 236 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:45.120 Right. USB's are the standard. Now. 237 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:47.320 Yeah, you can literally download the OS, put it on 238 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:49.840 a thumb drive, plug it in, and boot your computer 239 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:52.480 directly from the USB without it ever touching your internal 240 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:55.639 hard drive. The crucial detail here, though, is setting up 241 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:59.440 what's called persistent storage on that USB. Very important point 242 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:02.759 because if you don't allocate a few hundred megabytes for persistence, 243 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:05.799 any file you save or setting you change while testing 244 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:08.600 will just vanish the second you restart the computer. 245 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:11.879 Right that is a vital tip. Yea, Without persistent storage, 246 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:15.279 a live USB acts like a blank slate every single 247 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:18.480 time you turn it on. And it's worth mentioning that 248 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:21.080 even Mac users can get in on this hardware revival. 249 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:22.759 Oh really, even with older Max. 250 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:25.720 Oh. Absolutely. If you have an older Mac that Apple 251 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:28.799 has deemed obsolete and no longer supports with security updates, 252 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:29.759 you don't have to throw it away. 253 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:30.559 That's great. 254 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:33.320 You can use a boot manager tool called r find. 255 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:36.159 Think of a boot manager as a traffic cop that 256 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:39.159 appears the moment you turn on your computer asking if 257 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:41.080 you want to take the road to mac OS or 258 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:43.840 the road to Linux. You can actually dual boot both 259 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.559 on the same machine. Wow. Just be sure to use 260 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:48.840 a tool like carbon Copy cloner to back up your 261 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:51.759 mac OS recovery partition first, just in case you ever 262 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:53.519 want to revert the whole process. 263 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:58.120 Smart always back up. Okay, so you've safely booted up 264 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:00.960 your new Linux Mint system. Your click around the visual 265 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:05.120 interface feels great, but eventually you are going to encounter 266 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:07.840 the one thing that strikes fear into the heart of 267 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:08.600 every beginner. 268 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:10.120 I know exactly what you're going to say. 269 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:13.799 The black screen with the blinking text the command line. 270 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:17.720 Ah. Yes, the shell. It can look intividating, like you 271 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.559 are suddenly hacking into a mainframe in a nineteen nineties 272 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:23.720 movie exactly, But the shell is not something to be feared. 273 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:28.720 It is actually a massive, incredibly powerful shortcut for getting 274 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:29.559 things done well. 275 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:31.960 The default on most systems is called the BASH shell, 276 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:35.240 which stands for born Again Shell, which is a genuinely 277 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:38.120 great piece of tech humor. It really is, and a 278 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:41.120 shell is just the program that interprets the plain text 279 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:44.200 you type and translates it into direct instructions for the 280 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:47.879 operating system. But there are a few magic shortcuts built 281 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:50.159 into the shell that make it so much less tedious 282 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:50.759 than it looks. 283 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:54.919 Those shortcuts are absolute life savers. The most important one 284 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:56.679 to learn immediately is the tab. 285 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:58.960 Key Oh, the auto complete. 286 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:02.399 Right Linux file all names and directories can be incredibly long. 287 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:05.720 Instead of typing it all out perfectly and risking a typo, 288 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.600 you type the first two or three letters and hit tab. 289 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:11.799 The shell instantly auto completes the rest of the file 290 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:12.960 or program name for you. 291 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:14.399 That saves so much time. 292 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:16.320 And if you want to repeat a complex command you 293 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:18.799 type ten minutes ago, you don't type it out again. 294 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:21.480 You just press the up arrow to cycle through your 295 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:25.679 command history, or press ctrl dash R to search your 296 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:29.679 history for a specific keyword. It makes navigating text incredibly fast, 297 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:30.360 and there is. 298 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:33.720 Also this wild feature called the virtual terminal. By pressing 299 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:36.799 ceatrol ALT and the F one. Through FA keys, you 300 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:40.600 can instantly switch between multiple full screen text only environments 301 00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:41.960 and your graphical desktop. 302 00:14:42.279 --> 00:14:45.519 Yeah, it's like having eight different monitors hidden behind your screen, 303 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:47.240 completely separated from each other. 304 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:49.879 That's wild. And once you are in that command line, 305 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:53.080 there are a few essential commands that give you godlike 306 00:14:53.159 --> 00:14:56.720 power over the machine, like pseudo, which basically acts as 307 00:14:56.759 --> 00:14:59.799 a master key, telling the system to execute this command 308 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:03.360 with the absolute unquestioned power of the super user exactly, 309 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:07.480 or gp, which searches text cryptically, and kill, which is 310 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:10.960 exactly what you use to terminate those stubborn zombie processes 311 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:13.440 we talked about earlier. Or kill all. 312 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:14.960 Yeah, kill All's very handy. 313 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:17.120 But okay, I have to be completely honest with you. 314 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:20.919 In a whirl of high resolution touch screens, voice assistants, 315 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:24.879 and seamless drag and drop interfaces, isn't typing out something 316 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:29.039 cryptic like TARFISFF download dot tr just a massive step 317 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:32.759 backward in time? Why do experts still prefer staring at 318 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:33.639 a wall of text? 319 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:36.519 It's a very fair question. Yeah, But if we connect 320 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:39.600 this to the bigger picture, using a graphical user interface 321 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.840 a GI is like ordering a meal off a restaurant menu. Yeah, 322 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:45.799 you can only choose what the developers specifically designed for 323 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:47.759 you to click on. Oh, I see if the button 324 00:15:47.799 --> 00:15:50.879 doesn't exist, you simply can't do it. The command line, 325 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:53.679 on the other hand, is like being allowed into the kitchen. 326 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:56.159 You have access to the raw ingredients. 327 00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:58.399 The menu versus the kitchen. I love that analogy. 328 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:02.559 It changes Everything's take that rep command you mentioned. Imagine 329 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:05.480 you have a folder with ten thousand silver log files 330 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:08.320 and you need to find the one file containing a 331 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:12.279 specific error code that sounds like a nightmare. In Windows, 332 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:14.919 you would click the search bar, wait twenty minutes for 333 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:17.320 the system to index everything, and hope it doesn't freeze. 334 00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:20.799 In the Linux kitchen, you type rep the error code 335 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:24.840 and the folder name. Linux scans all ten thousand files 336 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:28.200 and spits out the exact line of text in milliseconds. 337 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:28.919 Wow. 338 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.080 You can combine command line tools in infinite ways to 339 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:36.320 automate incredibly complex tasks instantly. You aren't limited by the 340 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:37.440 developers imagination. 341 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:40.320 You're only limited by your own Okay, so using the 342 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:43.960 command line gives you ultimate instant control over your local files, 343 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:47.399 but an operating system in a vacuum isn't very useful today. 344 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:51.039 How well does this DIY kitchen environment connect to the broader, 345 00:16:51.320 --> 00:16:55.240 highly commercialized Internet Very well? Actually, And more importantly, can 346 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:59.639 this free operating system actually replace your daily, expensive workflow? 347 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.319 Absolutely? Can. The networking stack on Linux is phenomenal, which 348 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:06.480 is exactly why it runs the vast majority of the 349 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:11.880 Internet servers. It handled the TCPIP layers seamlessly instead of 350 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:15.319 drowning you and jargon. Think of how Linux handles your 351 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:18.720 computer's ports. Okay, you can think of ports as specific 352 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:21.519 doors that data uses to enter and exit your machine. 353 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:26.480 Linux strictly controls these doors. For instance, door number eighty 354 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:30.400 is specifically reserved for web browsing traffic like HTTP traffic. 355 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:33.400 Right if data tries to come in through the wrong door, 356 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:36.839 Linux immediately blocks it. It gives you raw powerful access 357 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:40.440 to diagnostics like the pin command to test connections. But 358 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:44.119 for the everyday user, the real revelation isn't the networking protocol, 359 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:48.000 it's the software ecosystem available to replace all those proprietary 360 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:49.000 apps you're used to paying for. 361 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:51.680 Yeah, I was skeptical about giving up my everyday apps, 362 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:53.920 but it looks like the open source community has actually 363 00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:57.599 built incredible alternatives for almost everything they really have. Instead 364 00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:00.799 of paying a massive yearly subscription for Microsoft Office, you 365 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:05.440 use LibreOffice. It is totally free, full featured, and highly 366 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:08.440 compatible with your standard docks files, so you can still 367 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:11.599 send resumes to people on Windows exactly. And instead of 368 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:14.200 using a browser like Edge or Explorer that tracks your 369 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:18.240 every move, you can use Brave or Chromium. Brave is 370 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:21.599 privacy focused, aggressively blocks ads and trackers, and instead of 371 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:23.920 paying with your data, you can actually opt in to 372 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.759 privacy respecting ads and get rewarded with something called a 373 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:28.200 basic Attention token. 374 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:29.839 And it extends to creative work too. 375 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:33.039 Right, if you are doing design work, instead of dropping 376 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:36.519 serious cash on a Photoshop license, there is Photopia, which 377 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:41.519 is entirely browser based and miraculously opens native Photoshop PSD files, 378 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:43.079 or you can use Pixeler. 379 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:44.920 Yeah, photop is amazing. It is. 380 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:48.960 And for video editing you have incredibly robust open source 381 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:53.119 options like shotcut or pa TV. So what does this 382 00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:57.519 all mean for you listening today? If I completely switch 383 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:01.880 my daily workflow to LibreOffice and Photopa, am I basically 384 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:04.079 getting a luxury car for the price of a bicycle? 385 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:07.279 Or because it's completely free. Am I going to be 386 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:08.279 missing the steering wheel? 387 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:10.720 I can assure you the steering wheel is fully intact 388 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:13.240 and the engine is probably more reliable than what you're 389 00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:13.519 used to. 390 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:14.359 That's a relief. 391 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:17.079 Well, there's always a slight learning curve when adapting to 392 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:20.079 any new visual interface. You have to remember that these 393 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:24.079 open source tools are not amateur weekend projects. They have 394 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:27.880 been rigorously refined by thousands of passionate developers over decades. 395 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:31.000 You're getting ninety to one hundred percent of the functionality 396 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:33.880 of expensive commercial software entirely for. 397 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:35.160 Free and without the tracking. 398 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:38.680 Crucially, yes, you're doing it in an ecosystem that isn't 399 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:43.200 fundamentally designed to harvest your personal data to feed advertising algorithms. 400 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:46.839 That is the real value proposition right there. So to 401 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:49.359