3 min to read
You should use Arch linux, BTW.
Why be a pirate, in an ocean full of open-source code!?
Yeah, I know. The old ‘I use Arch btw’ That seems to annoy everyone. But honestly, I get it. After using Arch Linux for over 4 years now.
Windows.
See, years ago, I was a Windows user. And not your normal user, I considered myself a power user. Well, I loved my OS. Digging into nearly every Windows feature. Started customizing my own installation, someone would notice and request that I do similar customization on their pc. Even got paid a couple of times to do such setups.
TouTube
Created a YouTube channel and started uploading my custom edits, so much love. My make your Windows OS look like Mac OS video got a million views!
The customizations were fire, but… It didn’t take long to notice that the extra software installed for the customization would bloat the system. Way too extra. Some, like Rainmeter, had to always be running! Noticed a similar trend in the comment section “How do I undo this?”, “How to uninstall?”
First switch
At this point, I personally stopped using any customization that required extra software ( turns out, not much)
And for my audience? To avoid more bloated systems, I decided to change the content I was uploading. And my next stop for content was the software I was using, videos like “how to install software ABC”, “how to install Windows 11”
The problem? As a power user, every software I had installed was premium. And none were paid for…
For this, you don’t even need to be a super user; Just download your cracked copy, disable your anti-virus, read and follow the instructions in README.txt, and you are done.
The new content was an instant hit, amassing views like crazy. At this point, your boy should be heading to the bank😅 However, YouTube was ready to teach me a lesson I hadn’t learned yet…
Aye, Pirate.
Copyright strikes, left, right, and center. What could be the issue YT? Turns out using a cracked version of any software was against their community guidelines. I have to agree with YouTube on this one, pay the developer!
Cracked software.
My thinking at the time was, since I can’t afford the software… and the developer getting paid was the least of my concern, then there is no harm in using a cracked version, right?
That’s when it hit me.
If someone is smart enough to remove the code that bills you to use a software, rest assured, they are smart enough to add code for their own interest.
I wasn’t just using cracked software, I was running a cracked version of Windows 10 itself, with a full suite of cracked tools stacked on top.
Too many smart people had access to my system!
Second switch.
The message was loud and clear: I had to switch my content again!
My last 3 uploads on YouTube (5 years ago) were my attempt to give my audience clean content.
Letting the designer in me shine with videos like “Windows 11 concept” (Windows 11 hadn’t been released at the time)
The videos were ‘UI designs’ of how I envisioned Windows 11 would look like. By the time Windows 11 was released, I had already moved to Linux!
Sham goes Linux
For the 5 years I have used Linux, almost a year was spent switching from one Linux distro to the next. I later learned this is called “Distro hopping”
All that changed the day I installed Arch Linux!
A screenshot of my current Arch desktop
I opened a YouTube channel for Windows, but for Arch? I swear I’m about to open a church and start preaching arch Linux 🤣
With that said, expect most of my future blogs and YouTube posts to revolve around Arch Linux. Plus, the awesome free & open-source software I have picked up along the way.
I USE ARCH, BTW
Stay Curious,
Sham.
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