Too much is too bad - Part 1

Before I roll up my sleeves and type with the lightening full speed, there is something I'd like to mention here. What I'm going to write about on this post is not an exception for myself and big YES, I was there too but I managed to get over it and carry on. It happened to all of us :D

Okay, phew, now I can start typing fast :D

Not sure where should I start from? but as always, long story short and no need to more introductions.

Since I have started to use Linux until now (guess that is 3 years now), almost everyday, I see the same "Obsession" about specific points like:

• How much RAM does my system use?
• Why my system is using 1GB RAM from my 4GB RAM?
• Why this feature is not included by default?
• I can't use this distribution because it doesn't have VLC by default!
• Which is better? System 1 or System 2?

and so on...

Trust me, I've been there. There is NOTHING WRONG with this :) I'm just trying to highlight these FAQs and trying to discuss that loudly with you and also trying to find a work around so we can enjoy and learn instead of asking and waiting for answers.

First thing first, there is a golden basic rule I can't resist to not write it here :D

Rule 1 - Linux is NOT Windows as you all know and therefore, we should NOT think and/or deal with Linux the same way we think and/or deal with Windows :)

I have set that basic rule with myself and decided to follow it each and every day until it became my default way of dealing with Linux on daily basis with myself and everyone else.

Now, what exactly we are suppose to do then?

As the title of this post says: "Too Much is Too Bad." and when there is too much, there is obsession.

IMHO, one needs to enjoy and have fun, needs to learn and keep learning more and more, needs to discover and search, needs to fix and solve, etc. I find that much more better than leaving all that behind or let's say, focus on something and leave the rest.

I will discuss few examples so you can see my point :)

Example 1

I find lots of users who are worried too much about their RAM usage and keep monitoring that. RELAX, take a deep breath and enjoy ;)

I have learned yet another golden rule from Arch Wiki Pages:

Rule 2 - Unused RAM Is Wasted RAM

Having that said, as long as you have enough RAM installed on your machine, please, do not freak out and keep monitoring it using different tools to do so (Conky, gnome-system-monitor, Task Manager, etc). 

So when I do need to worry about that?

Yes, that is a great question indeed.

You do need to worry when your system starts to be slower and/or not responding. 

Trust me, I have done so many tests and I managed to produce almost all kind of system statuses like: Slow System, Not Responding, Halted, etc.

If your system have 512MB RAM and you are using say Lubuntu 12.04 and suddenly you noticed the overall performance is getting lower, then big YES, you do need to check what is going on. In fact, if you know very well your hardware and what your machine is capable of, you can even prevent that to happen. How? simply, by using the lightweight applications which will work well on your low resource system. Also, having two browsers like Chromium and Firefox with some opened tabs, that will definitely make your system slower and not even slower, but not responding at some points. 

Sometimes, you feel there is so much heat or the fan starting to make so much noise, specially with Laptops. YES again, you do need to check what is going on by using Conky for example, Jupiter and so many other tools which can help you to monitor your system and in this case, you need to look at your CPU Temperature. 



Example 2
Some users are changing their distributions (downloading new one, create LiveCD/LiveUSB, install, etc) just because one, two or more features are not included by default on the current system which they use. And YES, I'm not exaggerating at all :D

Again, back to Rule 1, we need to think differently whenever we use Linux.

If you are using Linux
If that system meets most your needs
If you like the system but 
If the repositories of that system have all what you need
If you are few clicks or commands away from having what you really want

Then, there is absolutely no need to go and find another system :)

- if you are using an Ubuntu Based system then:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install <packagename>

Or, of course, Synaptic 

And as you can see, it is really easy to have whatever you need and want without going the hard way :)


Example 3
Rule 3 - No OS Is Perfect 

Having that said, it is better not to have extra headache and compare between system 1 and system 2.

1. What is better? Linux or Windows or Mac OS X?
2. What is better? Ubuntu or Arch?
3. What is better? Lubuntu or Xubuntu?

and so on ...

Each system has its ups and downs. 

Each system has its unique features.

Trust me, there wouldn't be 321 Active different systems out there unless each one of those have different feature(s) than the others.

So again, enjoy and relax and ...

Rule 4- Ues The System That Meets Your Own Needs And You Like

And that is all for now and today :)

Hope that was helpful!

Thank you for reading :)