General Q&A

"Why the name change?"

• While "dubsyGG" served me well over the years, I often associate this moniker with a less serious version of myself; a version in which content creation in all its forms was only a fun hobby. Given my recent shift to pursue writing as a genuine potential second career option, it makes sense to also shift my online identity to something more appropriate and publicly recognizable... such as my pen name.

"What are your PC specs?"

• Why thank you for asking... a full read-out on my setup can be seen here... and linked on my homepage, which you passed to get here...

"Why Linux?"

• I have always been fascinated by technology in all its forms; discovering Linux and open-source software was a natural progression aided by a good friend and mentor (and boss) at my first IT job. I was entirely green and uninitiated, but he saw fit to provide me the instruction and resources as long as I was willing to learn. It started with limited-privilege remote access to his Linux servers hosted in a datacenter, where I was responsible for monitoring the operational logs and alerting him to any anomalies. I was immediately captivated by the scrolling lines of code passing on the screen, feeling like I had stepped into the shoes of a hacker from a sci-fi movie. It didn't take long for me to start recognizing patterns and asking questions, and thankfully the old man was happy to oblige. Within a few months, I was responsible for building and configuring his servers from the ground up, and I loved every second of it. The rest is history...

Why Ubuntu Linux specifically?

• As for why I chose Ubuntu Linux as my preferred "distro", that just comes down to simple familiarity. My first experience with Linux as a desktop operating system came in the form of Ubuntu 12.04 in mid-2013. I felt immediately at ease with how fast and smooth the OS was, even on my aging hardware (coming from Windows Vista...); and it was just easy to use. Anything I couldn't figure out by simple point-and-click was only a quick Google search away if I didn't feel comfortable enough working in the CLI. The nature of Linux users is not far removed from that of general "tinkerers". We like experimenting, experiencing new things, and we thrive on a good challenge. I've used all different kinds of Linux distributions over the last thirteen years, but I always found myself coming back to Ubuntu, or one of its derivatives. It's stable, solid, and at the risk of sounding superficial, it's just plain pretty to look at. But above all else, Ubuntu LTS does exactly what I need it to do, and it does it well.
• So with all of the above in mind, you might still ask why I choose to host my stream on Linux... and the simplest answer comes in the form of another question: why not? The content creation sphere is dominated by Windows and macOS, because people allow themselves to be told that those are the only viable options. I vehemently disagree. In some way, shape, or form, my stream has run on Linux without incident since 2022. Why wouldn't I share that experience with others? Why wouldn't I use my experience to help educate and bring the wonders of open source to a wider audience?