Week Two—The Remote Desktop and the Tutorials

This week has been a mixture of exhilaration and frustration. At this early point in trying to manipulate the computer, nothing lives in middle ground. I feel such a sense of accomplishment if something goes right—even something as simple (to more experienced users) as downloading and installing a large file.

Accessing the remote desktop actually went smoothly. I was stumped at first because I wasn’t sure how to find the VPN again on my computer, and then access it. That part was a breeze thanks to Andrew, who gave wonderfully simple directions in a discussion post. I then followed the directions from Bruce’s video and before long I was staring at the terminal. I didn’t do much with it then, just very carefully reread how to shut it down. I am still anxious about incorrectly using these software applications and fear that I will do something wrong, and be unable to recover.

I also was successful in installing the Ubuntu server in the VMWare. I reviewed the videos several times and then hesitatingly brought up VMWare in another window and followed the directions step by step. I was concerned when I downloaded Ubuntu earlier, because my file size was only 667 Mbs. In a discussion post Bruce said that seemed small, so when the option came during installation to check the file, I did. I was very pleased when the report came back saying the file had integrity.

Working my way through the tutorials was another matter. I feel I have mastered the cd and ls commands, but my experiences with the less and file commands were not good. This is where my lack of experience really shows-- I’m not sure what is a good file or directory to practice with. I was able to copy the files from /usr/share/example-content/* and put them in my home directory, but unable to open or view any of them. I tried the “less” command with several file names, but without any success. At this point, after several hours of trying, I am still unable to open any of those files—even ones that seem like good text candidates (like Aesop’s Fables and Maxwell’s Quotations). At a few command line attempts I got the greater than sign, >, which I learned in a later lessen is a signal for redirection. But being unsure what to do with it at that point, I just closed the window and started a new session. I haven’t completely given up—just paused, hoping some miracle will happen on the programming end that will allow those commands to work for me. Manipulating files is very frustrating.

I have a basic understanding of file permissions, since I worked with those many years ago. I need to review the section on I/O redirection and performing tasks with pipes. Hopefully practice will make perfect.