# Similarities Between Linux and Crypto

**Published by:** [linux_fan](https://paragraph.com/@linux-fan/)
**Published on:** 2023-04-26
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@linux-fan/similarities-between-linux-and-crypto

## Content

Linux is an operating system which champions principles like digital freedom, privacy, and the open sharing of tools and information. You don’t need to ask anyone for permission to download, install, and start using most Linux distributions. The main barrier to entry is merely information which is readily available online for those who seek it. You can look at the source code, change it if you want, and even create your own Linux distribution if you’re willing to put in the effort. There are many Linux distributions targeting various use cases and personal tastes from which one can select. It’s also not dramatically difficult to switch from one to another due to their shared similarities. Crypto - short for cryptocurrencies or cryptocoins - is a financial system which champions principles like economic freedom, privacy, and the open sharing of tools and information. You don’t need to ask anyone for permission to create a wallet, load it with coins, and begin making use of them. The main barrier to entry is merely information which is readily available online for those who seek it. You can examine a coin’s blockchain, fork a coin into a new one, or even create your own from scratch if you’re willing to put in the effort. There are many coins targeting various use cases and personal tastes from which one can select. It’s also not dramatically difficult to embrace other coins once you understand one of them due to their shared similarities. Reasons like the ones laid out above are why I like both Linux and crypto. I’m fairly comfortable living on the digital edge, focusing less on what’s popular and more on what I find genuinely intriguing and useful. There’s a shared sense of self sufficiency in the communities, even sentiments resembling a preference for anarchic utopia. There’s plenty of competition between Linux distributions as well as coins along with their respective promoters and detractors. This lends them a strong sense of vast possibilities for what they can help one, or collectively several, accomplish. They are both rather often produced through efforts of collaboration focused on benefiting the many rather than the few. I have at times felt that if more people embraced both, the world could perhaps become a better place. Decentralization of power is a core tenant of both camps. I’ve observed tons of issues over the years caused by both the tech (Microsoft and Apple) and financial (banks too big to care) giants having excessive leverage over their consumers and smaller challengers in their markets. Adopting Linux or crypto rightly feels like a paradigm change from the sometimes miserable mainstream. One might argue satisfaction with the familiar status quo. That’s natural for human psychology, but the future doesn’t care about anyone’s personal feelings regarding change. I’m not so bold to confidently proclaim that Linux will eventually replace Windows and macOS or that the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum will eventually replace the world’s fiat currencies. But both ideas are within the range of possibility. That means they are already at least viable alternatives to the dominant systems in some ways and have great potential to become more convenient and widely adopted over time. It’s rewarding to learn about something future oriented and adopt it before the masses do so that you’re ahead of the wave. The more people who do so, the bigger the wave can ultimately get. If you want to begin using Linux, a good place to start is the website DistroWatch. There you can quickly review basic information about a lot of different Linux distributions and get a sense for which are most popular. Often the easiest way to start dabbling with one of them is to download the image (ISO) file form the distribution’s website along with the virtual machine manager called Virtualbox. After installing Virtualbox, you can create a virtual machine in it with the ISO and use that VM as you would a native installed OS. There are other ways like dual booting (for which I recommend separate drives) or simply installing directly over the drive which currently holds Windows or macOS. But I’d recommend saving those for when you’re confident in navigating a particular Linux distribution and verifying it provides the types of functionality you desire. If you want to begin using crypto, a good place to start is installing a mobile wallet like Rainbow, MetaMask (which I use), or Exodus on your phone. From there you can get coins into your wallet by using an exchange to convert fiat currency into crypto, connecting your wallet to services which help you earn crypto (such as the blockchain-based platform called Mirror on which this blog is published), or accepting direct peer-to-peer payments through your wallet address. Depending on the coin and your intended purpose(s) for it, you could then hold it, swap it for other coins, or spend it with businesses or individuals who are using it to accept payment. Speaking of which, I would really appreciate it if anyone who likes my posts or decides to subscribe to my blog would take the “collect” option for which you probably see a prompt or two on the page. That allows you to support my work with a tiny amount of crypto. One of my first goals for this blog is to get it an ENS domain name so that rather than making sense of the chaotic string identifying this blog’s default web address I could get something much easier on the eyes, mind, and fingers. I need at least 0.018 ETH (last time I checked and it fluctuates a bit) for that and I’m only asking for 0.0001 ETH per collect (roughly the equivalent of $0.19 currently, and the smallest amount I could specify). So I need at least 180 of such contributions to fund this change. Would you be so kind as to help?

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