My name is Valdis.
I am a computer hobbyist (my day job is an accountant, but that is less important here). I play with *nix OSs, including linux, bsd, and (at work) mainframe unix.
I like doing geeky things like trying every program in /bin, /usr/bin, etc. and reading configuration files. I try to memorize powerful one-liners at the shell prompt that I can unleash like a wizard casting spells!
I also like programming (once again, as a hobby, not as work; I worked in an IT department for 15 months and did not like the bureaucracy) and have written little programs in C, C++, Java, Perl, and Python.
Back in 2005, I created a small Java program and released it through Sourceforge. It is the "Personal Cash Flow Forecaster" at http://sourceforge.net/projects/cfforecaster/ (gee, at the top of this page I said my day job would not intrude here, and yet, when it came time for me to try to write a real program, the kind I wrote was for accounting purposes). It was a fun project, in part because I was enamored with Java at the time. Today, I shudder to remember how much effort I spent on the gui rather than the core logic and calculations.
If I put my head into the right mindset, I can think in terms of object-oriented programming, but I am more comfortable in procedural programming. Functional programming is a neat idea, but I really only do it on spreadsheets (i.e.: many linked formulas). Most of the time, I like to see the state of variables and other objects change :)
Most of all, I thrive on solving puzzles, whether it is troubleshooting operating system installs, figuring out how to do things on a new system, or programming (or, of course, puzzle solving at work).
I have the following computers right now:
This is a pretty good computer: light, powerful, and not too big (although a little pricey...no machine is perfect). I prefer a 12 inch screen, but compromised a little with the 13 inch screen on this computer.
I wiped the hard drive and installed Freebsd, Ubuntu Linux, and Arch Linux. Freebsd is a good, stable os. Ubuntu: less stable, but some multimedia and nonfree formats are handled easily. Arch Linux is bleeding edge with very recent releases of applications available on a rolling release schedule. I switch off between the three oses depending on what I am in the mood for.
Less heavy than the Dell. Running Debian stable. I prefer the Debian philosophy to Ubuntu and the stable distribution is, well, really stable. The browsers that come with the stable distribution do not work well on fancy web sites because they are older or exclude some recent features in order to be faster. I installed a more current browser (Debian's Iceweasel, a version of Firefox) from Debian backports that helps alot.
I got the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) model XO-1 laptop during the give-one-get-one program at the end of 2007. It runs a customized version of fedora linux with OLPC's "Sugar" interface. It is good for reading ebooks, browsing the web, and playing educational games (it was meant as a teaching tool). It uses very little power. It is durable (meant to be used in the 3rd world), so it is great to use outdoors. The OLPC foundation has been far less successful than I and many people hoped, but the dream is not dead yet.
I used a Psion series 5 pocket computer years ago and loved it. After I broke the screen, I looked for another good pocket computer, this time with hightened expectations (wanting a more robust online experience than the Psion could offer).
The Nokia N810 is a good fit for me. It is pretty good at surfing the web. I can whip it out and type out a note with the built-in keyboard, without waiting for it to boot up (previously, I was tempted by the Nokia 770 and N800, but I held out for a keyboard, no matter how small). It runs Maemo's distribution of linux, with the busybox shell (bash can be added). In addition, the speakers are better than many laptops, so it is good for music too.
Here is a link to the SDF.