I disagree. I was a Linux guy before I was a Mac guy and now I find myself a Windows guy.
My Surface Book is solid hardware with a great keyboard, all-day battery, etc. WSL is to the point where there is less weirdness building libraries in WSL than there is on the Mac.
Its not perfect, but the perfect machine doesn't exist.
I find that WSL requires a ton of hacks and workarounds to emulate a real Unix system. For example, I need to run Docker containers.
To do that, I install docker in WSL, then I have to run a Go binary I compiled as root, that lets WSL talk to Windows pipes, which then talks to Docker for Windows.
WSL makes using Windows somewhat tolerable, but it's not even close to having a regular old Unix.
I am using Docker for Windows, the problem I'm solving is I want to produce Docker images from within my WSL. I don't want to do all my work using vim/tmux from within WSL, only to open a Powershell window to actually build the container.
So I have to set up the strange hack I described in order to use docker inside WSL as a client to Docker for Windows.
Since WSL debuted, this is a rather debatable claim. WSL provides a really nice interface and I never had issues except doing the most obscure things (which were buggy on nix too).
Great point, if something like this is done and students gets into learning and contributing to open source it is going to have a tremendous improvement on the quality of software.
Question - Can I trust cyanogenmod binary?
Compile the rom from source.
Question - Can I trust cyanogenmod source?
????, no idea, have to trust some one. (Remembering an argument from GEB about uncertainty).
> "I'm a Linux user primarily, use OS X at work, and detest Windows, yet I'd pick Visual Studio ca. 1999 over Eclipse any day. I'm an Emacs user, yet I'd switch to Vim in a heartbeat if I had to pick between Vim and Eclipse." - after hearing this from a fellow emacs user I am seriously considering a switch to Intellij from eclipse and see how it goes.
Which guitar model would the community recommend to a beginner who is used only to computer keyboards ;-). Can we start with an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar will work better for learning.
I may sound counterintuitive, but if you really want to learn, I'd recommend a high-end acoustic guitar for the following reasons:
- you make a big investment (upwards of $2000) and it motivates you not to give up
- it sounds good, it looks good, it even smells good (rosewood, mahogany, spruce, ebony - that kind of thing). If you're into guitars (or simply beautiful things) it's hard to put down and you find yourself spending more time with it than you'd initially planned. And that's the single best thing for getting better at it :)
- you get no excuse (like, "it's not the real thing, it sucks, that's why it doesn't sound right even after many hours of practice"); it helps to remove doubts and concentrate on practicing
- if nothing else, it will make a decent long-term investment (high-end guitars tend to depreciate in the first years after the purchase and appreciate afterward). Some people even claim that it's a better investment than real estate, but I don't know about that
Ask somebody to play it for you, ask their opinion of how easy it is to play, have it set up by a good guitar technician... And keep on picking :)
Also, somebody mentioned justinguitar.com; it is a great site; the guy is a great teacher and a wonderful guitar player. It's got a bunch of theory lessons, but also lessons where Justin picks apart famous guitar songs and teaches you to play them in a "dumb" way - some might say it's cheating, but it surely helps to keep the fire burning when you can learn a tune or two without pulling your hair out trying to transcribe without the required experience (it's very hard, although that's what every guitar player should try to learn eventually).
'you make a big investment (upwards of $2000) and it motivates you not to give up'
I've been playing semi-pro for quite a while, and In My Opinion, this is just as likely to fail as help. Also, I've never owned a guitar that cost more than 700 (except my Tom Anderson Tele which I inherited). And I have a lot of guitars and play quite a bit.
I've seen guys do that -- buy a really expensive Taylor or Larivee or some Guitar Center Shiny and then stare at it with guilt for the next five years, unable to part with it and admit defeat, nor pick it up and practice because it reminds them how much time they've wasted not working with this beautiful neglected instrument.
My advice: buy a serviceable, good acoustic. Find a real musician friend if you have one, a real guitar nut and take him/her to the pawn shops, and as a last resort even Guitar Center (LAST resort) and have him pick something out for you. And stay under 600 bucks for the love of God.
Then a year or two later, when you've decided that you love this guitar thing and want to get serious, you'll spend that 2K+ far, far better -- you'll know to avoid the glossy Taylor-ish nonsense and get a nice LG-1 or LG-2 (I've seen 60s models pop up at pawns shops for < 1500$, seriously twice in the last year) or a nice 70s Martin with creamy-sparkly high ends, warm and well-defined lows, and a gorgeous, aged-in finish that you will sit and stare at with pride for the next 25 years.
Taylor makes great guitars for most people. Sure, not everybody is going to like them (esp. Martin freaks), but they are high-quality and playable, which is why they're so popular.
I'm just burnt out on that sound. To my ears they lack personality and expressiveness. They have a full sound, they're radio-friendly and they "play like an electric!" so I get why they're so popular and why so many new guitarists walk out of Guitar Center with one, but to me they're the Yellow Tail Shiraz of acoustic guitars.
A lot of people play Taylors for a reason. I agree they've flooded the market in 2013, but even 10 or 15 years ago, that wasn't the case. Back then, the CW was that what you said above applied to Martin (don't misunderstand-- I love Martins for what they represent, too). It's the guitar circle of life. Some people just wanna be different and don't want to play what everybody else is playing. I get that, but ten years from now it won't be Taylor, it will be some other maker. It's the nature of the business.
Enh...the thing is, a $300 Fender acoustic sounds good enough that you can get away with playing shows on it - you probably shouldn't, but you absolutely can. As a beginner, you're really not going to appreciate the difference between that and a high end model anyways, so why spend more?
If you're the type that needs to blow money to feel motivated, sure, you can do better, but there's a lot to be said for learning to sound good on a shitty instrument before you are good enough that spending more will actually make you sound better. That's how most pros start out...
A $300 Fender acoustic is going to frustrate a beginner. They're crap, with low QC. A beginner would be better off getting a playable electric or waiting until they can spend around $1500-$2k and get themselves a playable acoustic.
I agree that I probably wouldn't go with Fender low-end (they are crap), but there's plenty of good bargains in the 300-400 range that won't frustrate a beginner. There's probably 4 or 5 Epiphone, Seagull, Alvarez or Ibanez low/mid-range guitars hanging up at your local pawn/small guitar shop right now. Even some old Harmonys, Kays or Silvertones can work out real well, depending on the guitar. My favorite acoustic to play right now is my '53 Kay arch top that I picked up for $400.
I like this advice, but I don't necessarily believe that it has to be a high end guitar. My first real guitar was a Seagull Cedar Maritime, and it's basically what I taught myself on. I like it for a number of reasons, namely
- It's pretty cheap. The SWS models can get up there (and I've since picked one up) but you can get a decent Seagull for under $500, and it won't break the bank.
- Seagulls generally have wider nut widths, which gives a little more breathing room between the strings, and is great for finger style and the 'fat finger' feeling new guitarists have.
- They sound AMAZING. For my last guitar, I was dead set on buying a Taylor 514CE, but playing it side by side next to Martins and solid body Seagulls, I ended up getting another Seagull. Obviously, this is as subjective as the ongoing 'Martin vs Taylor' holy war, but I took a neutral party to blind listen to me playing so as to mitigate the confirmation bias, and they picked the Seagull too (though obviously, I was more keen on the Seagull architecture, which I'm sure did bias things).
All that aside, I don't think I got really serious about learning guitar until I ultimately picked myself up a Les Paul (per your advice) to effectively "get more skin in the game", as well as to know that whatever mistakes I made were mine, and couldn't be blamed on the guitar.
He teaches a lot of beginner level, few-chord songs that people know and recognize, and even though I know that it's a Youtube video, and not interactive, the videos are recorded with a great deal of patience.
I'm also a big fan of Marty Schwartz's, and I've learned a lot of great Blues licks and soloing techniques from him. Most recently I've been working on combining major and minor pentatonic licks and runs into my improvisations, and I'm loving my progress. Thanks Marty!
I love YouTube, I really do, besides great resources like justinguitar and Mary Schwartz, there are a huge number of excellent backing tracks you can use improvise over, here are a few of my favorite favorites
Second the vote for Seagull. I'm pretty sure they're all made with solid tops, but are still affordable (last time I looked starting in the $300 range. I think you need a "good enough" guitar that will stay in tune properly and sound decent, but that doesn't need to be a $2000 guitar. There are a bunch of big brands that fit this, but I think the Seagulls are some of the ones that don't feel cheap while actually being affordable.
EDIT: for those not aware, a solid top is preferred to a plywood top for tonal quality. Most of the cheaper guitars use a plywood top. That said, a lot of plywood tops sound pretty good these days, but I tend to be a purist in these sorts of things so greatly prefer the solid tops. :)
Completely agreed. My first acoustic was a "made in Cambodia" Fender that wasn't horrible, but really didn't compare well to pretty much any other guitar of any quality.
My second purchase was aiming for something with a solid top, and the tonal quality was apparent from the very first note I played.
My third purchase was aimed at getting a solid body guitar, which is trickier because there isn't necessarily a noticeable difference between a guitar with a laminate body and one with a solid body, though you can certainly find guitars that sound different, neither is clearly better (by sound) on a new guitar.
That said, as I'm told, the tone of a solid body guitar will age, like wine, and sound better and better over time, so long as it's taken care of. A laminate will, at best, stay the same, and more likely will dull over time.
This (and nostalgia, history, etc.) is the reason old, good guitars tend to fetch so much money, because they were likely made from great stock to begin with, and have since aged to sound even better. (I say with only anecdotal evidence).
That's like buying a Porsche to learn how to drive. Sure, you can drive it around, look cool and feel good but you won't know what to do when you break something.
Also, you're going to sound like shit if you're forced to play a cheap, badly setup guitar. (oh-this-guitar-sucks-so-i-cant-play is a terrible excuse, trust me.)
Another reason why I think this is a bad idea - you have no idea what kind of guitar you want when you're starting out. You dont know what wood you want, if you want humbuckers or single coils, floating or fixed bridge. You don't want to buy a 5000$ custom shop Les Paul and realize you're not comfortable playing it.
Maybe if you have tons of disposable income, but you can get a damn good sounding acoustic guitar for under a grand that sounds better than most that cost twice that if you don't mind shopping around.
I've found a classical that sounded better than everything else in the (rather large) store. That one cost 600 while the cheapest competitor was 1700. This is taking string age, etc into account. Similar for acoustics if you add a few hundred to both ends. It really comes down to the luck of the draw on wood quality and combinations of different trees an instrument is made of.
Now, you can get an electric of craigslist for three hundred that'll play like butter after a competent setup with some 9 gauge strings on it. You do have to buy an amp, but if you don't want really nice metal distortion it shouldn't cost you too much. Distortion and effects can get costly.
And then, we could always talk about how if you really want to understand music you should just learn to play bass.....
I agree with some of the things you've said. I actually ordered myself a Fender Jazz Bass just yesterday and I've never even played any type of guitar in my life. But even though I went with that "buy the expensive guitar then it wouldn't be easy for you to give up on it" route, I don't necessarily think that's the only way to go. I live in a small town where I don't have the option to test a lot of guitars and see whether they sound good or they're a good fit for my hands (plus I'm left handed so that doesn't help). If anyone lives in a big city where there's a big music shop, I think the safest and the cheapest way to go is to go to that shop and try as many instruments as possible.
Just because you pay a guitar more money than the other one, it doesn't mean the expensive one would sound better than the cheaper one and most importantly it doesn't mean you'd be comfortable playing it.
However, if you don't have an option to try different guitars, Fender is the way to go. Their Standard Mexican made model Strats are not that expensive, in my opinion.
A thought on the price of a guitar... People often cringe at the thought of spending several thousand dollars on a guitar (or I guess other instruments too), but for myself and probably most of this crowd, I spend that much every 3-5 years replacing computers as they age and become outdated. A nice guitar will last you a lifetime if you take care of it. You can even pass it onto your kids. I tell myself it's a wise investment!
A nice electric, yeah. But not a nice acoustic. He's right that (give or take a few hundred) $2k is about the threshold for a playable acoustic that has good action and isn't going to make you cry. $400 doesn't buy much acoustic guitar at all these days.
UPDATE to my parent post: YMMV. I described what worked for me. As a teenager I learned a few chords/songs on a simple guitar that sounded dull, because I lived in a place where I didn't have any choice. Eventually I decided that guitar playing is probably not for me, since I had not been able to progress.
But I noticed that I still loved to listen to the folk/blue grass/blues acoustic guitar and would spend literally hours on youtube watching people play. So I kind of always had an idea in the back of my mind what kind of guitar I'd like to play.
3 months ago I ended up buying a slightly used Martin dred. It was a difficult decision, because I remembered that I'd already given up once. But it turned out to be the most gratifying purchase I made in my life - I love it and it's hard to put down. I've made more progress in 3 months than I had in 3 years the last time I had a guitar.
So, what I'm trying to say, knowing what you want is probably essential before buying a high end guitar, but you certainly don't have to be an advanced player to make the most out of it. Also, by all means try a lot of guitars, if you can. You may decide that that Takamine sitting in front of the shop is more to you liking than the beautiful Guild hanging in the back under the ceiling.
(I've been playing the guitar for 16 years) - beginners should definitely start with a classical guitar, not an acoustic or an electric guitar. Acoustic is the hardest to play correctly, while electric has more setup and cost involved (amplifier, cables, etc). A basic classical guitar is the simplest way to start playing and producing decent sounds.
Definitely not a classical guitar unless you intend to play classical only. It's a whole different style of play, and you'll have to relearn everything if you change over to a steel string acoustic or electric. The fretboard is much wider and the nylon strings are stretchy and play differently.
I suggest going for a moderately-priced decent-quality imported steel-string acoustic like a Yamaha or Sigma (low-end line of the Martin Company, made in Korea).
It's good to start with acoustic even if you plan on mainly playing electric. It's the common denominator of the guitar world, and you'll be so glad you can just pick one up and play something cool on it at will.
You might want to consider starting with lighter gauge strings than the ones that come of the guitar while you are developing calluses and learning bar chords.
I'm sorry, but that's complete BS. Playing any type of guitar does not limit you to a specific style of play - you can play any style you want on any type of guitar. Some advanced techniques and progressions (i.e, solos or conversly fingerstyle) will be more comfortable on specific guitar types, but there's no technical limitation from playing anything on every guitar type. Those distinctions are mostly meaningless to beginners who will be mostly playing simple chords and melodies (to which I would say, a classical guitar is the most comfortable form factor).
I don't know who's downvoting you, but this is right. You're inspiration is the only thing that determines what will come out of any instrument.
I love my Cordoba classical guitar, but I never actually play classical stuff on it. Hell, I usually end up playing crazy metal on it most of the time. I just really like how it sounds, so I experiment with it. It is more intuitive to play fingerstyle on it given the soft strings and the string spacing, but I could still maneuver a fat 2mm pick on it just fine...
You're partially right. For a beginner a classical guitar is definitely better (more space in the neck to put the fingers, the nylon strings in 1-3 are easier/less painful for untrained fingers, no need to plug it in an amp, etc), but the guitar type will limit you in certain styles (try playing a solo at some speed on a classic guitar getting to the 14th fret).
Sure, I learnt to play guitar with a classical guitar and I totally recommend it for a beginner, but there are obvious things like my Fendler Telecaster not having a tremolo bar: I can't use it :) Definitely you can play any style with it, but it really shines when jamming some blues with the neck pick.
I would argue a beginner should start with an acoustic for precisely the same reason. Transitioning from electric or classical to acoustic is difficult, but from acoustic to the other two is very simple.
It's certainly not difficult once you are proficient enough. I got my first acoustic after 2 years playing a classical guitar and 1 year playing an electric one. It was very similar to playing a classical guitar once your fingers are broken in.
On the other hand, for beginners which usually struggle at first producing clean sounds, an acoustic presents a much bigger challenge and for no added benefits.
Yes, something like that. If you are proficient with the acoustic guitar, you'll probably be able to pick up an electric for the first time in your life and play.
On the other hand, if all you've ever played is an electric (with its low action and lighter strings), playing an acoustic will probably require some time getting used to.
I would compare electric to something like Python and acoustic to C :)
So I bought an acoustic guitar a couple years ago because I've always wanted to learn to play. After sitting in storage for a year and a half I picked it up again a couple months ago. It's fine and all but then I bought an electric (Epiphone SG Cherry Red), an amp and a good set of headphones.
The electric is way more fun to play[1]! If you really want to learn and are willing to "put in the work" I recommend justinguitar.com. It's all boring stuff, scales, fundamentals, etc., but I pick up my electric at least once a day for an hour just to practice. I'll never be a musician but it's a heck of a lot of fun just jamming out in my headphones.
[1] "fun" is of course subjective. Acoustic guitars require more hand strength and coordination since the action is a bit higher, the strings a bit thicker than electric. But it has a beautiful sound I really love. But in an apartment, electric + headphones is the best.
Electrics are often much more fun to play, but I found, early on, that the acoustic gave me better habits, and made me a better all around guitarist.
I bought probably the exact same cherry Epi SG a long time ago to start off with, and I can still remember how embarrassed I was the first time I tried to play an acoustic.
Conversely, for a long time, whenever I was having trouble learning something on the acoustic, I could swap it out for an electric and usually just bang it out. Perhaps psychosomatically, this then made it easier to play on acoustic, just knowing that it was playable.
As an absolute novice, I bought a $30 acoustic after a $150 electric. My goal with the guitar is to just learn Asturias, I don't really care about other things. I have the intro down, it does feel like I'm fighting the guitar and it doesn't make as good a sound as some friends' more expensive ones I've tried, but it's great for seeing whether you like it and will stick with it rather than stick it in a shelf.
Also, I have more fun with the acoustic, due to Asturias, so I guess it's relative.
I have two acoustic guitars: my favorite to play is a Takimine I bought off a random dude for $175 over 20 years ago. A few years a decided to "upgrade" with an $1800 Taylor. It's not a bad guitar, somehow the cheaper one is just more fun to play.
If I had to draw a lesson from this: when you play a guitar you will have a "feeling" about whether you like it, and I think that's the most important thing.
Which also means don't buy a guitar without playing it!
That's important, don't buy your guitar online! Find one that sounds and feels good when you actually play it. Don't assume that the same model means the same guitar, and bring along someone with experience if possible.
I'd say don't buy a guitar right away. Ask around among your friends, I'm sure someone will have an old unused acoustic lying around.. use that.
When you get good, you'll have a better idea about the kind of guitar you want to buy. Its also a good way to check if the guitar is your thing (if it isn't, that shiny 300$ Les Paul copy you just bought is going to become the ultimate source of guilt. This has happened to far too many people I know.)
Also, its quite likely the old beat up guitar isn't setup perfectly - the upside of this is that its going to help you build calluses like magic.
My brother and dad play guitar like crazy, combined they have over 20 guitars of all types. My dad has built 6 or 7 of them, both acoustic and electric. My dad recommended Yamaha as a good beginner guitar, simply based on the value (quality/cost), and they have pretty good QA so the beginner guitars are very consistent.
I recently decided to pick up guitar as well. I specifically wanted to learn acoustic (electric is a bit easier to learn), so this recommendation is narrowed to acoustic only. I read a bunch online and was leaning towards the Seagull S6 ($359) and the Yamaha FG700S ($199). I went to a couple guitar stores in NYC with my brother and he played a bunch of different acoustic guitars under $400. I didn't tell him my preference for the Seagull and the Yamaha (after all, I know nothing, he has been playing for 30 years) - and he ended up picking the Yamaha FG700s as the best option for a beginner. I'm very happy with it so far. The Seagull is another great option, but it is a bit more money.
I would avoid the Yamaha "starter" packs. A tuner is $9, picks are generally free, a bag is cheap, and you don't need the DVD. So the junk they throw into their "gigmaker" packs isn't worth the lower quality guitar.
An electric guitar is physically easier to play (easier on the fingertips, finger muscles, etc.) and more forgiving of technical mistakes, IMO. Whether that means you'd like it more for starting out is up to you. :)
Preface: I've been playing guitar for 9ish months now... I started on an acoustic and I've played quite a bit with my roommate's electric.
I've always seen the electric guitar as being far less forgiving than the acoustic when it comes to technical mistakes. Missing the fret by a little bit, strumming the bass strings a tad louder than you were expecting: big problems with an electric, but not really problems I've faced on the acoustic.
Perhaps you are coming from a place of far more experience than I am, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but at least that's what I've noticed in my practicing.
I should point out that both statements are true, depending on whether or not you are playing with amplification.
An electric guitar, unplugged, is perhaps the most forgiving variety of guitars, but play it too often unplugged and you'll develop bad habits that are painfully noticeable when plugged in.
I pretty much played acoustics exclusively for a couple of years, only to find out when I picked up my Les Paul that I had developed a lot of 'acoustic-only' bad habits that I had to unlearn. Little things like muting with my fretting hand -- great cheat on an acoustic, but basically acts like a double-tap on an electric.
I am an indifferent player, and shortly after getting my electric, I said to a friend that it was a lie that electrics hide mistakes. He replied "you're not playing with enough distortion"...
Yea, I should have written the disclaimer that it all depends on what you're playing, what kind of amplification, etc. One instance of where electric exposes technical mistakes more is with accidental string bending, like when you're trying to hit an awkward chord, or any chord at all as a beginner. Overall, I'd still go with electric being more forgiving. A sort-of-proof of this is that the set of songs you can play on acoustic is a subset of the songs you can play on electric. Think of a ridiculous Jimi Page solo as being in the electric-only set. Many acoustic songs might not suit electric, but you can still play them with electric. Eh, maybe it's not a proof, but it sounds clever. :)
I personally ended up doing mostly finger-style acoustic with all kinds of weird alternate tunings, so probably nobody should take my word for it.
I second the recommendation for a basic classical (i.e. nylon-string) guitar. Keep it simple. In the US, you can find a perfectly decent made-in-China classical guitar new for under $100, or used on Craigslist.
It does not matter. My first guitar was some entry level model of Les Paul made by Epiphone. Best way is to drag some friend who knows how to play guitar to the music store and try a few models. Pick something cheap and make sure that neck is not twisted, which is reason why you dragging guitar friend.
This cheap guitar should be fine for first year (or five).
Got the same advice from some of my friends. Sounds right- try something cheap, learn the various pros and cons and the thing that suits us the best and then go for a more professional guitar.
The most important thing on a used or inexpensive instrument is checking that the frets aren't deeply worn and are level (put a capo on at frets 3,6,9,12 and play chromatic scales), uneven forces a choice of fret buzz or high action.
At big dealers e.g. Guitar Center, you'll see used $150 guitars that are playable, and brand new Les Paul Studios and American strats ($650 and up) that need fretwork if you want really low action(full recrown is around $150)
You also want to check trussrod works, neck is not twisted or warped, and the neck joint is sound (no big shims in a bolt-on, no separation between the pieces of a "set" neck, like a Les Paul or acoustic).
Most other defects can be fixed at reasonable cost.
Contrary to some sibling comments in this tread, I'll recommend getting the type of guitar that you want to play to learn on as well. There are several kinds of guitar. The three most distinct types are classical guitar (nylon or gut strings), acoustic (steel strings) and electric guitars, which again can be divided into hollow and solid bodied types.
All these istruments are pretty different, both in physical appearance, sound and of couse also playing technique, required skills, reportoire and so on. Of course, if you are really good at one you can pick up another type more easily. However, the guitars sound and play so different that it's impossible to get good at electric guitar by only practicing classical guitar. All these types of guitars are really distinct instruments.
If you want to play electric rock, get a strat or tele of maybe even an LP. If you want to play electric jazz, get an electric hollowbody guitar. If you want to play folk-rock singer-songwriter or country types, get a steel stringed guitar. If you want to play classical guitar, get a classical guitar. I've seen countless of times people being handed cheap classical guitars when they want to play like Bob Dylan and Neil Young (etc) do. The result is almost always that the guitar goes in the closet after a few weeks and the interest dies down, which is pretty damn sad.
More expensive guitars will likely be much easier to play on and might sound better. However, I woudn't recommend spending great amounts of money on your first guitar. It is certainly possible to get great guitars for less than 1000$.
Those kits are nice because they come with a cheap guitar, case, and amp, plus usually an instructional book/DVD. This means that if you bail you're not out too much money, and at an intro skill level you likely won't notice the difference in quality anyway.
I took a few lessons, but honestly I kind of bailed on those and moved on to teaching myself through tabs online. Go to http://ultimate-guitar.com/ and find simple songs you like (Iron Man, Smoke on the Water, etc.) and just keep trying them til you learn. Eventually you move on to chords (my first song with chords was American Pie) and you just going from there. I'm in the process of teaching myself music theory on the guitar to help myself, but I've gotten busy and it's kind of petered off.
if you're looking for a good deal on an electric, I recommend checking out http://www.rondomusic.com/electricguitar.html . Their guitars are surprisingly good quality for the price, especially once you get into their 'Agile' brand. If for whatever reason you want a more 'well-known' brand, I've found Ibanez, Dean, and Schecter to have pretty consistent quality on their budget guitars, and the PRS SE series is excellent if you can afford to go that route.
Otherwise if you don't want an electric, I would recommend a good nylon string guitar. Yamaha makes pretty good ones, but as with any acoustic, it's a lot harder to judge how you'll like them without actually trying them first.
First off. You can learn on anything, so get whatever guitar you feel most comfortable playing (comfortable playing is the utmost requirement here). You absolutely have to go to guitar stores and have the guitar in your hands and in your lap. If you can't play, make sure to take a friend that can, as they'll be able to tell you if the guitar is "meh" or not.
Spend as much as you comfortably can, but don't kill your bank account. If you can, $500-$1000 is a good range and you have lots of good-quality options in both electric and acoustic.
I'm totally biased on the electric/acoustic debate. I've played almost exclusively acoustic for 20 years, and obviously prefer them. So from here, I'll dive into acoustic specific stuff if you decide to go that way.
Size/Nut Considerations:
Two important things to pay attention to are the body shape/size (Dreadnaught/OM/000/00/ etc), and the width of the fingerboard at the nut. These are just some huge generalizations, but if you play a lot of fingerstyle, a OM/000 with a 1 3/4" nut may be what you're looking for. Whereas if you like playing bluegrass, you'd probably like a Dreadnaught with a 1 11/16" nut.
Woods:
In addition, pay attention to woods the guitar is made of. Spruce and Cedar are going to probably be the two most common top woods, and Rosewood and Mahogany are going to be the most common back woods. Make sure to play combinations of these woods and figure out what you like. Most importantly, if you are paying more than $500 for a guitar, make sure that the top, back, and sides of the guitar are made of solid wood (no HPL, carbon fibre, laminates, plastic, etc.) If you are spending less than 500, make sure you at least get a solid top on the guitar.
Suggestions:
In the 500-1000 range check out Loar, Recording King, Blueridge and Larrivee guitars. I've also heard good things about the Epiphone Masterbilt guitars. Some specific models to check out: Loar LH-250, Blueridge BR-140 (or BR-160), Recording King RD-310, Larrivee OM-03, Martin MMV (if you can find one), Martin 000-15 (or 00-15 or OM-15 or D-15),
In the 1000-2000 range Martin 18-series, Taylor 300 and 400 series, and Larrivee 5-series guitars are great choices. Some specific models to check out: Taylor 312/314, Martin OM-16GT. Martin OM-18 (or D-18)
I know this is true in case of programming for a lot of languages. I am not sure whether this applies to learning guitar as well, I don't have any experience playing a guitar myself so, I can take your point as valid until I try out something and see for myself if there is a difference.
One difference is that each musical instrument has its own personality like each person/player.
Classical, acoustic and electrical guitar are totally different.
It is important that _you_ like the instrument. That is a matter of personal taste.
Important is the joy to play.
Therefore pick that up that you like most, whatever this is.
I started with an acoustic guitar about ten years ago, but that's only because my father had one laying around. Approach learning the guitar like how most people learn new programming languages: just dive right into it. If you like acoustic guitar music more than electric guitar, then learn it and vice versa.
For acoustic: Seagull, Simon Patrick, and Art and Luthrie solid top guitars make solid learner guitars. They can be had for $300-500.
For electric guitars: visit the SevenString forums. That community is more knowledgeable about it than me.
Personally on the electric front (I have no idea about acoustics) I'd recommend a mid-level guitar to start with as the lower-end guitars sound bad enough to be counterproductive, even for a beginner IMO.
You can get a really decent sound out of a £300+ guitar (~$450+ but perhaps pricing varies in the US vs. UK pricing) and it'll be good enough to take you to the point where a more expensive guitar will be worthwhile.
Buy a cheap acoustic. Unless you're Eric Clapton you really don't need to belabor this decision. Buy whatever feels right. Learn on an acoustic first, it'll make the electric more enjoyable because most of the sound is being produced by your fingers and the strings, the electricity just makes it louder, and if you suck the electricity will only amplify the suckiness.
Sorry, but this is awful advice, and sets up a beginner for failure. Don't buy a crappy low-end acoustic. If you don't have much money, get a cheap playable electric first. Cheap acoustics are the #1 reason people quit playing guitar.
Find a friend who really knows their guitar, and buy them lunch in exchange for a run-around of the second-hand and/or pawn shops. If you have gobs of cash to spend, sure, buy an expensive new one, but you can find decent guitars for cheap in the secondhand stores. I got my guitar (a kramer zx30) this way from a secondhand store that sells on consignment.
If you're going to get a cheap new guitar, again, take that friend if you can - cheap guitars can have a number of problems - the first one I ever tried couldn't even hold its tuning during the six-meter walk from behind the counter to hand it to me :)
I'd certainly recommend the lower end of the price spectrum and not the high end - what if you buy a pricey acoustic but the stuff you want to play turns out to be electric? Or vice versa. I thought I liked acoustic more and ended up loving the electric much more. And when you're learning, you really can't tell the subtle difference between models - slapping down a ton of money to find out it's not quite what you want might be a little off-putting. Start with a stepping stone, says I.
There's a huge amount of guitars out there that people have bought and never played or played very little (a few hundred hours or so) so they are just as good as new. Musical instruments don't wear out much under use, so they are a smart thing to buy used. They also hold their value.
Also: consider finding a good teacher. An actual music teacher, not a guitarist hawking lessons for beer money. A proper teacher will be able to see you making mistakes in technique before they become habit and be motivated to fix it. You don't have to go weekly, you can ask for monthly or whatever times. Be upfront with them, say you're going through some self-teaching materials, but at the same time want to catch bad technique.
I guess you are talking about the $250 chromebook, I am using a lenovo x120, having all my dev setup in digitalocean 1GB server. Do you use X or just fine with command line/emacs? Just curious to know how other people are using ec2/linode/digitalocean for development.
It is making connections to connect.facebook.net in almost all the pages I have visited. The page load times are very slow for me, I am sitting behind a proxy where facebook is blocked and connections to facebook timesout. This can be made faster and office friendlier with some changes. I will certainly find and, like or +1 ProCog page even if those links are buried a layer down if I really like it.
