|
Answer to Jeremy
Quote:
I am sorry, I realized two years ago that I forgot. All I remembr was a blue CD, name 5 letters beginning with an M and I payed 45 Dutch guiders, at that time about $12.5, for it. The word "OpenSource" is very much younger than that. After 2 or 3 years I bought SuSE 6.4 and a great many ( 7, 8, 9, 10 was too bad, 11, 12 after them. Wait now for 13) and thought since yesterday about Ubuntu since LibreOffice suggested so. To be honest: I do not know which one to use now. Several people swear by ( Is that word dutch only ? ) Ubuntu, I tried it this morning and am very disappointed. I think that more attention should be given to keep irreplaceables (DVD, internet) and easyToReplaces in different diskpartitions. Ubuntu wipes your harddisk completely without warning. One more suggestion for you and Google: Oblige everybody to add the date ( preferable in iso 8601 yyyy-mm-dd) to every message. I have read websites for many pages when I noticed it was dated 1990 or so. Nieuwenhuizen. 2014-03-03 By the way: It is very difficult to find how to add a question to LQ. Better instructions are urgently needed!!!! |
Quote:
I wonder why you asked me. Was it about the question I posted yesterday but did not appear in any forum ( as I can see )? N |
Was your Linux back in the day MEPIS? Your post yesterday did not get posted correctly, I don't see it you should try reading, sticky posts, quick links and other guides (normally at the top of pages) here on the forums... here's a start: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...stions-org-49/ best wishes and have fun. :)
|
I started in 2008.
I remember I messed up really bad my desktop with Windows Xp. The repair shop guy told me it was going to be over $100 to clean the hard drive and re install everything back. My budget was very limited at that time so I looked around and an online friend suggested me to try Ubuntu I had never heard of Linux before. So Ubuntu was my first encounter with Linux. I still like Ubuntu because it converted me and I know, it has converted many other users too. I have now tried different distros the one I would always like to keep are: Arch, Debian, FreeBSD (I know not Linux), OpenSUSE, and SlackWare. Good times |
How I was exposed to Linux and Open Source
I left the Navy in 1988 and took a job at Carnegie Mellon University(CMU) which I worked for 6yrs, during this time I was introduce3d to Linux and to Linus Torvalds via the Internet. Linus was a post grad student at the time and Linux was still in beta, I started to use Linux on my home PC, which I also had Minix installed on as well. At the time shoelace was the boot loader and it was very archaic, basically you had to address the hard drive in hexadecimal(if memory serves) it was a long and painful proces, later came LILO, which was much easier, but still a far cry from the auto installers of today. I left CMU in 1994 and did computer field service for a time, hadn't really played with Linux during this time, until 1999, when I went to work for Black Box Corp, as a network engineer, I believe I used Madrake at that time, then I hadn't touched Linux for many years, I was using Free BSD and Sun OS besides Windows. I recently became very disenchanted with Microsoft recently when they started sending corrrupted updates to Windows 7, to try to force users to Windows 8, which I tried, but HATE. So, I loaded several version of Linux one at a time to try and find a good fit, I am currently running Ubuntu 13.10 which seems ok, but I liked the Windows look of Mint, I really liked how Mint has the programs layed out and broken down by catagory, just couldn't get mint to run as well As Ubuntu 13.10. I am now downloding RoboLinux, to see how that works. Power to the users!
|
Reply: How Did You Get into Linux and Open Source
I was a 54 yo real estate appraiser. We did a pencil copy and gave it to the steno pool for typing. Then the other appraiser noticed an Everex 286-12 (turbo) desktop sitting idle. Had MS Dos 3.0, WordPerfect 5.0 for DOS and a mystery program which turned out to be SuperCalc 4. Management bought (copy protected) DOS formfilling appraisal software and we had to learn how to use the computer. Became upset with Microsoft over their vaporware during rollout of WordPerfect for Windows. Switched to OS/2 for quite awhile. Tried Windows 98 and had such a bad experience that I looked for something more reliable. One supervisor said that my preference for Open Source seemed partly technical and partly political.
|
After my Windows OS went out (would not boot) I just read everything I could find online about Linux. That was Fall 2009 or later. Since then I've been using Linux more than 50% of the time.
|
A Japanese kid in my high school.
|
My reply is posted. After much reading and research, I decided on a plan to introduce myself to Linux and now do most of my serious online and offline computing in Linux operating systems. In fact, for 3-4 years, my only working operating systems were Linux-based.
I've had one desktop computer since mid 2009and over that period, as now, it was imperative for me to keep the Linux working in order to enjoy using the computer; correction, in order to be able to use the computer. After recovering my Windows 7 Home Premium about six times, I was resolved to preserve my Linux systems and do without Windows, until I finally bought an OEM installation disk and used it to repair the boot sequence. So now I am happily nurturing my Windows and twelve Linux systems on my desktop Dell XPS 7100 and using Redo OS from CD as my backup and restore facilitator. That is Ubuntu Gnome and eleven additional Ubuntu derivatives. I am on my computer 6-10 hours every day, still testing distros, both new and from my stacks of about 640 optical disks.My hobby is using them, as well as a sizable collection of USB installs, from Puppy Linux to PC Linux and many things in between.Being a Newbie isn't so bad. I'm a Zorin and LXLE lover. click on. |
Quote:
|
A friend in MobileRead.com told me about LQ when I asked if there was anywhere to discuss Linux in MobileRead. I've been turned on to open source by another friend who was helping me format my ebooks.
|
IRC did it for me
I was on IRC years ago. Ended up in a room called #slackware and met a member named Aeonflux. He helped me set up a bot, think it was like 1.6 at the time anyway it was like 2002 or so. He taught me a few tricks and got me interested in Slackware. I went that route a bit, never quite got the hang of it, and did the same with Free BSD. Again never quite got it. Tried Unbuntu and found that to be like windows and just didnt see the point. Went Redhat, and Debian before coming back to Slack. Off and on I install it, get frustrated and leave. This time though I am determined to tuff it out.
|
Before I had my own computer, my dad used Solaris on all of his computers. Once I finally did build my own computer, I started trying all sorts of Linux distros. To this day I can't decide which distro is my favorite. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages. Though as of right now, I run CentOS on most of my machines and Debian on a few others. I'd love to install Gentoo again but I just don't have the time for it.
|
I am a poor boy and can't afford Windows?
|
my story
out of curiosity i started taking interest in Linux, the first thing that appealed to me is that it is free and less prone to virus and malware attack. i am just an average user of PC and opting for Linux to me is all about being part of a community who thinks beyond windows and ready to adapt to new things.
|
Member Intro
I am trying to find out more about Linux operating systems. I've heard of Linux for a long time, but just decided to try it. I have a question though.
OpenSUSE 13.1 Linux, 4-disks DVD Installation and Reference Set OpenSUSE 13.1 Linux, 4-disks DVD... Can I use this disk to write over windows 7 and xp?? I am so tired of microsoft. Do I have to format HD first? Or will this program do that for me? I don't want to do a dual boot with windows, just Linux.</span> Can I use this disk to write over windows 7 and xp?? I am so tired of microsoft. Do I have to format HD first? Or will this program do that for me? I don't want to dual boot with windows, I just want to use Linux as my OS. |
Backup anything important and yes :) plus next time ask in a better spot than "How Did You Get Into Linux and Open Source?"...
|
Run the Knoppix Live CD for a test. It was recommended to use it when things went wrong on your computer. Nearly dropped from my chair because I realised that I was looking at sheer quality. I continued to use Windows XP. But when the computer broke down, I bought a new one and I installed Ubuntu. Now I am a happy user of Crunchbang Linux.
|
In 2007. P3 Machine with 128 MB RAM. Windows XP froze frequently and pissed me off. Formatted and installed Fedora Core 6. Since then, I haven't needed a Windows except for some tiny things (which can be actually done in Linux, but academics, ugh) and I use a VM for that.
|
I purchased "Linux: The Complete Reference, Fourth Edition", by Richard Peterson, in 2001. It came with Red Hat 7.
|
Nokia N900
The Nokia N900 got me fascinated about what open source software development can do,
and the power of the linux command line :-) |
Excellent friends introduced me to Mandrake shortly after Windows Xp came out... fell in love with linux immediately! I loved xmms for audio and gimp for manipulating images. When ubuntu hit the scene I switched almost immediately, great OS back then and still. Used ubuntu up until version 12.04.X and switched to Slackware 14.X I am absolutely in LOVE with Slackware now and will prolly never use another distro! I love everything about it. It's solid, almost never locks up and I love watching the software compiles, it's neat to watch all the code zoom across the screen as I await my new software install. Been using Slackware 14.1 since it came out and am happy to report my system is fast, flexible and stunningly eye-pleasing with a theme I created which can be downloaded from gnome-look.org by searching for "Ambiance for Slackware"
LINUX, FTW!!! |
I first heard the name Linux from a friend in 1997 who said he'd like to see it, but we were both busy with other stuff at the time so it had to wait. Around '99 I discovered Copyleft and was impressed with Gnuchess for Windows, both by the quality and the development philosophy.
Fast forward two years and I was a poor biochemistry student who'd just been offered a cheap ex-business base unit. I scraped enough together to buy the necessary hardware plus a second-hand copy of Windows. I had never liked Windows but after years of Sinclair and DOS, I'd come to see the advantages of having something that's still officially supported. I also didn't want to spend the time learning another system when I could stick with what I knew. Then I spent a week studying Windows in an attempt to (again) fix my family's main box, and thought, "If I have to spend time learning the ins and outs of an operating system just to keep it running, it might as well be one I like using." Instead of £30 on Windows 95, I spent £3 on Mandrake 8.0. Of course, it turned out I didn't have to do much at all to keep Linux running, though it took sweat and tears to persuade Mandy to run in the first place. By early 2002 I was wondering why anyone would ever choose to run Windows. Around 2010 I finally left the then-ailing Mandriva for Debian, and now even Mrs Chomper seems to be happy with the system. :cool: |
:)
Freedom of choice should be exercised to the fullest extent... I saw the movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley" with a good friend and began to like Steve more than Bill. What happened between Microsoft and Apple sure encouraged me to not want to pay for computer software, formatting my very soul. It indeed should be shared freely, but credit and charitable donations should go to the those who write and maintain the software.
|
I think this is a bit of a rehash of my intro message but here goes...
In my early days I started out with the TRS-80 Color Computer II. Shortly thereafter I upgraded to the Coco 3 which had Microware OS-9 available as an alternative (seperately purchased) OS. It was a real-time OS that while not Unix was very Unix-like in it's feel. They used it in a lot of embedded systems back in the day (including in street lights and on the space shuttle). Eventually Radio Shack orphaned the Coco like what was happening with a lot of 8-bit machines and support began to dry up. In the early 90's I saw the writing on the wall but did not want to go the Wintel route. I started investigating this other unix-like OS I was hearing more about on the Delphi, Compuserve and BBS forums called Linux. I eventually got a beginner book at CompUSA and installed it on my fathers Packard Bell (remember those?). I had some success. I couldn't get X working on it though, but I was able to get to the command line and use some tools that were familiar from my OS-9 days, as well as a bunch of others. It was on a whole new level though. Slackware was my first and my memories of it are positive. I eventually migrated to Redhat and then briefly tried other distros before settling on the Mandrake/Mandriva and now Mageia line since about the late 90's. It took a long time but I eventually got my foot in the door only in the last couple years as a Linux Admin. I currently use Mageia at home as well as use Fedora/RHEL/Centos in a VM environment. Professionally I use a lot of RHEL as well as some HP-UX. What a long nerdy trip it's been... |
From 1995 using Sun OS 4.1.3, to Solaris 2.5, 7, 8, 9, and finally Solaris 10 where Sun was killing off Solaris in their own way until Oracle finally put the nail in the coffin, to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 now RHEL6.
I've never looked back, but I still (and only) miss ZFS file system and the ease and stability of it all. Everything, and I mean everything, has been easier with Linux, including working with, researching solutions, and scripting with all the latest commands. I've had to learn all over again how great the tools are, without having to download OpenCSW or Blastwave packages on Solaris - just to function like big linux boys. LOL Updating (patching) in RHEL has been a DREAM compared to Solaris too. I can patch dozens of Linux machines much FASTER than I can even one Solaris Sparc system, maybe even faster than a Solaris kernel patch itself. LOL No regrets though. |
My Conversion To Linux
I have never been happy with the most used OS that computers come with. Constant crashes with the loss of data etc.
Also my biggest gripe are the several versions sold with varying features removed for the lower price. |
"bad Voltage" Perhaps bad $$$ cost.
At the time, I was a member of a toastmasters group. I wanted to have a computer that did not have the cost and fragility of a Laptop.
So I took some old hardware and assembled "flivver-1". I did not want the cost of windows, nor did I especially want a machine that was a temptation to others to want to tinker with. I also had a friend who had worked with Linux as a career for more than 20 years in a local major university. So we got together and "tore our collective hair out debugfging and sorting good hardware from bad, finally getting a version of Fedora to work. - "The School of Hard Knocks." (But this has been 95% of my "Life Schooling" anyway. Now I have about 4 machines here on a network over 2 floors, having just purchased the latest one, and am doing more debugging - in Quebec, we might say "deverminage"! I still keep a minimal capability in win XP around for use in a pinch (nothing's perfect - no panacea!") but that is always separated on separate physical hard drives, and boot selection is done from the bios - to keep them independent! And now on to more "penguins"! |
My first dip in to Linux was when I used the Braille+, a notetaker designed for the blind. I was impressed by how stable it was, and on inspection of the owner's manual, I had sceen the phrase Linux. This caught my attention and I looked further in to Linux, and discovered other blind people using it. As for why I use Linux is because I get a free screenreader, Orca, who comes with Gnome, and Speakup for the command-line. The first distro I actually installed and used myself was Arch, which, honestly, wasn't the best of ideas. Thank goodness the wiki was well documented, because that's how I installed it. But it broke afterwards, but that a different story for a different time.
|
Linux, hardware, and the disabled - the "Joypointer".
Dear Hunter:
Thanks for your reply. I am not blind, however I have had some nice experiences with blind people over the years. Linux is more complex, and effectively a bigger system than windows, but versatility and complexity go, and will go to eternity, together - not only in IT, but ubiquitously (everywhere). This also related to why Linux is more stable. Linux has about 8 (or now possibly more) layers in the operating system alone. Win XP had 3. This makes updates, patches and fixes much more manageable for those who have to support us. However, any good operating system needs hardware that is user-adequate without bearing exhorbitant cost. What I have seen done for the disabled in the marketplace IMHO leaves a lot to be desired. also IMHO, improvement in this area does hold beneficial spinoff potential for many others who, not seeing themselves as having a disabieachlity, may find that some implementations made for thre disabled can also be helpful to others who may actually have minor disabilities that have simply been ignored, the imposed limitations so being ignored alike. My Problem is more to do with small motor coordination - the kind of physical coordination that relates to manipulating small physical objects. It also affects my typing and use of the Mouse/trackball. While I prefer a trackball to a mouse, the trackballs I see have some ergonomic issues that don't seem to have been attended to in the marketplace. Being a retired electroneachic technician, I habve plans to custom build a special type of joystick designed to replace a mouse, however this is not my only DIY project. I have been a technology DIYer since the age of 14. I am now 67! The "Joypointer": ============= Much of that project is small metal work, as the problem I have with commercial mice and trackballs is more mechanical and ergonomic than electronic. This is going to be very time consuming - Rome was not built in a day!! This approach could also be of help to blind operators, especially those who were blind from birth. This is because the operator will place his/her hand on the joystick and likely not have to remove it very often. the device, as with trackballs does not have to move around the table, so it will take less space. (Overall size about 10" deep by 7" wide, and allow 2 inches free at the back to accommodate the cables.) The electronics is handles by cannibalizing an old PS/2 non-optical mouse. The buttons are repolaced by button modules that can use ordinary pushbuttons - user replaceable! the buttons are mounted on top of the 10" X 7" X 2" aluminum chassis on sub-assembly plates that can be removed and/or replaced as needed. The two resolvers are removed and their pulse inputs to the interface electronics are driven from an oscillator and dividers. The 4 independently divided pulse trains are switched by switches in the joystick, after having been further split to provide the 2 different quadrature sequences needed for each axis. Thus when the joystick is moved up, for example, a pulse train makes the mouse cursor rise at a rate determined by the speed setting for the vertical. If the joyustick is pulled down, the same happens in respect of down, using the opposite quadrature derivative of the divided pulse stream. The same apples for left and right. since this device will need power, the back of the box will have 2 connectors: a DB9F and a USB2 F or Type B. The DB9 will connect to my wired 12 volt desktop modular remote control panel, and another switch on the "Joypointer" will make it possible to switch to a standard USB mouse or trackball plugged into the USB connector plugged into the back of the Joypointer box. This could be useful if the operator needs another person to operate the pointer function from time to time.each Quote:
Best Regards, Bruce M. |
stability and robustness
This is a long story.
Up until 2001 I used an Atari ST, the mousenet a 33k modem and two needle printers for everything. As there seemed to be more programs to use for different stuff, like school, I bought a PC with a Pentium 2 and Windows ME preinstalled. Had some fun with it but as some others suggested, the ME really did stand for "more errors". :( I had plenty of blue screens all the time. Even at times when I started Masosoft's (I have my reasons for calling them that) Word and did nothing for 30 seconds because I was distracted by watching a movie on the little TV next to my monitor. ME just was ridiculous. My older Brother had tried several things, amongst them a DOS from some different Company than Masosoft and Linux from some Library CD. I did'nt know anything about Linux being free at the time and was just very disappointed by ME, so I went to some shop and bought the SuSE 8.0 set. (Yes, bought. Yes, the set, i. e. three printed Manuals came with seven CDs and a DVD. At the time that was 70 DM, I think (roughly 35 USD at the exchange rate at that time). ) Installed a lot of software. And more. Off those DVDs. I was amazed about how much you could get for a price that other companies would sell you an OS for and take more money for specific drivers. The hard disk in that computer was a piece of junk. After a while track 0 was broken. Some may know what that means: No OS started any more. ME would not install any more. But SuSE DID install. Without even complaining! That's robust, isn't it? Finally, the drive was so broken that even in Linux I had problems, so I got a new one in the end. That was when I was studying computer science. Used Linux for everything I needed in the classes except for one semester when I also used the Bloodshed Dev-C++ IDE because that way it was easyer to cooperate with the two students working at the same homework project. And even then I used WinE most of the time (as then it was possible to use a working Windows partition as the WinE partition; not being able to do that ist a serious regression to me). When working on my diploma thesis (a lot closer to a master than to a bachelor thesis) my PC was 8 years old and it broke. (According to the symptoms it displayed, the electrolyte had evaporated from the condensators, so there was no point in trying to fix it.) I Really confused the sales guy at a local computer store when I told him I needed a Computer with a 368-based CPU architecture. :-> His boss then understood and I got a Core2 Dual machine. Took me one day to modify the grub settings and after that I hat my old (otherwise unchanged) SuSE Linux 9.0 (I had upgraded since 8.0, but in 2009 9.0 was really old) up and running on my new PC. No fuss about finding and installing all the packages I had/needed/wanted! Did I mention Linux is robust? :) I tried to start ME on that machine, but that wouldn't work on multiprocessor boards. So I used WinE as before. Except for an old game (rarely; could get it installed via WinE, too), I don't use anything off the ME partition any more. I don't have Windows installed on that machine and I sure don't look back to that old, bluescreen-throwing (and more weird errors) and infection-prone garbage OS. Due to writing the thesis and programming on that old PC, I used WMX/WM6 a long time and later switched to plain openbox. You have to use the shell most of the time with them, so I gained a lot of knowledge there which I put to use at work now. (Besides programming.) |
I was curious interested in Linux since maybe 2004 or 2005, when my uncle showed me SUSE Linux 9.1 (give or take a few) on an old computer that originally had NT 4.0.
When I was 11, I became increasingly interested in Linux, and my uncle bought me a Brainshare Linux Starter Kit with SLED 10 for Christmas 2007. It was on a DVD, and I learned how to install a DVD drive on a computer so I could install Linux. At first, I thought it would delete my data if I installed it, but I progressively worked my way through YaST's install dialog until after a month I got far enough to see it would shrink my Windows XP partition. After a few months, I hopped online and downloaded openSUSE 11.0, Ubuntu 8.04, OpenSolaris 2008.05, Gentoo 2008.??, and Fedora 9 LiveCDs. I miss the days of Sun Microsystems, Ubuntu and GNOME actually getting better, and openSUSE and Fedora releasing on time. I decided because of YaST to stay with openSUSE 11.0, and have been a Geeko enthusiast since. Things got a bit easier in 2011 when we finally were able to switch from Dial Up to DSL. Before Linux, I grew up as a fanatical pro-Microsoft and pro-Windows child, and chastised every Mac/Linux user I saw. Linux has saved me from being such a fool. You know you are a Linux lover when you remember the first day you installed Linux, January 28, 2008. |
Anger and Refusal to be Raped by M$
Oops... double posted
|
Quote:
I do understand that buttons that go click have good positive feedback there are software solutions http://sourceforge.net/projects/joymouse-linux/ part of the fun is the doing we that linux, certainly are, we that tinker my right wrist is about shot, after a very short time using a mouse righty my arm starts to go mumb, I can work lefty, with no problem, I use the arrow keys when possible, the old thinkpad finger thingy is ok, a track pad is better I like a keyboard with trackpad http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 the trackpad is tiny & takes some getting used to makes a great emergency backup for laptops with defective keyboards any trackpad makes me wish for an actual scrollwheel, with detents I can feel I'll have to keep my eyes open for a usb gaming controller :D |
I became the owner of ScubaBoard.com. It was first hosted on freeBSD, but I soon changed to CentOS, had a fling with Ubuntu and am now back to CentOS.
|
I began working on AT&T UNIX in the mid 80s as part of my job. As time progressed I worked on various *nix versions.
I first began working on Linux at a job where I was a UNIX Admin (HP-UX and Solaris) using Caldera as my main Linux desktop. I also had a copy of early RedHat back then (early/mid 90s). I first started seeing Linux used for servers in the IT shop I worked in around 2002 when folks started migrating application tiers from pricy UNIX boxes to Intel Boxes running Linux (RHEL 2.x). In my current job we'd used old RedHat 7.3 and 9 as well as FreeBSD for some purposes when I got here but were still mainly a UNIX (and Windoze) shop but now most of what was on UNIX has been migrated to RHEL (starting with 3 then onto 4, 5 and 6) including our main ERP and Data Warehouse databases. Of course a lot of appliances are using embedded Linux and VMWare started as a thinly disguised RedHat release. |
I read an article in a magazine about Linux, open source and all that, and even though I was a computer illiterate person, it immediately sparked my interest. A few days later I downloaded Mandrake and started playing with Linux. I've been using it for almost 10 years now.
|
About 10 years ago, a friend of mine told me that there was an alternative to Microsoft Windows. I did some searching on the Internet and came across Mandriva. Living in Israel I needed something that would type also in Hebrew besides English. I read that there was at the time an Israeli branch of Linux. There was also at the time Mandriva Israel, which I don't think exists today. The Managing Director, undertook to try and sell the Power PC version which I learnt without success at the time. When I sent him an e-mail requesting a free Mandriva disk, he contacted me after sending it to me. At the time my router was not geared up for Linux. He personally came to my home with his to see what he can do. He got me onto the Internet, and advised that I change the router. This the following Morning I did. So began my experience of Linux. Something I do not regret. I have tried several distros, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Ultimate Edition, Linux Mint, Puppy. Puppy I installed on a 4 GB Hard Drive HP Laptop, that had Win98. I moved from Ultimate to Linux Mint, and then to Mageia 2, 3 and 4. The 3 I thought was better than the Mageia 4. My personal view. I then decided on Linux Mint 16 Petra KDE4 on my desktop sitting in 70 GB partition with plenty of empty space.
|
Got involved
I bought the first copy of linux off e-bay for one dollar.
|
Quote:
|
It was year 2000. I needed cheap (or better - free) web and mail server. I used CD attached to some computer magazine with Slackware. It installed smoothly.
I remember the nightmare of getting X-Windows to work. Finally I administered it using only CLI ;) (mainly via SSH from Windows machine :)) |
Someone gave me an Ubuntu disk. I'm always game for something alternative and I liked it.
Wasn't long before I graduated to Slackware and of course I never looked back. |
As a silver surfer quickly approaching 70 with very little technical knowledge, I found an Ubuntu disk that someone had given me months earlier. I couldn't keep up with the cost of running Microsoft products, at the time I was running XP, I found that Ubuntu had everything I needed, facility for email, printing, surfing the Web and playing music and films, I had everything in one package and the beautiful thing was ... it didn't cost an arm and a leg. Since then I have moved over to Linux Mint Cinnamon, learned quite a lot, never crashed my system in all those years and introduced literally hundreds of old-timers to the joys of Open Source. Incidentally, I have never heard back from one single person that has ever returned to the expensive horrors that Microsoft Windows and all the peripherals had to offer. I correspond generally through email with all my old friends, and dare I say, this would not have been viable if our young and enthusiastic young contributors on forums like this had not made all this possible. On behalf of all the oldies out there ... We thank you.
|
How I found Linux
Received the first form of UNIX from Bel Labs on a tape
after going to a meeting in Caifornia and listening to a speech on the beginning of UNIX. Ran it on a PDP 11/34. It was wonderful. After going through many version of UNIX I saw LINUX and compared it to programs running on a SPARC. Linux won! Used RedHat and then running through a number of versions finally settled on Ubuntu. Love Linux. |
SLACKWARE! from a stack of floppies
Mid 1990's, I wanted to set up a multi-line BBS and I needed to use more than two serial ports at once. Linux, using setserial, did it just peachy assigning unused IRQ's to com ports 3 and 4. Last time I used Windows was 3.3.1 and I never looked back. I don't even install wine. :) Ric
|
Slackware with pre 1.0 kernel
1992, I was taking a C for Unix class at Sacramento State University, and thought it would be better if I had my own Unix box to play with. The instructor suggested Linux. I managed to download it from the fledgling Internet using FTP at work using a mainframe and boxes and boxes of 3.5 inch floppies. This was the PRE-1.0 kernel at the time! Heady times to live in.
Slackware was great. I learned how to compile my own kernel using gcc - no modules yet. |
In 1992 I needed a cheap pc and walmart had the microtel/lindows box for $199 been hooked ever since.
|
How
Browsing in the Va. Tech. book store in 1998 or 1999. Spotted among the computer books a book and CD of Red Hat 5.0 or 5.1. Been using Linux ever since.
|
Quote:
|
The first machine I dealt with was an IBM 1620, which rather dates me. The first - and only university-level - computer course was Numerical Analysis, and we had to learn Fortran, but first had to learn how to code in octal machine language. That was interesting.
Fast-forward a couple of decades, and I was using a Hyperion with DR-DOS. Then my employer started using PCs and I was introduced to Windows 1.0. Hated it. Later used OS/2 which was pretty cool, but we know where that went. Somewhere I encountered Unix, started trying to learn about it, but did not install it. I liked the idea of developing your own security, and by this time had a major attitude about M$. I encountered Debian GNU/Linux slink (I think it was), got it installed eventually (not easy when the software you use for installation only understands 8.3-character filenames), and never looked back. I have fought with balky hardware, made numerous mistakes (sometimes fatal to large chunks of important data), and had to endure disbelief and even hostility from my now ex-wife about it (among other things), but it's been worth it. Not that I'm much of a coder - php and html are all I work with - but there's something special about being able to "roll your own" and not have to put up with somebody else's idea of how one should do things. |
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:55 AM. |