Hi,

I've been using Slackware since PV's first release back in 1993. At that time I had a T1 line at the University and downloading a disk set was not a big problem for me. Fortunately, I also had LAB assistants to do the downloads in the LAB. My time was too valuable to do that task. I could justify using student labor to do it. 'rawrite' of the downloads to create images to diskettes was also done by the students.
Checkout; Linux Distro TimeLine

How long have you been using Slackware?? I'm curious!

2000 here. Started with Slackware 7.1

Started with 2.3 after Coherent Folded. Boy, all those diskettes. Glad where I worked at the time was more then happy to let me download the diskettes.

I did not have a home internet connection at the time. But was able to use kermit to dial into work and work would do a callback to me.

onebuck --

I tried SLS way back when and I don't really recall, but I remember when Slackware switched from a.out to ELF because all the C-programs I bought or compiled on Interactive UNIX stopped working

My first Slackware Server ran version 4.0 back in 1999 ( it was an old AST Washing Machine Box with 12 HDDs that sounded more like a Jet Engine winding up for takeoff ).

I still have all my official CDs and DVDs going back to 7.0 thru 14.2 ( I really miss the Official Media )

Memory Lane ...

-- kjh

P.S. Interesting Graph !

About 2005 or so? Shortly after Pat's kid was born, because I remember reading the announcement in the changelog.

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Since Slackware 8.0. My first install was done with disketts, I have kept them even though I don't have a floppy drive any more. Don't remember the year though.

Since 10.0, the last release including Gnome (Thank "Bob"! ). Late 2004.

I started in 2001 I think, slackware-8.1 was released at this time.

Since Red Hat was no longer free, I think somewhere around 2002.

I think I had my first taste with Slackware 9.0 given with a book I got for cheap. That was between 2003 and 2005 I guess.

From about 2011 to 2015, had an apple gap (cheap second hand i-things).

First slacking about 20 years back... I haven't the knowledge I should/could :-D

Since 1996. I pulled the Slackware 3.0 installation cd from the back cover of "Linux Unleashed".

I just "tried" 10.2 a while ago, IIRC.
Slackware-current on my laptops since 2018

Started using Slackware in 1998.
Never left and don't want to.
Ran an entire office on mostly Slackware in the early 0's.
The secretaries were the hardest to convince.
john

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I've been using Slackware for about two years, and I wish I'd started sooner.

Coming up this summer (2023) will be my 17th year anniversary of using Slackware Linux as my primary OS on ALL of my machines throughout those years.

Even though, I hold a degree in Electronics Engineering and Computer Science, I did not follow the path to "computering" right away. My primary career was as a component level repair technician on commercial and consumer RF communications (two-way radio) and Audio equipment.

My first experiences with computering came in about 1982-3 when a friend of mine had bought himself a Commodore computer. We spent hours trolling BBSes and playing Zork on that machine. I did not have an actual "PC" type machine in my own home until early in 2000, when my brother gave me his hand-me-down system after buying himself a new one. It was a little Pentium I w/ Win 98SE on it.

In 2005, I started to get quite frustrated with MS Windows. XP was causing me lots of problems with all the Service Pack upgrades and baloney. A couple friends on my private forum had been trying to get me to try GNU/Linux for a while. I finally installed Ubuntu 6.06 in dual-boot arrangement with Windows on my system back then.

I spent the next two or three months "distro-farming". At one point, I had 18 distributions on my computer. I was trying to learn how GNU/Linux worked and how the different distributions operated. A "maestro" at Scot's Newsletter Forums named Bruno Knaapen (of Amsterdam) told me one day that if I really wanted to learn GNU/Linux and not just play around with it, I needed to install Slackware. He was, of course, correct.

It only took me a couple days to fall in love with Slackware. The next nearly 17 years just flew on by. And here I am. I've often said that if Slackware ever goes the way of the Do-Do, I'll be done with computers/Internet for good. The only thing that I may consider other than Slackware as a primary OS might be BSD. Hopefully, though... Slackware will outlive us ALL.

My unending gratitude goes out to Bruno Knaapen, Patrick Volkerding, Eric Hameleers, Robbie Workman, and numerous other folks who've guided and assisted in my GNU/Linux Slackware journey. Oh, and can't forget another fellow who also had an impact -> Jeremy Garcia, the owner/operator of LinuxQuestions.org!

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