When did you come to Linux?

[MurphCID]

I remember those magazines. I was always scared off because conventional thought was Slackware was "too hard" for newbies. That is why I went Mandrake.

[BenTrabetere]

When did you come to Linux?

I think the universal answer to this question is:
"Later than I should have"

That's not how it feels for me. I came to Linux when the time felt right... and when I had had enough of Windows, so I had a reason.

This echoes my experience. However, once I got through the transition and Linux started to make sense, I regretted not making the switch earlier.

[sgtor]

I remember those magazines. I was always scared off because conventional thought was Slackware was "too hard" for newbies. That is why I went Mandrake.

For me dos and windows was child's play. That's why I thought I could move onto Slackware for more of a challenge. And yes it was a very difficult challenge but not impossible but the key is it was fun for me. If somebody's not having fun then it's likely not gonna happen.

At this point in my life I don't think I would want to do it that way. So if Slackware v1 were the only option today, I probably wouldn't do it. That's why it's so great and essential for Linux Mint and other easy distros to be out there.

Oddly enough the only way it could have worked for me was to have that DOS n Windows computer running so I could do everything I needed to do with a computer easily while learning Linux where I wasn't able to do everything I wanted to do at the time.

[MurphCID]

I was adequately proficient in DOS, and pretty good in Windows 95-7 (even hacking registry). Windows 10 is beyond my minor skills. I just wish I had more time to learn linux deeply.

[Arch_Enemy]

... bought a ZiP drive the minute the store I was working for at the time got them. We had a store in front and a service dept in the rear. Great little thing! One hundred megabytes on something the size of a floppy!

Zip drives were great, until you got the dreaded Click of Death...

I never got one of those. I tried to get a Zip the day they went on sale, but they were all gone! Then they disappeared for a while, so apparently it was the people who bought the earliest ones that experienced that. I used a parallel port ZiP for over a decade without issue! I have an IDE one as well, but have already either transferred or can't use (DOS programs) the stuff on the drives.

[Arch_Enemy]

I was adequately proficient in DOS, and pretty good in Windows 95-7 (even hacking registry). Windows 10 is beyond my minor skills. I just wish I had more time to learn linux deeply.

I was a batch file wizard. Built menus and automation for menial tasks in minutes.

I can't seem to translate that success into BASH programming, however...

[MurphCID]

I was adequately proficient in DOS, and pretty good in Windows 95-7 (even hacking registry). Windows 10 is beyond my minor skills. I just wish I had more time to learn linux deeply.

I was a batch file wizard. Built menus and automation for menial tasks in minutes.

I can't seem to translate that success into BASH programming, however...

I remember doing batch files, I also remember copying BASIC programs from magazines, and looking forward to each and every issue of BYTE magazine. I would immediately go to Jerry Pournelle's latest column to read about the computers and software I could never afford back then.

[lsemmens]

I remember doing batch files, I also remember copying BASIC programs from magazines, and looking forward to each and every issue of BYTE magazine. I would immediately go to Jerry Pournelle's latest column to read about the computers and software I could never afford back then.

That brings back fond memories. Jerry Pournelle and Chaos Manor!

[shmickcomputer]

My story of starting with Linux is boring - I was doing an IT course in 2008, and one of the certifications they were prepping us for was Comptia Linux+ - so I had to learn about Linux, for the very first time. I believe I started by installing Ubuntu 6 on my old laptop (still works!), although SUSE Linux was on the "official program" of the course - I liked Ubuntu better.

[MurphCID]

In my personal experience (YMMV) I have found that as a general rule Hewlett-Packard computers (laptops) tend to work well (not perfectly) with Linux, and the higher end laptops like the Spectre x360 run it very well. I have not tried Dell laptops yet, But I have tried it on Samsung, Lenovo, and ASUS, none seem to be as smooth as the HP. That is not to say that there are not issues, my daughters old laptop that I installed Mint on had issues with Wifi, and I finally said to heck with it since I did not have the time to spend working on it. My first Linux installation was via CD disks onto a home built Cyrex 166 system with 64 mb of ram, a vga card, and a 20 gb HD. (Mandrake linux). What are your experiences with hardware?

I found this interesting in the Mandrake Linux got the same "Newbie distro" grief that Mint gets. Both came complete with loads of software, and ready to go. https://linux.slashdot.org/story/00/06/ ... 1-reviewed

[BG405]

I found this interesting in the Mandrake Linux got the same "Newbie distro" grief that Mint gets. Both came complete with loads of software, and ready to go. https://linux.slashdot.org/story/00/06/ ... 1-reviewed

I tried visiting that but can not see the review itself; only the comments & other stuff on that page, even after allowing all the scripts which looked like they might reveal something. Tried disabling uBlock Origin as well but to no avail. Would it be too cheeky to ask if you (or anyone who can see it) could quote it here, if not too long?

[MurphCID]

I found this interesting in the Mandrake Linux got the same "Newbie distro" grief that Mint gets. Both came complete with loads of software, and ready to go. https://linux.slashdot.org/story/00/06/ ... 1-reviewed

I tried visiting that but can not see the review itself; only the comments & other stuff on that page, even after allowing all the scripts which looked like they might reveal something. Tried disabling uBlock Origin as well but to no avail. Would it be too cheeky to ask if you (or anyone who can see it) could quote it here, if not too long?

Sorry, I tried, and I could read the comments. Funny, I could the other day.

[lsemmens]

Here y'are

404 File Not Found
The requested URL (story/00/06/) was not found.

Don't thank me!

[Cyber_Ghost78]

I have been using both Windows and Linux since the late 90's. Started out with Windows 95. I wasn't too much of a fan of Linux back then. I started out with Debian as my first crack at Linux. My programmer friend talked me into it. We were the only PC techs in our area (we live in a small town) so he thought it was best we have a working knowledge of both Windows and Linux even though Windows pretty much dominated the market back then. I lost interest in LInux and focused on Windows and stayed with Windows until the mid 2000's. Then I came back to Linux to give it another shot because my friend said it had progressed so much that it was more user friendly. So I went back to Debian and it was indeed a lot easier to work with. Then I discovered Ubuntu and then Mint later on and have been using Mint ever since then but I have distro hopped a lot over the years. It's fun to me to test out different distros but when it comes to running one as my primary OS Mint is my go to. I just want something that works without having to troubleshoot and search the net for workarounds all the time. There are so many great distro's out there. Some are designed for specific purposes and/or specific hardware. I don't think any one is better than the other. I think it all boils down to personal preference. More advanced users tend to like Arch LInux better due to being able to have complete control over your system and pretty much building it from scratch. Some people like tinkering around. I like to tinker with repairing and building computers but not with my OS's. I just want to get my work done without interruptions or problems. My favorite distro's as of recent are Linux MInt and Ubuntu MATE. MX LInux is nice too. AntiX is the best lightweight distro for older hardware imo. We live in amazing times and Linux just keeps getting better and better every year. From my experience LInux MInt has the best support and the strongest and most active community which makes a world of difference. Especially if you're new to Linux MInt or Linux in general. I tried Windows 10 for a while but its crap lol. The laptop I bought came with it pre-installed. The last good versions of Windows was XP and Windows 7 imo. I'm done with Windows though. Linux does everything I need it to and is a hell of a lot easier on system resources. It has a much better response time and doesn't force updates on the user like Windows. Now I'm devoting my energies towards Linux MInt only. I want to be able to give back to the community and help in any way I can. I still have a lot to learn. There's always something new to learn I have come to realize. Well that's all I have to say. Really enjoyed reading all of your stories on this thread. I'm off! Peace and blessings to you all!

[VinceC]

Hello All, I first tried Linux around 2005. I remember I was intrigued but not completely sold on making it my main driver. I tried several distros through the years but just did not want to dedicate the time to learn it. I build/repair PC's as a sideline. I got past Vista's stupidity and settled into W7. When Microsoft came out with W8 I thought this is definitely a NO GO! I took advantage of the Win10 free upgrade and upgraded a desktop and a laptop. I wanted to stay current on the latest M$ OS for my customers, even though I did not like the direction M$ was taking.

Many customers and coworkers were having difficulties with W10. I did Google searches on W10 issues and was shocked at how many people hated it. I got a bad taste in my mouth and knew that I wanted to get find an alternative to M$.

Last year I ordered Office 2016 because that is what we used at work. I learned, from a nearly non English speaking M$ representative, that you must have a M$ account in order to Activate the product. I told her that I do not want an account and I that I am sending the product back for a refund. I also said that they just lost a customer because of that requirement.

That said, I now have Ubuntu Mate 64 bit on an HP (dual core) Laptop and Mint 18.01 32 bit on a Toshiba (single core) laptop. It is now my goal to learn these distros and make Linux my main driver. I have joined both the Ubuntu and Mint forums. I am very pleased to see the following both these distros have. There are a lot of sharp folks out there sharing their experiences. Thank you all, Cheers!

[wutsinterweb]

Like many, including the OP, I recieved my share of "abuse" from some more skilled and knowledgable users. But different from them, most of them people who worked in the industry and had education and training, I was a more perenial user with a lot of different major interests in life, I couldn't see myself spending the majority of my time learning nix just to please the cognizenti.

But I kept going back and trying different distros. The more I read about MSs corporate antics and ran into licensing headaches and system instability, I finally got to a point where I realized I needed to put forth MORE effort and take my own destiny in hand. I still don't work as hard at learning as I should, partly because of a personal flaw of being clinically depressed. But a couple years ago I realized I could breath new life in older hardware by using appropriate distros, and that when people didn't realize they weren't using W--, they were happy.

So I got off my butt and asked questions all while trying earnestly to do my own legwork. I too, get annoyed by people that want everything served on a platter to them, but in all honesty, the whole RTFM attitude was beyond the pale with many people, a type of arrogance.

When I help people with computer issues, I remind myself that they have lives and don't have the time to read and study that I have, and that most of the, their brains aren't conditioned for computing science. I'm lucky- I'm a modest polymath type, I'm both creative and artistic, but also analytical and problem solving oriented, I'm into a wide variety of occupations of time, from Cuisine, to music, to photonics, to computer work. I do get disinterested when something becomes too focused because of my varied interests.

One of the best things I've ever done is getting off my butt and taking the time to ready/study, and ask better questions. I'm still in awe of many of you here, but I couldn't possibly be any happier I virtually completely moved to Mint and GNU-Linux. It's all just so wonderful, yeah, maybe sometimes Linus acted mean to some people, but he's never been a corporate crook like some other, well, never mind...

I have friends that didn't know how to use a computer that, after me teaching them, found that they actually agreed that using an easy Linux distro is more comfortable than Windows.

Don't get me wrong, Windows helped build the world. IBM, Gates, and many other big shots deserve much credit for pushing personal computers rather than mainframes, into the zeitgeist. But back in 1998, they should have made changes they didn't and it's cost untold problems and loss of productivity to the world. GNU-Linux just works and it's my happy space. If only it had happened to me sooner.

I was reading No Starch Press's book The Linux Command Line at my sibling's house yesterday and my comp-sci engineer BIL picked up the book and commented "huh, this is like the good old DOS days". I smiled and replied, oh, it's better than that.

That BIL is a brilliant person but very averse to change, only likes a limited food menu for instance. But I've gradually helped influence his thinking on many things, such as cord cutting. I figure within the year he's gonna set up a distro, I've got him curious.

My best friend had zero computer ability and I asked him "do you trust me?" and he said yes, so I gave him an old laptop with Mint on it and convinced him he could learn the basics. He did.

[MurphCID]

Like many, including the OP, I recieved my share of "abuse" from some more skilled and knowledgable users. But different from them, most of them people who worked in the industry and had education and training, I was a more perenial user with a lot of different major interests in life, I couldn't see myself spending the majority of my time learning nix just to please the cognizenti.

But I kept going back and trying different distros. The more I read about MSs corporate antics and ran into licensing headaches and system instability, I finally got to a point where I realized I needed to put forth MORE effort and take my own destiny in hand. I still don't work as hard at learning as I should, partly because of a personal flaw of being clinically depressed. But a couple years ago I realized I could breath new life in older hardware by using appropriate distros, and that when people didn't realize they weren't using W--, they were happy.

So I got off my butt and asked questions all while trying earnestly to do my own legwork. I too, get annoyed by people that want everything served on a platter to them, but in all honesty, the whole RTFM attitude was beyond the pale with many people, a type of arrogance.

When I help people with computer issues, I remind myself that they have lives and don't have the time to read and study that I have, and that most of the, their brains aren't conditioned for computing science. I'm lucky- I'm a modest polymath type, I'm both creative and artistic, but also analytical and problem solving oriented, I'm into a wide variety of occupations of time, from Cuisine, to music, to photonics, to computer work. I do get disinterested when something becomes too focused because of my varied interests.

One of the best things I've ever done is getting off my butt and taking the time to ready/study, and ask better questions. I'm still in awe of many of you here, but I couldn't possibly be any happier I virtually completely moved to Mint and GNU-Linux. It's all just so wonderful, yeah, maybe sometimes Linus acted mean to some people, but he's never been a corporate crook like some other, well, never mind...

I have friends that didn't know how to use a computer that, after me teaching them, found that they actually agreed that using an easy Linux distro is more comfortable than Windows.

Don't get me wrong, Windows helped build the world. IBM, Gates, and many other big shots deserve much credit for pushing personal computers rather than mainframes, into the zeitgeist. But back in 1998, they should have made changes they didn't and it's cost untold problems and loss of productivity to the world. GNU-Linux just works and it's my happy space. If only it had happened to me sooner.

I was reading No Starch Press's book The Linux Command Line at my sibling's house yesterday and my comp-sci engineer BIL picked up the book and commented "huh, this is like the good old DOS days". I smiled and replied, oh, it's better than that.

That BIL is a brilliant person but very averse to change, only likes a limited food menu for instance. But I've gradually helped influence his thinking on many things, such as cord cutting. I figure within the year he's gonna set up a distro, I've got him curious.

My best friend had zero computer ability and I asked him "do you trust me?" and he said yes, so I gave him an old laptop with Mint on it and convinced him he could learn the basics. He did.

I could not agree more.

[Valsodar]

I don't remember the exact date, tbh. It was the time between Ubuntu 9 and Ubuntu 10. That much I remember cuz when I started using Ubuntu 9, shortly after that Ubuntu 10 was released. Then they started uglifying Ubuntu's interface, so I used Debian for a while. After Debian - Mint 16 for a while, altough Mint 17 never worked well with me (it was too glitcy - tended to freeze too often for no reason), so I went back to Debian - untill I was told there was Mint 18.3 and so I started using it. And I have no intention of ever abandoning 18.3. I'll learn how to update it's libraries, if I have to, but I won't leave it. It's my newly found love for over a year already. <3

[wutsinterweb]

Off topic: I had that car in your photo once.

I think a great deal of users came over in the last few years. As things became less prone to headaches (dependency hell, driver issues), people have been finding that it's polished and less of a challenge than the Redmond product. Still, what distro you use will depend on skills, I wonder how many here have set up Gentoo from scratch...

[BG405]

I wonder how many here have set up Gentoo from scratch...

I'm tempted, being  a glutton for punishment  a keen experimenter. It can't be that much "harder" than Arch, can it ..?