What got you into Linux?

Rob

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For me, I was interested in the Internet and got a job at a local ISP about 20 years ago. They sold shell logins and I quickly fell in love with cli. Didn't take long for me to replace win 3.1 on my old Packard bell with Red Hat 3.0.3 that I borrowed from the Admin. 12 or so floppies later I was in heaven.

You?
 


Windows Vista.

Microsoft has sucked since even before Vista! :D But it was the abundance of Windows viruses in the mid- to late-1990's that got me first looking at Linux, although it was still awhile longer before I could actually make it install and run adequately. And even longer before I switched full time.

But I'm much happier now.
 
I can't remember what year it was, but I used to run Windows XP on a home built PC. It wasn't massively high spec for the time, but it used to run really nicely. However - after XP service pack 2 things got noticeably slower - intolerably so. All of the security software hogging valuable resources on top of all of that just compounded things. So I decided I needed to try something else, so I decided to switch to Linux.

I hadn't actually used Linux since my college years in the early 90's (1992 to 1994) - I remembered it being a lot of work to set up - but I'd heard that it was a lot easier to install and maintain than it used to be back then - I initially downloaded and installed Fedora, but I had tons of problems with package management (installing new software led to lots of conflicting dependencies, which the package manager couldn't resolve - and at that point I didn't know how to resolve them either) so I downloaded and installed Debian with Gnome 2 and later I added Openbox as an additional WM. And my PC ran better than it ever did before under Windows XP. And that was that. I was hooked on Linux.

In the years since then, I've done quite a bit of distro hopping - especially after Ubuntu switched to Unity and other distros switched from Gnome2 to Gnome3. And a year or so ago, things came back full-circle and I'm back to Debian again - but this time it's Debian Testing.
 
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Windows Vista.
Windows 8, here.

Backstory: I played around with Linux (Open Suse IIRC) back in HS some, circa 2003, but never really got any traction with it. Used Knoppix some in 2006-2007, still didn't do much with it. Then Windows 8's UI was demonstrated. And ultimately said that I need to make the jump over to Linux if this is the future of Windows. Started with Ubuntu, then when Unity was being force-fed and when Amazon searches were automatically enabled from the finder thingy, switched to Debian.
 
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I was a strait windows fan from 3.0 onward. More recently I bought my first computer, a nice laptop with 12gb ram an i7 chip and win 8.1 not bad for the first store bought pc. Microsoft offered win 10.0 for free, I took it and all was dandy, one day they forced an update on it and no more pc, killed it strait away. That was the final straw . with one of the home built systems I downloaded ubuntu 16.04. It was kinda glichy. It wouldn't let me install synaptic and several other linux apps weren't going in either, on the eleventh day my newly built pc was ready for its first OS. I tried to install Win 10.0 pro before ever getting to the code input I received an error message and the install was kaput.
I decided that Linux would be the way to go from now on. I downloaded Mint 18.1, installed it on the M.2 drive with 32gbs travel speed and this is by far the fastest os loading pc I've ever built!
I have never used an ssd and the M.2 nvme is the fastest out there for under $200.00. Coupled with the AMD Ryzen 1700 cpu its a winning combination.
I still have lots to learn about Linux but so far its fabulous!
 
I'm with metlwrker (& Welcome) even going back to a little of Win 2.0.

My path to the Penguin was chequered (more like hopscotch really), receiving 3 CDs of Mandrake in 2002 for a favour done, and not knowing how to make the most of them.

A long hiatus followed, during which time I became quite anchored to XP, disenchanted with Vista, and last, quite liked Windows 7.

In 2011, Ubuntu was working with 11.04 Natty Narwhal and later 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot saw the introduction of Unity as default DE which did not grab me. I got a DVD on a PC mag which featured a remix of 11.10 sans Unity, and did a little with it. But it was not until making use of Ubuntu's WUBI feature that I really got my teeth into it.

In 2013, Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin got WUBIed onto the Vista box, soon to be replaced by 14.04 LTS Trusty Tahr. Even though I was still not a Unity fan, I loved the Linux, and so on the Windows 7 box in mid 2014, I gave 1TB to each of Windows 7 and Ubuntu 14.04 full install.

September 2014 I crossed my Rubicon and blew away Windows 7 and we have been a Linux household ever since. In October, I was dual-booting with Zorin OS 9, and then tripling with Linux Mint 17.0 Qiana MATE.

Since then I have tried about 70 LInux or more, and currently run 46 - 33 in the Garage, 11 in the Study, and two (soon 4) on the wife's laptop.

Cheers

Wizard
 
For me, it actually started in Middle School..... :) There I was, browsing the Web on (of course) Windows..... :) This was in about 2005, and I was, as always, pretty charitable, I think..... :) I always liked sharing with others, and sometimes offered some of my food to share with other people..... :3 So there I was, browsing the Web, and I saw it: The Home Page of the GNU Project!..... :D I don't think I had ever heard of Free Software, Open Source, or FOSS/FLOSS at that point, or beforehand, so that was all NEW to me..... :) Software that people could share, and develop and give FREELY??..... :D How SWEET and KIND!..... :3 But I would not even STRAY away from Windows, as it was all I KNEW!..... :3 Then, a couple of years later, I think, my Brother had gotten a Mac, which of course, ran UNIX..... We all know the close history of Linux and UNIX, and that was as CLOSE as I'd come to Linux, at that point....... :3 Finally, in 2011, I looked up something to do with Ubuntu on YouTube, or had seen a suggested Video, or YouTube had showed a Video in the same or a similar category..... The guy was using Ubuntu 11.04 or 11.10, or earlier..... :3 He had a Desktop Cube, which WOWED me!!..... :D Why didn't Windows have this?!..... XD So anywho..... :3 I wouldn't yet try it until a while later, perhaps a week or a month or two or three..... :3 I looked up Linux online, and got Ubuntu, and saw WUBI..... I downloaded the Installer, proceeded to let it download Ubuntu itSELF, and got worried..... :< Would it destroy my Computer.....? (I was a n00b at the time, who never learned ANYthing about Programming, until about 2014 or earlier..... :3 I always referred to it as "my Computer", no matter what any individual part was doing at the time..... :) ) Anywho, it wasn't until I moved to a different State that I finally got the guts to let WUBI do it's thang!..... :3 So it went through the process, and when I was done, I had told my Mom, and she said: "You're going to wreck your Computer!"..... (I had a Toshiba Satellite at the time, with an SD Card Slot..... :D ) But after uninstalling it, and re-installing it MULTIPLE times, I stuck with a Dual-Boot (the WUBI way, of course..... :) ) So one day, I think I had removed it for GOOD (or so I THOUGHT..... :3 I was always longing for that cool, free Operating System, Ubuntu..... :D ) Anywho, I did the unthinkable..... I was trying to install GTA IV on Windows 7, the OS the Laptop (of course) came with..... :3 It wouldn't install, no matter WHAT I did..... (You can probably guess by now why the Console version is the more PREFERRED one.....) I had a bit of an anger problem with my Electronics, so I took my head, and RAMMED it into my Laptop..... Since everything BUT the Hard Drive was a Chip, or part of the Mobo, it was fine..... But my Hard Drive made the dreaded malfunction noise..... D: I felt BAD..... TERRIBLE, perhaps..... :< So anywho, some time later I had an idea..... I put 2 and 2 together, and I realized that I might just be able to install Linux to my USB!!..... :O I put Linux Mint on a USB, and whilst listening to a compilation File of different Dubstep songs, I opened up the Terminal (which I fell in love with, like Rob..... :) ), and I began to type in random Commands, feeling like a BAWS!..... :D How little I knew then..... :') Naturally, Mint TRASHED my USB (a small-in-physical-size, 8GB PNY Attache), since USBs really aren't meant for an OS to be installed onto them (MOST of the time)..... :) Some time later (but not TOO much time), I got ANOTHER idea..... :3 What if I installed Linux Mint onto an SD Card.....?? :D THAT might work!..... ^^ So I did it, and it actually held up to the load of an OS!..... :) Now, we all know that Linux is, by it's very CODE, more lightweight than Windows, by FAR, but, SINCE it's an Operating System, it will, of course, Read and Write a TON to a given Disk, Flash-based or otherwise..... :) I didn't know about Trim at the time, but nevertheless, the SD Card held up..... :) (THIS is why Raspberry PIs use an SD Card as their Drive, aside from the obvious small form factor)..... :3 So anyway, once my Dad got me a Chromebook in 2014, I put Chrubuntu on it IMMEDIATELY (RIP Chrubuntu..... :( ) I Dual-Booted both Chrome OS Linux, and Chrubuntu Linux..... Great Battery Life, AND functionality, when I needed one or the other..... :) But before he got me a Chromebook, my Toshiba got it's Screen cracked..... :< I was stuck with my Surface RT..... X( My Dad got me it, and of course I was grateful, but it still kind of sucked...... Here I was, stuck with NOT ONLY Windows, but a crippled version of it, no less..... I told my friend, who's Computer ran XP at the time, that I would rather use XP than use Windows RT..... Now, the only redeeming factor of Windows RT was that it had some Emulators (quite a good selection in fact :) ), and, though it was hardly modular, the Hardware was actually VERY sleek, and well-designed..... (It even had a built-in Thermometer, which would warn the BIOS/UEFI of the Surface RT that it was too hot [this was because of the Summer weather]..... :) ) Finally, I got the Chromebook in 2014, as I told you, the reader, and after THAT, I got an old Dell Laptop from a friend of mine!..... :) It had Vista, a metric CRAPLOAD of Viruses, so I IMMEDIATELY wiped out Vista, and put Lubuntu on it..... (By that point, I knew that Lubuntu was generally better for older Machines that didn't have the best specs, by the 2010's standards)..... Then, about a Year or so later, my Dad got me an ASUS before he went to the other side, which got damaged a while after I had it..... :< The Battery leaked, which made it somewhat useless...... :< So there I was, practically out of a Laptop, and was stuck with my Chromebook (really not the worst thing in the World..... :) ) Then, someone got me a Dell Inspiron (one of the newest Models), which had a defect with the ACPI..... I transferred my old ASUS's HDD from it, which had MULTIPLE Linux Distros on it, to that new one..... :) I had to take it back though, and put the Hard Disk that came with it back on there (I wiped Windows, and re-installed it, using the built-in "Reset Windows" option..... :) ) I got this Dell Inspiron 7559, and here I am, running FreeBSD and Ubuntu..... :D And THAT is my story of how I came to know (and love, LOVE) GNU/Linux..... :D
 
For me, I was interested in the Internet and got a job at a local ISP about 20 years ago. They sold shell logins and I quickly fell in love with cli. Didn't take long for me to replace win 3.1 on my old Packard bell with Red Hat 3.0.3 that I borrowed from the Admin. 12 or so floppies later I was in heaven.

You?
What got me into Linux was, and still is the strong dislike I have for what companies like Microsoft and Apple and what they stand for. I really hate this mentality of the "YOU NEED TO HAVE THIS IN YOUR LIFE" as if these companies were the coolest thing since Pepsi and bubblegum. Though I am having a hard time becoming an expert I really do love the change I made. I cannot wait until I am a "Linux dude" lol and also I am in the process of learning programming, moreover I've been told that Linux is the language of the Internet. I think that knowing Linux, networking, and programming will help me get a job in where I can be fully engaged,once I retired from the Navy.
 
Windows 10 creepy, uninstalled applications. I don't want to play Candy Crush. I won't use Cortana. Even I don't have any Xbox device. But Microsoft says, If you gonna use our OS you have to use these to. And I got angry, no one can tell me which program I should use. After that I opened MS-DOS prompt and typed "format C:" . That was the best decision in my life.
 
I can relate to that ... Welcome, Brevis :)

Wizard
 
What got me into Linux was, and still is the strong dislike I have for what companies like Microsoft and Apple and what they stand for. I really hate this mentality of the "YOU NEED TO HAVE THIS IN YOUR LIFE" as if these companies were the coolest thing since Pepsi and bubblegum. Though I am having a hard time becoming an expert I really do love the change I made. I cannot wait until I am a "Linux dude" lol and also I am in the process of learning programming, moreover I've been told that Linux is the language of the Internet. I think that knowing Linux, networking, and programming will help me get a job in where I can be fully engaged,once I retired from the Navy.
Cool story bro!..... :3 (No, old Memes aside, I truly mean it. :D) Also, thank you for your service..... *Bows* :3
 
And after that, I presume you installed Linux/*BSD.....? :D
After that, I installed Arch linux last month :)
After Windows, Arch is like living on your own in the Earth without unwanted and spotter neighbour.
 
After that, I installed Arch linux last month :)
After Windows, Arch is like living on your own in the Earth without unwanted and spotter neighbour.
VERY true..... :) I wanna try Arch sometime..... :) Just how hard is it to install....? :D Do they have instructions that, if followed exactly, make the process virtually pain-free.....? :3
 
Hi all

Do they have instructions that, if followed exactly, make the process virtually pain-free.....? :3

If you are hesitant about Arch itself, you could try one of its derivatives, get comfortable with them, and then work back to the "source".

Derivatives include, but are not limited to:
  • Manjaro
  • Bluestar Linux (Bslx)
I have used a number of Manjaro and I just put Bslx on a few days ago, looks good.

That being said, we are deviating from Subject Matter (What Got You Into LInux?), and so comparisons might be better dealt with in a separate Topic.

Cheers

Wizard
 
Hi all



If you are hesitant about Arch itself, you could try one of its derivatives, get comfortable with them, and then work back to the "source".

Derivatives include, but are not limited to:
  • Manjaro
  • Bluestar Linux (Bslx)
I have used a number of Manjaro and I just put Bslx on a few days ago, looks good.

That being said, we are deviating from Subject Matter (What Got You Into LInux?), and so comparisons might be better dealt with in a separate Topic.

Cheers

Wizard
Thanks for the advice, good sir!..... :D Also, ok..... :) Back to the topic then..... :D
 

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