Simple question. Which distribution was your introduction?
For me, it was SLS Linux in '92-93, followed relatively naturally by Slackware, which was followed by Redhat.
Slackware and then SuSE 7.2, I think it was.
Slackware here, and I still use it! Tried several alternatives but I just keep going back.
I didn’t know about Linux until I was in my late teens, and even then didn’t care because I was a “Gamer” (ugh). My first disto was Ubuntu. I have used many distros but like debain the most.
Red hat Linux which was followed by slack sometime back in the 90s.
Ubuntu around 2006-2007, not sure the exact one I used.
My first I used was Slackware back in 2002 on a 486 with a 250MB disk. Wasn’t easy when you have to compile half the software and there’s basically nor enough room for the build environment. This was on a small test and development PC I used whilst at uni.
When I went all in on my desktop and waved Windows goodbye I used Ubuntu as that’s what I’d had good experience with on my headless VMs.
Now running EndeavourOS and love it.
I just flashed back to running my first Linux box and struggling to get X Windows working with a miniscule amount of RAM and a swap partition.
I’m thinking I had 1 MB RAM on that machine. I can’t wrap my head around that. It just seems impossible. I do remember my wife bought me 16MB RAM as an anniversary present after that, and I was excited by how much easier everything was with so much memory.
I think the 16MB was around $1000.00 at the time.
#!
Gone too soon :(
Slackware, installed with floppies on a 486.I tried debian red hat suse coral linux but always came back to Slackware.There was a bunch more, that I cant remember the names of, one I do remember was Stampede linux, Daniel Robbins put it out, he then dumped it and made Gentoo, I used Gentoo for a year or so, on an original AMD Athlon, it was night and day different from un optimised Slackware. I saw an announcement for a new distro on the gentoo forums for Arch, 686 optimisations, no need to compile!. I installed that and used it for about 9 years. I got sick of all the breakages, the systemd adoption drama, briefly went back to Gentoo( or Funtoo, actually), then discovered Void. I have been using Void since 2010, I also use Openbsd, reminds me of the ‘old days’ of linux before the tech bros and corporations.
Linux Mint 20. I got my first computer and was choosing an operating system. I didn’t even understand differences between Windows and GNU+Linux, but it was faster, UI was consistent, and the community was actually supportive. Most issues I had were already solved so I could find solutions online easily. r/linuxmint also led me to creating a Reddit account xD
Meanwhile support for Windows looked like: Turn it off and on again, run sfc /scannow, dism, chkdsk, you may need to reinstall Windows.
So I went with Mint.
Funny, but at first when I didn’t know about “Distributions” I was searching for just pure Linux. Poor old me didn’t know I was accidentally searching for the kernel.Welp, the laptop broke after 2 months (hardware), but it was old. I definitely don’t miss that Athlon 64.
Mandrake Linux 6.5. At the time I was drawn to it because they had a version that worked with the sims game.
Ubuntu 09.04… on my highschool days. :)
I’m still remember that I ends up quitting right away because I have no internet on my house to install codecs and other necessary software, thus made the ubuntu installation useless. lolRedHat Linux, Straight outta magazine. Bought the boxed version shortly thereafter. hmm i wonder if i still have the box???
Mandrake Linux 6.5. At the time I was drawn to it because they had a version that worked with the sims game.
My first distro was Manjaro. It was really cool, but also I remember having some trouble getting things to work on it without super extensive troubleshooting.
but also I remember having some trouble getting things to work on it without super extensive troubleshooting
still the standard experience
Ubuntu 8.04 in 2008, with its live CD.
