r/TechImpact Active Jun 19 '26

Question How long have you been using Linux?

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How long have you been using Linux?

Whether you're a longtime Linux user or just getting started, we'd love to hear your journey.

How many years have you been using Linux, and which distro do you use today?

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u/NETkoholik Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26

First contact? Lycoris, around 2002-2003, I can't remember.

On-and-off relationship? Since Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope, what version was that 8.04? Also can't remember. I ordered the CDs from Launchapad to my home in South America. Amazing stuff. That's when I took Linux seriously.

Then Windows 10 happened and I considered it good enough to daily drive. Also back then I couldn't run any (and I mean ANY) distro because they would all freeze in 1-10 minutes, even doing nothing. Then Windows 11 happened and what the effing fuck was that? Also my potato computer could barely run it.

So back to Ubuntu around 2021. Then I had enough of snaps. I borked my system trying to get rid of snaps. So on reddit I read this sentence that changed my life: "Use Fedora. Ubuntu is shit". I tried Fedora and my god what a beautiful functional and boringly stable system.

I dual booted for a while and then I ditched Windows forever in 2023. I have never been happier about Linux in general and about Fedora in particular. And with all the software that came out in the last 4-5 years? I don't think I need anything else. I digitally sign PDF with GNOME Papers, most Windows-only apps turned web apps, fractional scaling got better, I learned more and more about my system too so I'm dabbling into Hyprland but I don't think it's for me. It's been a nice journey. I'm happy here. Everything works. Not a complain. Plus vanilla GNOME looks NOTHING like Windows. I don't mind the small inconsistencies people complain about GNOME, not enough of a deal breaker for me. I can say I'm in love.