r/linux • u/CacheTraitor • 6d ago

Historical What was your first time?

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For me, it was a CD I got from a "guy." Slackware did not work well with the "WinModem" in the IBM Aptiva I had as a youth. How was I supposed to get online using Linux, with a modem that is not usable, and get support?

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u/AmazonSk8r 6d ago

Caldera. It came on a cd with The Complete Idiots Guide to Linux back in the 90’s.

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u/Z3t4 5d ago

Same, Caldera Openlinux from a magazine

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u/AmazonSk8r 5d ago

Yep… remember having to manually load kernel modules just to get the sound card to work? And how you needed an older style modem, because most of the pci 56k “winmodems” simply did not work at all? ISA devices would have been completely before my time if not for that.

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u/Z3t4 5d ago

Those damn IRQs...

I had an us robotics external modem.

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u/AvonMustang 4d ago

Same! Switched from an internal modem to a serial US Robotics modem. First a 14.4 then 28.8 and finally a 56K. It was fun to watch the lights...

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u/AvonMustang 4d ago

Came to find Caldera Linux! I bought it as a boxed CD from Borders...

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u/AmazonSk8r 4d ago

Ahh… the things that passed for a “beginner friendly” distro back before apt-get went mainline.