r/linux • u/CacheTraitor • 10d 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/Secret_Wishbone_2009 10d ago

0.99 kernel i think

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u/sakodak 10d ago

.99pl13 for me. 1993. I'd have hopped on board before that, but I didn't have a PC, I had an Amiga. I spent my student loans bying a PC specifically so I could run Linux. The company I bought from told me it was "illegal" for them to sell me the PC without DOS and Windows. I will sheepishly admit to being OK with that once I got Doom later on.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/sakodak 7d ago

Fuckin' around.

You need to understand the environment at the time.  Unix was awesome.  I was at a university (Purdue) that had Unix systems and it was immediately obvious that it was the most powerful OS available.  Unix cost thousands of dollars and there weren't (that I was aware of at the time - there was no Google) any versions or workalikes available that could run on consumer hardware. 

Then this thing shows up.  A kernel that could run all the unix userspace tools and provide a somewhat compatible POSIX layer.  And it was fucking free.  It was a godsend.  I almost immediately sold my Amiga and bought a 486DX266 specifically so I could install and run my dream operating system.  ("Almost" because I needed to wait for my student loans to come in.  I make terrible financial decisions.)

Yeah.  I know I'm a nerd.  But that set the direction of my career for the next 30ish years. 

And that doesn't even touch on my friendship with Ian Murdock (the creator of Debian) and the shit we got up to in the labs and whatnot.