When did you start using Linux at your home PC ?

[NightwishFan]

Right after the Gutsy release. Considering I never had the Internet I did not have a chance to learn about free software until then, which I regret.

[kk0sse54]

2008

[gymophett]

Since Ubuntu 7.04 or 7.10.. So, 2007? Right?

[mamamia88]

around halloween 2008

[phibxr]

.... that's a long time ago.
Is Ubuntu your prefered distro?

Today it may take half an hour to install a Linux CD to the hard drive. I wonder how long did it take you on those days to get a full working install finished.

Hehe, my first trembling installs were from floppy disks that a friend helped me download from some obscure ftp over a 33.6kbit/s-modem. I couldn't afford a computer with a CD-drive.

I didn't even bother with downloading X back then, downloading anything outside of the base system would have taken far too long.

Actually, as soon as the CD-drives became more common an installation of Slackware didn't take much longer than it does today. But you did need to know a bit more about the hardware in your machine since you were picking modules to load or compiling your kernel at install.

This still rings true in some distributions though, Gentoo for example.

And yes, Ubuntu is one of my preferred distributions, together with Linux Mint and openSUSE.

The only Slackware-based system I've used during the last eight years would be Zenwalk, a nice and lean little distribution.

[Chame_Wizard]

January 2007.

[kagashe]

Mandriva Sep 2004
Ubuntu 5.04 June 2005

kagashe

[NightwishFan]

It seems Gutsy/Hardy were a popular time.

[Khakilang]

Start it out sometime in May 2009 when I bought a book by Mark Sobell " Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux" and it come with 8.10 CD and now using 9.10 and totally switch to Linux. Love it ever since.

[cgroza]

It was spring 2008.Hardy Heron LTS , good times.