Linux stories.

[dragos240]

I started experimenting with computers at 2, mostly small games and moving the mouse, on windows of course. At 5 I started playing with educational games galore, and MS simulator 2000. At this time, we were using dial up, internet was slow. At 8, I finally got my own computer, an HP windows 98, I downloaded everything I could find, I needed to get my HD reformatted every 2 weeks. It was very slow. I loved trial softwares. I experimented with a DOS, created some text files, and somehow got viruses on it. At 10, I was considered the computer geek of the family, after messing with my computer again, and again, I learned what not to do, and how to fix many problems, of course, I could only fix issues on 98 computers. Finally at 12, I had enough, I hated my old XP computer that I got at 11, it was slow, and had norton antivirus, it took 10 minutes to start up and crashed all the time. What did I do, I got vista. A brand new vista computer, 2 gb of ram, and a 256gb hard drive. I got parental controls on it, I had no freedom over where I went, and it crashed even more than my XP computer, If I left a usb drive in the computer, it blue screened. Honestly, it was the worst operating system I had ever used in my life. I searched for OS alternatives. I found a tool for booting fedora off a USB drive. It worked better than any OS I ever used. It was fast, and efficient. After this I found ubuntu. From there you can view my posts. I had some troubles, but it worked like a charm. It was fun, and I finally, got arch, I had some good times with it, learned so much from it. Now I'm using gentoo, I have learned so much more. If I was still using Windows. I wouldn't have learned so much, I wouldn't of known how things work. And I wouldn't be creating simple tools, and creating a distro for the community. I really want to help out here. Hopefully my procrastination won't get the best of me. Linux rocks.

What's your story?

[NoaHall]

I prefer a CLI. Because I'm hardcore like that.
Oh, and never have had a virus problem on Windows, unless I've downloaded something in to a virtual machine in order to see how they work. I was also a Windows "power user".

[murderslastcrow]

Well, I was a Windows expert. Knew how to take care of hundreds of possible Windows issues. I thought I knew so much about computers.

No antivirus can replace a good security model, though, and on both XP and a Vista laptop I bought from HP, I had severe virus problems despite using very good antivirus software (that I'd paid for). I lost money to people who were phishing my passwords, although I use a different one for almost everything. It was a horrible situation, I felt insecure, and wondered if I could ever be safe using my computer again. It just seemed useless to try to work on my computer and feel comfortable.

Then I tried 32-bit Ubuntu on the machine (wish I knew the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit at the time). Despite being 32-bit, it was the most agonizingly fast experience I'd ever had with a computer. I just couldn't believe how amazing it was. Then I installed it on an old computer and saw it being ridiculously fast on that, too, even with all the effects enabled. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Then I read the Windows EULA and started learning more about open source, and it became clear to me that I'd been greatly blessed. But Linux has grown a lot even in the past two years of using it. So many people know about it these days, and Ubuntu's being shipped on DELL PCs.

For someone like me who has loved technology and playing with it his entire childhood, Ubuntu brought the love back into computing. I actually feel kind of offended and taken advantage of thinking back to my days with Microsoft. Most people don't even realize how horrible the situation is until they're outside of it.

:3 And right now I'm on my first virgin computer- a Dell Mini 10v with Ubuntu preinstalled. Kinda' glad HP makes crappy hardware so I had an opportunity to support desktop Linux. XD

[-grubby]

Please break up that wall of text

[pricetech]

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I was 39 when I first started computer school. Prior to that my knowledge of and experience with computers was non existent.

My first computer, bought with hard earned money, had winders 95 on it. I had figured out, by studying trade rags which were plentiful in the classroom, that if I was going to make a living in IT I would have to know networking.I bought a copy of NT4 and installed it. (several times) From that I learned what I needed to know to be a top entry level technician. Since I work in a "winders world" I have to know winders.

I've been using Linux since about 2001 to varying degrees based upon how much time I had and what kind of hardware I could afford to install it on. I'm in a very fortunate position now in that, while I can't afford a decent computer at home, my job gives me plenty of boxen to play with. I have therefore been able to devote more time to Ubuntu, my current chosen Linux distro, than I ever was before. The more I learn, the more I like.

[user1397]

My story is kinda similar. Family got first computer when I was 5, a Win95 PC...I mostly just played dumb little disney games on it. Then we got a Win2000, where my interest in computers increased exponentially. I learned some troubleshooting basics here. Then we got an XP box, this was my golden age of Windows knowledge-acquisition. I was officially the family geek and senior IT consultant.

Then one day, this guy I knew told me about this thing called fedora core 4, and how it was free and you could install it yourself. This intrigued and amazed me to an insane level. Before I installed fedora though, I heard about ubuntu breezy (5.10) because it was already gaining a lot of popularity. Then I decided to install it, using some notes I jotted down from a how-to guide on a piece of paper. I ended up wiping my XP partition along with all of our files (my brother was pissed). But I told him it would be ok and I would make the switch seem painless. These were my golden linux knowledge-acquisition days. I have had either just windows, just ubuntu, or a dual-boot of the two ever since on my comp. (along with the occasional distro try-out).

Never looked back since.

[SuperSonic4]

I used to use Windows until I simply got bored and Mandriva was suggested. Needless to say it was installed onto the test hard drive (I have more than 1 hdd). Mandriva was pretty good but I didn't get the packaging system so I moved to Kubuntu since GNOME looked (and still does look) ugly.

Found out about arch because the idea of a modular KDE (this was in the time of KDE 3) seemed like an excellent idea so I switched to Arch+KDEmod (Chakra live CD isn't around at this stage). Then decided to use KDE 4.0 because it was exciting and I like to be on the cutting edge.

Since then I've experimented with openbox and xfce and CLI (on the laptop) but stuck with vanilla KDE once I noticed a repo for KDE 4.4.

The laptop is also running Arch (with KDE 4.4 beta) which is a testament because Mandriva's CD wouldn't load and Kubuntu was too clunky.

Since coming to Linux and arch in particular I have no doubt that my command line skills have improved exponentially - especially in file management and getting packages from SVN/GIT

[blur xc]

Look at all you youngsters... Some of us started computing before windows was even a sparkle in Bill's eye...

I started on Commodore 64's, 128's, and Apple IIe's (when I was about 10). I took up programming in ROM basic, and had a lot of fun with it. I eventually got an Amiga 500, and wrote my own lame video game in basic. It was fun, but a total pain having only one floppy drive. I had to be constantly inserting and removing the os disk, and whatever other disk I was using at the time. I dreampt of one day getting a HDD but it never happened. then at some point I got an ibm clone, 286/12, and spent many days looking at the c:\ prompt. I eventually got WWIV BBS software and ran my own board. First, it was just at nights, but after a while my parents got a 2nd phone line for hte house and gave the old one to me 24/7. It was somewhat popular for a while, but that got old, I got a driver's licence, and cars was it. Comptuers took a back seat. I still used them for normal stuff, but it was no longer my passion. Driving fast and getting speeding tickets took over.... So, after a long haiateous I eventually got an office job, and by this point, computers looked VERY different from what I used to. It's taken a long while getting up to speed on how the itnernets work and all these fancy complicated guis- but it was never really a passion. I hated computers, but I used them because I had to. Actually, I hated windows, ever since the very first time I ran Win 3.1 in high school... So, many more yaers went by, and I found ubuntu. Now I love computing again..... end of story...

BM

[Aflack]

in 5th grade i got introduced to runescape. as i played that i got on the internet more often. im in freshman high school now btw.

im not sure how old i was during these stories but theyre in order.

i got my grandmas old work computer. i played runescape and customized the hell out of it as much as i could. then i think around 6th grade i got viruses on it (heheh) and it crashed. My grandmas friend restored it (i was dumb at the time) and then he gave it back to us for free. It was slow as balls. i still customized it and did normal stuff on it though. but then i was looking for better customization since i couldnt play games. heard about linux and shat brix. installed 8.04 and was disappointed sound didnt work, so i didnt use it.

then later on i got a new computer. 7th grade. its beast and by that time a new version was out 8.10 and i installed it and it worked and every version since then has worked. but im always dual booted with windows, because i play games and things. i now can solve just about any problem. if i cant on my own i can google. im the only person in my whole family who is computer/tech smart... gets annoying lol.

[Giant Speck]

Paragraphs are hard.

[Aflack]

Paragraphs are hard.

i tried

[Giant Speck]

i tried

If I had been talking to you, I would have quoted you. ;)

[kevCast]

My setup is a stock ticker, modified by me to print out only 1's and 0's. A typewriter fitted with an infrared scanner picks up every digit and in turn puts that into the main memory unit of the processor that I've soldered onto the back of the typewriter. This is hooked up to about 3,000 vacuum tubes, which is inadequate, but anymore and the paint peels from the heat. My intern, Carl, acts as a batch operator for the tape, and feeds the stock ticker Fortran punch cards of my own design.

[LinuxFanBoi]

One day when I was a teenager, my dad and I went to a computer show where almost every vendor was Asian Almost every software package being sold was nothing but floppy disks held together with rubber bands and labels printed with a dot matrix printer. or a CD with a hand written label. Windows 95 CD's laid out across a table all with the same PID handwritten across the CD with a sharpie.

In a dusty corner was this booth with a couple computers and a guy with a beard and a cape (okay I made up the cape thing) selling copies of Slackware 3. So I asked how much and the guy said, "$5." I had no idea wtf Linux was, what could be done with it or anything, but it said on the sign, "The OS that started everything, now for your PC!"

The rest as they say, is history.

[Aflack]

If I had been talking to you, I would have quoted you. ;)

you didnt quote anyone and i was the last person to talk so i assumed you were talking to me, sorry.

[Bölvaður]

Look at all you youngsters... Some of us started computing before windows was even a sparkle in Bill's eye...

same as I was thinking.

my story is too long.

[User3k]

Well this will make me feel old, but the good thing? I know there are those older then me here.... poor SOB's ;) lol

The first computer I played around with was a Commodore 64. It has been so long I can't tell you much about it, not enough RAM or HD space in my head to hold data that long ;). I went to a Texas Instrument computer and learned how to spend hours writing code to get a few squares to jump around the screen. I didn't have any tapes to back it up and save it so I had to do it from scratch each time. Then my early teens the only computer around was in typing class. I never did learn how to type correctly, but I did have a blast on the computer, lol. Then I took a break for a few years. Focused mainly on video games as a teen. Things got a bit blurry from 16-25. Beer good, but too much is, well.... lol. Actually I do remember using a Tandy 1000 for a short time around the age of 18. Anyways I tried a computer, 386, with Windows 3.1 on it. It was great and a big jump from what I use to use. However, I completely messed it up and got the person who owned that computer a little angry. It was so touchy, lol, but I decided then to start to learn what I was doing. Then on to 95, 98, 98SE, XP, Vista (came bundled with my computer and I hated it and went back to XP,) I also tried the Evaluation version of Windows 7.

Now during Windows 98SE I started hearing about Linux. The First distro I tried was Suse 7.0. I had a hell of a time. I had talked with someone who worked for Suse for a couple of hours. They actually sent it to me free, complete with books which I still have, Suse 7.0 professional. The down side was I was still using a computer with a winmodem and a dial up connection. I had a hell of a time trying to even get online but had some fun.

During then and now I slowly learned more about linux to the point I can cover a lot of trouble shooting on my own, though since I taught myself I have some gaps in my knowledge at times.

Jumping up to the present, and near past. I was completely angered at how crappy Vista was. What made it even worse was my Compaq computer, which I really do love Compaq but not their bundled software. If I was to reinstall Vista it would take hours and it would still be touchy and unstable, especially if I have hardware
on it that didn't come from Compaq, which I do. So I gave up on it and started to focus on Linux even more. It was pretty much a split. I would go months using either Ubuntu or Suse and then go to XP and use that for months, then I might dual boot for awhile.

Then along came Windows 7 Ultimate Evaluation version. I used this with Suse, dual boot, for some months, then switched over to Windows 7 for a few more months only. Then I got tired of it. While Windows 7 is much better then Vista, for me, it is empty, restricting and just boring. My evaluation ends in June, 2010 but I got rid of it. I am just using Linux now. Currently Xubuntu Because Pulseaudio is a pain in the back side and caused me many issues with Ubuntu.

I am not a professional but I am the one people usually come to when they have problems with Windows. I have given up on Windows. I am storing all my Windows only cd's that do not work work with Wine and using Linux only. My favorite two distro's currently are Suse with KDE 4+ and Ubuntu (Xubuntu is gaining quickly on Ubuntu mainly because I am liking XFCE a lot better then Gnome right now.)

I am not the average user but I am not an expert either. I have seen how far Linux in general has come over the last ten years and I am amazed and I look forward to seeing how much further it will go in the near future. However I am not seeing the same amount of progress with MS Windows. Yes there has been much improvement with Windows but it is not progressing as fast, not even close to as fast, as Ubuntu, Suse or Linux in general.

[ubername]

My first computer use was on a Teletype hooked up via an acoustic coupler ( a foam lined box you squished the telephone handset into) to I think a PDP 8 http://www.extrahardware.cz/files/images/clanky/2009/04duben/historie7/4-pdp8.jpg

step forward twenty years and I was working for a company who were thinking of spending £1million on a machine to handle the largest ADABAS database in Europe at that time - a whopping 14Gb.

At that time I had saved up £3,000 to buy an IBM PC. I wanted the big one, with !Mb of RAM and a 40Mb hard drive (and VGA). I never got it though, because every time I was about to buy one some new development seemed just about round the corner.

[Vignesh S]

My story is this:

I have always loved computers, especially for playing games. I remember I always used to play a game called Stunts on the ancient Windows 95 family computer. Back then, I had a knack of changing the setting on a computer so much so that my Dad had to reinstall Windows on it again. This made me end up with a "limited" account when my Dad bought a new desktop.

But right up until last year, I only did basic stuff like web browsing, games, etc and nothing really hard core.

But then, it started happening when my friend kept on going on about how much free software there was for this thing called "Ubuntu". I was really into free stuff back then, so I let him come over to my place and install Ubuntu 8.10 onto my desktop. It certainly looked alright, though I never really took it seriously until I had to get wifi working on my sister's netbook. It took forever just to get it to work, and ever since, I've been hooked with Ubuntu.

I completely formatted my HDD with Ubuntu 9.10 when it was released, and I don't exactly remember the last time I fired up VMware Workstation to access Windows 7 because I had to use a windows program that either had no windows alternative or didn't like wine/crossover.

Ubuntu is awesome, that's all I have to say here.

[phrostbyte]

I was introduced to Linux when I was interested in hacking back in the mid 90s. Linux was very much considered an OS for hackers.

I used Red Hat and Slackware as a desktop OS when most people were still on Win95. I think I read the GNU Manifesto when I was around 10-12 years old. I fell in love with the free culture message early on. :)

[Khakilang]

I started computer by accident. I was lay off and desperately looking for a job and I end working for a computer distribution company as a delivery man. This company deal with Commodore range of computers. And I love Amiga. Never get around to play with it. After 1 year I left and join a computer dealer and started to learn DOS and that time.

When Window appear I was so relief from those dreadful command line. But than slowly it disappoint me again because I have to constanlty upgrade my hardware to keep up with Windows and those viruses is getting me crazy. So I end up with Linux.

[alexfish]

I started experimenting with computers at 2, mostly small games and moving the mouse, on windows of course. At 5 I started playing with educational games galore, and MS simulator 2000. At this time, we were using dial up, internet was slow. At 8, I finally got my own computer, an HP windows 98, I downloaded everything I could find, I needed to get my HD reformatted every 2 weeks. It was very slow. I loved trial softwares. I experimented with a DOS, created some text files, and somehow got viruses on it. At 10, I was considered the computer geek of the family, after messing with my computer again, and again, I learned what not to do, and how to fix many problems, of course, I could only fix issues on 98 computers. Finally at 12, I had enough, I hated my old XP computer that I got at 11, it was slow, and had norton antivirus, it took 10 minutes to start up and crashed all the time. What did I do, I got vista. A brand new vista computer, 2 gb of ram, and a 256gb hard drive. I got parental controls on it, I had no freedom over where I went, and it crashed even more than my XP computer, If I left a usb drive in the computer, it blue screened. Honestly, it was the worst operating system I had ever used in my life. I searched for OS alternatives. I found a tool for booting fedora off a USB drive. It worked better than any OS I ever used. It was fast, and efficient. After this I found ubuntu. From there you can view my posts. I had some troubles, but it worked like a charm. It was fun, and I finally, got arch, I had some good times with it, learned so much from it. Now I'm using gentoo, I have learned so much more. If I was still using Windows. I wouldn't have learned so much, I wouldn't of known how things work. And I wouldn't be creating simple tools, and creating a distro for the community. I really want to help out here. Hopefully my procrastination won't get the best of me. Linux rocks.

What's your story?

Well It's Not Really a Story

But if creating a distro for the community, is what you would Like to do ,Then

For me , I would Like to see This " Ubuntu For Kids " with a simplified Help

and of course easy ways to upgrade

[XubuRoxMySox]

WinXP is all I knew before I found Linux. I inherited a hand-me-down Dell Dimension and used it for e-mail and schoolwork, and for music editing and making cue-sheets for dance classes (shameless plug I teach clogging if anyone wants lessons - UF members get in free to start! /shameless plug). But XP got something that I have heard called "Windows rot," where it just slowwwwws dowwwwnnnn and no amount of scanning and defragging and registry cleaning and whatnot can cure it. I kept the 'puter out of the landfill by running CCleaner weekly but XP eventually got so maddeningly slow, and an upgrade would mean big bucks - not just for Vista, but for upgraded hardware to support it. I'm a college boy on a tight budget, so I started looking for alternatives.

A Google search of "renewing old computer" led to some intriguing results, not the least of which was Linux. "OMG, that's waaaaaay too geeky for me," and I dismissed the idea until I found "Linux for Human Beings" in another search.

Ubuntu (Intrepid - just a few weeks before Jaunty came out) installed effortlessly on the old slow dinosaur. I already knew I never wanted anything to do with Winblows again, so I wiped it away with the very first run of the Live CD. "Yeah! Use the whole frappin' disk! Bbye, Winblows!"

Wow.

I've had a chance to upgrade (re-install), twice now, and played with different distros, desktop environments, and applications. I've played with it 'til it broke, then learned to fix it (wow - what's a totally non-geeky dancer think he's doing using Linux?). I even made my own super-newbie friendly minimal Ubuntu/LXDE remix so other dancers (mostly little kids and teens) could use it without any coaching, a pretty, fast, familiar-looking point-and-click Linux that made that old 'puter much faster than even when it was brand new.

I'll never look back. It's only Linux for me from now on!

-Robin

[nmccrina]

I forget how I heard of Linux, or even why I decided to install it. This is really bad, because it was only 3-4 years ago and theoretically my brain should still be fairly sharp (I'm only 21). Anyway, somehow I ended up with Ubuntu 6.06 on my desktop, which promptly freaked out and died. Then I got a laptop, and couldn't get the wireless to work in any distro, so I ran a 50 ft ethernet cable from our home router to my room, which annoyed the hell out of everybody.

Around this time I started trying out distros like crazy. I mean, we're talking like 2-3 a week. I tried pretty much everything, even LFS. Zenwalk became my favorite. Then I joined the Army and didn't do anything computer-related for 6 months, but I was finally able to afford a really nice laptop. I found out that the wireless would work now, continued distro-hopping, switched to Windows, back to Linux, back to Windows, dual-booted, etc. Two days ago I wiped Windows again and installed Fedora 12. Hopefully it lasts a while, but who knows? I just enjoy installing OS's, some kind of addiction I guess.

After all this, my favorite distributions have become:
OpenSUSE
Fedora
Ubuntu
Arch
Debian