When did you first hear about linux?

[xequence]

For me it was a couple years ago. I was talking to someone on another site and they said debian was good, fedora was bad. I dont know why, but I took it as debian was version 8 of Linux and Fedora was version 9 and the makers really messed it up and everyone liked version 8 better.

[geocritter]

1996. I didn't mess with it until 1998, though. Redhat 5.2, in a box on a toshiba laptop. Then from there, it was Caldera 2.2, Slackware 3.1, then Redhat 6, and immediately to SuSE in 2000. Didn't look back until Novell bought them out and got rid of the personal version. Then it was Slackware again, and I started distro-hopping. I'm still hopping a little, but leaning the most toward the debian based distros for permanancy. Ubuntu is getting better, although pure Debian still woos me. Plus I'm thinking about a shot at one of the *bsd's, just for knowledge's sake.

[phanboy_iv]

First heard about Linux in 2003 when I overheard a geek friend of mine mention it.
I was (and still am) a geek-wannabe, so I picked up some library books on it(the only ones they had at the library were about Red Hat at the time) and was so impressed after reading the books that I immediately installed the included RH8 cd's on my first computer (old P3 400 mhz) when I got it. Totally wiped out the current install of Windows 98 even. Haven't looked back since.:D

[Collin]

Back in 1998 at which point I tried to install it on my macintosh LC 475 (25mhz z98? class processor the same in the ti8x serie) I think there was a project called mklinux but it was for PPC.

Then I got my hand on a book about linux and a copy of slackware 3.1 or 3.5 in 1999, installed it on almost every computer at my college and pissed off more than one sys admin.

down the years used mainly slackware/mandrake/SuSE

[Brunellus]

2000 or 2001. My mathmo friends at university were using it because it gave them access to LaTeX, and I had to borrow their computer to check e-mail a few times. Must have been an early version of KDE; I didn't notice all that much of a difference, and loved virtual desktops immensely.

Actually, come to think of it, several of my geekier friends were already running it by then; one of them was already very happy with it. I remember being rather impressed by it all, but I didn't end up actually installing until about a year or two ago.

[Buffalo Soldier]

1994. Read an article about Caldera in the computer section of a local newspaper here. First GNU/Linux installation somewhere around 1997 with RedHat 4.something, can't remember the exact version number.

[Omnios]

Really understood about linux about back in 93 when a friend explained using Linux was as Kewl if not Kewler than being a hacker. Well have to agree Linux is cool.

For those of you who dont know what Kewl is thats ok you use Linux.

[Greyhair]

1999 - Mandrake 7.0 :-k

2003 - Deleted Windows Partition \\:D/

2005 - Changed from SuSE to Ubuntu [-o<

[asimon]

That was at UAS in 1994.

[jeremy]

I think it was '95, I installed slack and played around with it a bit, then left it for a couple of years.

[Breaks]

I first heard about it like 5 or so years ago but i never actually gave it a try until quite recently...

It went like the following:

- 2001 = Windows
2002 = Red hat
2003 = Gentoo
2005 = Ubuntu

:D

[Joey French]

I played with Knoppix for a year or so, fiddling. Then Mandrake for a year or so, until I built my newest box, and got a shiny new OS...Ubuntu Hoary.

Here's my question, though. There was a Linux commercial that was out a few years ago, with like this blonde kid riding around, looking out windows and stuff. Does anyone remember this? It was probably my first time actually noticing linux, and I can't remember anything else about it... Someone here has to have seen it, even though it was quite a few years ago.

[Darrin]

Several years ago I heard about linux. I ordered some discs on ebay for what was then called mandrake I believe. After playing with it a bit, I came to the conclusion that I was much too green to be messing with it at this time. Several years later, I get a coupon code from another forum offering Linspire for free. I downloaded it, and there it sat, for about 6 months on the desk before I ever attempted to install it. It wasnt until linspire 5.0 came out that I gave it ago and installed it. My interest grew and after about a week I came across ubuntu along with others and here I am now sticking with ubuntu.