How were you originally introduced to Linux, and why Ubuntu?

[mordoc]

In or about '93 I had read something about a little project called Linux and decided to pick up Slackware at a local computer show. I must admit that after installing it having the feeling of "well now what?"

Within 2 weeks I had given up, only to try again a few years later with a boxed edition of Redhat. A little more success but it only lasted a month on the system. Finally around FC 3, I kept it on a machine full time...the rest is history.

As for Ubuntu, when FC7 broke a number of things that I was starting to depend on for work and the response from the devs was another release away, I thought it was time to look around. Tried Debian but found the installer awful and the myriad of options dizzying. Ubuntu seemed stable, coherent, and end-user focussed.

I've given up once or twice to Fedora but I now always come back to Ubuntu...

Thanks to the Ubuntu team, devs, and community for producing such a great distro!

[wilee-nilee]

Decided to go back to college and had never even owned a computer. Somebody told me about this re-cycler and I started with Dapper. This nonprofit was started with the big LT the kernel man, and a group of others.
http://www.freegeek.org/

[Metallion]

Simple. I walked into Opera Software's office for an internship and this is pretty much the first conversation I had.

Opera guy:"We're all working with Linux here. Do you have a preferred distribution?"

me:"No."

Opera guy:"Then let's go with Ubuntu."

[chips24]

when i was 12, i wanted to build a cheap computer for free without spending money on a ridiculously expensive os (aka windows and mac) so i went online and ubuntu was the first thing i found. i didnt use it for a while because i thought if it was free, it must be pretty bad. a year later, i was bored and i installed it on to my computer... i didnt like, so i didnt use it for another year. and than one day, i got pissed off with windows, i started to like ubuntu, so i switched...

my first linux os i used was fiesty.

[abs_kkk]

originally i had a bulk of virus in my PC about 1year b4,i did'nt knew much about linux at that time,i was browsing web to find a wa to clean my pc(it wasbarely usable 0_0" ) then i found the live cd methond with which i could swiftly clennse my PC after that i continued using windows xp again 2 months b4 windows started giving me problems with viruses , and i thought thats it i am gonna format it ........after the format the virus still remained then i was searching for a means to remove the virus then i remembered the linux method,but i realised i wiped it out with windows on m HDD then i downloaded it from my mobile (took 3 WHOLE weeks X_X) and now here i am it became my primary OS.

I used ubuntu because its the most popular among linux distro and i want to try other distros too but on second though(considering the fact i have a stupid mobile dial up connection, i leave the matter) and thats the end of my post

[mamamia88]

My curiosity was peaked when I first heard the ps3 can run Linux. I didn't care for it on the ps3 because it was too slow but put it on my laptop and the rest is history. Every windows computer my family has owned has eventually slowed to a crawl. I thought to myself "something is not right here it's the same exact hardware with the same exact os. hardware doesn't age really so it must be windows" sure enough no slowdown whatsoever on ubuntu

[Jolicoeur]

Well, I like looking for free software and getting away from Microsoft as much as I can and I came across Ubuntu. I have an old desktop with a messed up XP on it and I loaded Ubuntu. I enjoy trying new things out in Ubuntu and I enjoy updates. I really like using code to accomplish various things. I think it runs much better on old machines then does XP. Bad thing, Silverlight. I want netflix on my Ubuntu!!!

[malspa]

Firefox was the first time I'd heard of the term "open source." That led me to trying out other open source software in Windows, like OpenOffice. The term "open source" eventually led me to finding out about Linux.

As to the second question ("why Ubuntu?"), I'd used a few other distros before Ubuntu became a big name in Linux, but I was attracted by the "Ubuntu" concept and by the free CDs.

[perspectoff]

I wanted to automate my house (using X10 and Insteon controllers) and found LinuxMCE, which used Kubuntu. I also wanted to control security cams, for which I discovered Zoneminder.

At the time, KDE was far more powerful than Gnome, and I have stuck with KDE, even though I have parallel installations of Kubuntu and Ubuntu (the latter mostly for testing and evaluation).

[cra1g321]

**A little story for anyone**
Im a ex-windows user. Had XP on my pc for most of the years.
Was tired of reinstalling the OS, dealing with drivers, installing a antivirus, registry cleaner, defragmenter, firewall, codecs, then of course dealing with malware.
Hated the fact that most malware was detected AFTER it got onto the pc.

But what really made me hate windows so much was when -
One night i was paying for something online (file-hosting premium) using my brothers card (didnt have paypal setup at the time) and everything went fine til the next morning when my brother got a phone call from his bank telling him that sum1 had tried to spend all his money by booking a holiday
So then of course he gave me a good shouting at and went on about me visiting fake scam websites and about how i almost lost him all his money.
He assumed that the website had logged his details when i was paying, but i didnt think it was the websites fault as it was a legitimate website. So decided to run a malware scan on his laptop and just as i was hoping or expecting it found a keylogger.
This keylogger had hidden on my brothers laptop and had recognised that i was paying for something online then recorded all my keystrokes and then sent the details off to the B*$***D$ that had spreaded it on the internet.

So then i decided that this was the final nail in the coffin for using windows. I searched around and cant remember how but i found something about linux. Then i started to research more, then one day XP on my computer has messed up again (i can probaly do a reinstall with my eyes closed,from having to reinstall windows over the years) but instead of reinstalling XP this time, i inserted Ubuntu 9.04 into the computer and was greeted with the brown/orange of ubuntu (il never forget it)
Coming from windows knowing how to use and find everything on it to using ubuntu was a big difference. I knew how to navigate round the menus and folders barely and i didnt have a clue how the filesystem works (still dont lol)
So i played around for it a bit then realised that it just wasnt really right for me at the time. So i reinstalled XP and battled on.
I kept reading up on the news of linux and ubuntu, then 9.10 was released and i decided to install it because of so many positive feedback and reviews about it. I really liked 9.10 and was getting used to new software being my default programs like rhythmbox, and thankfully VLC and firefox still being the same as they were on windows. I used 9.10 for a few months then started to dual-boot with XP while trying out other distros. I really liked opensuse when i first tried it but found the installer too confusing and installing new software a bit too hard.
So i went back to 9.10 and started to use it for everything except when i needed to use XP for something. Im glad of this because if i hadnt of stuck with it and learnt stuff then i probaly would be on windows 7 now looking up on antivirus reviews now or something sad like that.
Then when Linux Mint 8 came out i tried it and it won me over for a couple of months then installed ubuntu 10.04 when it came out over Mint.
I now distro-hop too frequently between 10.04 and Mint 9 and use them for everything while using Windows 7 for the odd pc game.
I have learnt so much about linux, FOSS, gr8 programs like rhythmbox, GIMP, Blender, openoffice etc.

It annoys me that i used to assume that there was windows or the expensive MAC and that was it. i also hate when i see sum1 saying about how windows 7 is soo much better than vista. I feel like shouting something like 'So you paid for another windows OS because the last one that you paid for was s**t' same for the Office suite its just so stupid.
Anyway Ubuntu has brought me to the open-source world and i grateful that such an OS exists. I can see ubuntu getting more and more popular just like its already been doing.

Just want say thanks to canonical, everyone who has help create ubuntu, and the FOSS world and of course the greate ubuntu community.
I also want to mention Microsoft, thanks for continuing to trick ppl into thinking that if something is popular and new it has to be the best, and for continuing to develop and release s**t OSes everytime

What was this thread about ?? i forgot lol