What was your reaction the first time you used Linux/Ubuntu?

[BulletsWithGPS]

And for those of you who only use Ubuntu, how was moving from (probably) Windows to the glorious Linux world?

[portalhavoc]

It was like a whole new world to me. and it took me a while to get used to Ubuntu. and I used it on a daily basis for a few months.

Now I'm experimenting with Ubuntu OpenStack.

[mystics]

I was in a classroom getting a crash course on Linux commands. I was intrigued but figured that they were impractical for day-to-day use. I didn't really start considering Linux for myself until a few months after that when I realized that Linux can have a GUI and it can look better than Windows 95.

Part of me also wondered what the point was, considering I already had a UNIX-like environment with my Mac. In fact, a lot of what I know now came from playing around on my Mac. But as I recently told a friend who pointed this out to me: Linux runs faster and is easier to customize. Of course, I didn't know this at the time, but I am glad that I took the time to figure it out.

[sammiev]

I switched to Linux because I was sick of working on everyone else virus infected computers.
Took a few months to get use to it but since then I found with my equipment, it just worked.
Takes me no more than an hour to install a fresh OS and be fully up in running in less than an hour.

[cody27]

I can't remember exactly why I tried Linux, but when I installed it I instantly fell in love with how it looks and feels and all the customization. Like a whole different world from Windows or Mac's OS.
I used only Linux for something like 6 years, until I started getting more into pc gaming, at which time I ended up dual booting Windows with Ubuntu.

[mikodo]

I was running WUBI, in my install of Win Vista for a few months, before overwriting Vista on the drive and installing 8.04.

My most lasting memory was relief, that I didn't have to worry so much about malware with it.

The other thing is, that I had just started with having a computer for six months before, I bare metal installed 8.04. So, though I was a noob to it, I also would have continued being a noob with Windows had, I stayed using it.

I have no regrets and only use Linux.

[yoshii]

I started out using Puppy Linux to custom partition my Windows drives, so I already knew that Linux could do a lot nicely without much fuss in ways that Windows couldn't. The whole LiveCD phenomenon is what got me impressed. So I started demoing several different LiveCD distros just to see what was going on out there.

Right before I jumped onto Ubuntu Studio, I tried Puppy Studio which is a Puppy Linux distro based upon Ubuntu Studio. It was able to run Reaper, the digital audio workstation for Windows, so right away I knew Linux was a lot more powerful then most people knew of because of Wine. So I tried to get my whole system configured for Puppy Studio which was vaporware, so I gave up on that. But instead of totally giving up, I remembered where Puppy Studio's influences came from and came here to Ubuntu for Ubuntu Studio.

Nearly everything about Ubuntu Studio has been either just as difficult as Windows or easier or with fewer hassles. It took more research to accomplish customizations for DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) use, but the info is out there and the results are rewarding. I really like how Ubuntu Studio uses Xfce, just like my favorite Puppy Linux distro does. Xfce is clean and simple. I also like the Ubuntu control panel/settings window. It's relatively easy to use.

I have been able to transfer over almost all of my Windows preferred freeware programs and most of my paywares too. After I got Reaper and VST instruments and effects working, I knew I was done with Windows forever. The last 3 Windows installs I did crashed hard; some from Windows malware, some from Windows corrupting itself. Even the Windows recovery DVD failed to work on my system. So I gave up on Windows. My Linux LiveCD's worked every time.

My only complaint about Ubuntu Studio has been that I needed to disable Apport which is way too verbose and seems trigger-happy. After I did that, the system stabilized instead of crashing on it's own Apports. Also, Firefox is a bit buggy sometimes, and crashes on it's startup sometimes. But I think tha'ts not a Ubuntu problem, but a Mozilla problem. Qupzilla works OK though as a stand-in, and I might download Chrome as a backup.

One of the wonderful things about Ubuntu has been the amount of money saved. Instead of paying a over a hundred dollars just to get non-supported Windows XP from Amazon while risking it being a bootleg...!!!!!... I just spent a handful of bucks on blank DVD's and burned the ISO of Ubuntu Studio and got set up. Windows XP SP2 was the last stable and efficient Windows system I have ever used. It's been downhill ever since then with Microsoft, coming from a pro audio standpoint.

Other Linux systems I've played around with:

gParted (self-explanatory)
Clonezilla (helped me backup my Windows partitions)
Puppy Linux (several different puppies; good but I needed something more substantial and not vaporwarish)
Lubuntu (nice minimalism with functionality)
WattOS (nice minimal for MacOS LiveCD)
CentOS (good disk formatting tools; but I don't do "enterprise" distros)
KXstudio (similar to Ubuntu Studio but perhaps not as supported)
AVlinux (similar to Ubuntu Studio but perhaps not as supported)
LinuxMint (didn't like it; too much like Windows)

Overall, I like the Ubuntu experience. I don't know why so many blogs and reviews criticized the Unity interface when it's not even used in Lubuntu nor Ubuntu Studio nor Xubuntu etc. I find the software easy to update and while some documentation is harder to find for my particular flavor, it's still less troubling than the endless registry hacks I used to do successfully.

[coldraven]

I tried out Kubuntu back when it was KDE 3.x and was amazed how configurable it was. I changed to Ubuntu when the KDE 4.0 disaster happened and never quite bothered to go back. I loved the "earthy" theme of Ubuntu 8.04 and I'm still quite fond of all the orange goodness of 14.04
I went full-time Linux when MS Vista arrived, I have a XP in a virtual machine but never use it nowadays.

[forrestcupp]

The first time I used Linux, I think it was Red Hat, or one of the other commercial ones in the very early days. I bought it at Best Buy. It sucked really bad.

But then later on, I thought I'd try again, and I ended up with Ubuntu's 2nd release, Hoary Hedgehog. The installer was great, and everything worked out of the box. I was so stoked to be running a completely free OS and software setup. It was a whole new world.

I tried out Kubuntu back when it was KDE 3.x and was amazed how configurable it was. I changed to Ubuntu when the KDE 4.0 disaster happened and never quite bothered to go back. I loved the "earthy" theme of Ubuntu 8.04 and I'm still quite fond of all the orange goodness of 14.04
I went full-time Linux when MS Vista arrived, I have a XP in a virtual machine but never use it nowadays.

What? I absolutely loved KDE 4.x. Do you mean because it took a little while to work the kinks out after 4.0 was released?

[v3.xx]

It was love at first sight; 8o4 was a good year