@angstrom said: for my very first Linux distribution, I'll keep it short: it was Debian 2.1 (Slink)
Ah, interesting similarities with regards to printing on Linux. I quickly learned how well UNIX/Linux played with PostScript and got a Laser writer supporting pure PS, IIRC a HP LJ first, then a Xerox.
And Debian 2.1/Slink I remember well. I think I upgraded from 2.0, so I probably tried that first, but I remember the PC I upgraded all the way from 2.1 to 6.0 ....
(I wonder if this was just after the legendary 3.0.3 release by RedHat.)
I wrote:
Linux FT v1.2, came on a couple of floppies with a magazine. Then later Slackware, then RedHat and then Debian ...
It's kinda har finding info on Linux-FT these days. Using Wayback Machine I was able to figure out that Lasermoon released 2.0 in 97, so I'm not sure when 1.2 was released.
They were very proud of it being Posix certified. I think I switched to Slackware 2.x after this.
And a while later I ordered Slackware 95 (= 4.0?) on CD.
I don't think that I was aware of Linux-FT, but I recall that the lack of POSIX certification for Linux was viewed by some as a potential issue back then.
(I wonder whether there are still people who worry about this.)
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
@angstrom said: for my very first Linux distribution, I'll keep it short: it was Debian 2.1 (Slink)
Ah, interesting similarities with regards to printing on Linux. I quickly learned how well UNIX/Linux played with PostScript and got a Laser writer supporting pure PS, IIRC a HP LJ first, then a Xerox.
Back then, a Postscript printer was really a sine qua non for straightforward printing under Linux.
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
I used Solaris and BSD before I used Linux, but I think my first encounter with Linux must have been Slackware. This was somewhere around 1994-95 so I'm guessing Slackware 2.x. Pretty soon picked up some Linux work and ran into Red Hat and SuSe.
Somewhere around 2000 I was involved in starting up Swedens first callcenter offering support for Linux, so I got some experience in basically every distro out their and how hard it is for people to run Linux on their desktop.
I've always used Linux in some way or another, but almost never as a desktop. I've never seen enough advantage in that area. I've never had a favourite distro either, I simply use whatever gets the job done. Today, I run a lot of Ubuntu or CentOS, simply because most of the softwares I run seem to recommend them. I still also use BSD where I see fit.
I guess IBM AIX and Solaris on RISC workstations at Uni in the early 90's. I installed Slackware (no GUI) from floppy disks included in a Linux magazine at home, but it didn't last long.
As mikho said internet was very limited at the time, so most online information was available on BBS's and it was not very practical to get access to applications at the time.
Ended up losing contact with Linux/Unix until the early 2000's when I bought a Qnap NAS that runs a Debian based distro. Then in late 2010's decided to replace the aging Qnap with a home server to get a bit more resources to run some VM's. Looked again for distros and decided for CentOS because of its LTS and being an enterprise distribution. I wanted to learn as much as possible before having to go through a OS upgrade.
For some reason that escapes my mind ended up on OGF at some point and caught the idlers bug. ;-) And I've been happily using CentOS on my idlers since.
An unexpected upside from the LTS on CentOS is having the time to see how RockyLinux develops as a possible replacement after all the RedHat/CentOS drama.
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
I had Redhat 7 I think, with patches by some folks in Taiwan to display and enter Chinese texts. The patches were called "Chinese Linux Extensions" or CLE.
Displaying non latin-alphabet based languages in Linux was a challenge.
My computer at the time was a Pentium 3/4. I also tried Mandrake and Gentoo on the same computer. I remembered setting up my computer on the kitchen table with an Ethernet cable connecting to the ADSL modem in the living room emerging the whole KDE suite, which took a few days.
My first Linux installation was RedHat Apollo, but it wasn't native.
Dual boot was a pain in the arse back then.
For domain registrations, create an account at Dynadot (ref) and spend $9.99 within 48 hours to receive $5 DynaDollars! Looking for cost-effective Managed/Anycast/DDoS-Protected/Geo DNS Services? Try ClouDNS (aff).
I dual booted Windows XP SP2 and Ubuntu 6.06 LTS on my old AMD Duron 1.3Ghz, 512MB RAM, and a 80GB IDE HDD with a Nvidia GeForce MX400 with 64MB of video RAM. I installed via DVD because I only had dial-up internet at the time; what I would do is over dial-up, I'd check for repository updates but opt to not download the packages. I'd then go to the local library to use their bonded T1 line to download the update packages I'd need and copy them to an external hard drive, then add my external drive as a package repo. It was ghetto as heck but it worked well enough until we finally got cable internet.
My first Linux distro was either Mandrake 7.0 or 7.1, don’t know which one exactly. I do know it was in 2000. Installed it from a CD that came with a computer magazine. (I think C’T).
Around 2004-2005 I switched to Debian (Woody) and stayed on Debian and Debian-based distros ever since.
Comments
Ah, interesting similarities with regards to printing on Linux. I quickly learned how well UNIX/Linux played with PostScript and got a Laser writer supporting pure PS, IIRC a HP LJ first, then a Xerox.
And Debian 2.1/Slink I remember well. I think I upgraded from 2.0, so I probably tried that first, but I remember the PC I upgraded all the way from 2.1 to 6.0 ....
(I wonder if this was just after the legendary 3.0.3 release by RedHat.)
I don't think that I was aware of Linux-FT, but I recall that the lack of POSIX certification for Linux was viewed by some as a potential issue back then.
(I wonder whether there are still people who worry about this.)
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Yeah, my printer understood HP PCL. That's how I ultimately got it working.
Old days! 
MetalVPS
Back then, a Postscript printer was really a sine qua non for straightforward printing under Linux.
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Nobody remembers Yggdrasil.
This is a cue to post some images
Ubuntu warty warthog
Slackware 1.0
Suse 5.1
Above images taken from wiki media commons
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Mandriva Linux back when I was in 7th grade high school.
OnePoundEmail (aff link)
Yay, with FVWM!
@willie I do remember Yggdrasil, but can't recall if I ever tried it ...
I used Solaris and BSD before I used Linux, but I think my first encounter with Linux must have been Slackware. This was somewhere around 1994-95 so I'm guessing Slackware 2.x. Pretty soon picked up some Linux work and ran into Red Hat and SuSe.
Somewhere around 2000 I was involved in starting up Swedens first callcenter offering support for Linux, so I got some experience in basically every distro out their and how hard it is for people to run Linux on their desktop.
I've always used Linux in some way or another, but almost never as a desktop. I've never seen enough advantage in that area. I've never had a favourite distro either, I simply use whatever gets the job done. Today, I run a lot of Ubuntu or CentOS, simply because most of the softwares I run seem to recommend them. I still also use BSD where I see fit.
I guess IBM AIX and Solaris on RISC workstations at Uni in the early 90's. I installed Slackware (no GUI) from floppy disks included in a Linux magazine at home, but it didn't last long.
As mikho said internet was very limited at the time, so most online information was available on BBS's and it was not very practical to get access to applications at the time.
Ended up losing contact with Linux/Unix until the early 2000's when I bought a Qnap NAS that runs a Debian based distro. Then in late 2010's decided to replace the aging Qnap with a home server to get a bit more resources to run some VM's. Looked again for distros and decided for CentOS because of its LTS and being an enterprise distribution. I wanted to learn as much as possible before having to go through a OS upgrade.
For some reason that escapes my mind ended up on OGF at some point and caught the idlers bug. ;-) And I've been happily using CentOS on my idlers since.
An unexpected upside from the LTS on CentOS is having the time to see how RockyLinux develops as a possible replacement after all the RedHat/CentOS drama.
TIL (today I learned): sine qua non
= something absolutely necessary
It's from Latin, borrowed by English
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
I had Redhat 7 I think, with patches by some folks in Taiwan to display and enter Chinese texts. The patches were called "Chinese Linux Extensions" or CLE.
Displaying non latin-alphabet based languages in Linux was a challenge.
My computer at the time was a Pentium 3/4. I also tried Mandrake and Gentoo on the same computer. I remembered setting up my computer on the kitchen table with an Ethernet cable connecting to the ADSL modem in the living room emerging the whole KDE suite, which took a few days.
The all seeing eye sees everything...
My first Linux installation was RedHat Apollo, but it wasn't native.
Dual boot was a pain in the arse back then.
For domain registrations, create an account at Dynadot (ref) and spend $9.99 within 48 hours to receive $5 DynaDollars!
Looking for cost-effective Managed/Anycast/DDoS-Protected/Geo DNS Services? Try ClouDNS (aff).
Zenwalk linux (slackware based)
Not quite the original but the installation brings back fond memories.
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Ubuntu 6.04, gawd I'm old
In my mind Ubuntu is a rather new thingie ...
I don't recall which Debian version the first Ubuntu release was based upon, though ...
I dual booted Windows XP SP2 and Ubuntu 6.06 LTS on my old AMD Duron 1.3Ghz, 512MB RAM, and a 80GB IDE HDD with a Nvidia GeForce MX400 with 64MB of video RAM. I installed via DVD because I only had dial-up internet at the time; what I would do is over dial-up, I'd check for repository updates but opt to not download the packages. I'd then go to the local library to use their bonded T1 line to download the update packages I'd need and copy them to an external hard drive, then add my external drive as a package repo. It was ghetto as heck but it worked well enough until we finally got cable internet.
Cheap dedis are my drug, and I'm too far gone to turn back.
My first Linux distro was either Mandrake 7.0 or 7.1, don’t know which one exactly. I do know it was in 2000. Installed it from a CD that came with a computer magazine. (I think C’T).
Around 2004-2005 I switched to Debian (Woody) and stayed on Debian and Debian-based distros ever since.