Yeah its about the same for me, I started using Linux in earnest around 1997 when the local data magazine distributed Red Hat 4.2, but switched to using it full time around 2003.
For me it was 2003. Debian Woody. On an EasyBytes CDROM. That I paid 5 dollars for. Replaced Windows 98. The boost to the usability of that computer was insane.
My girlfriend sent me a picture of her running her first Linux commands yesterday (she had to run a script to connect her Linux Mint laptop to a network). I almost cried 🥲
My first install was around 1994 or so. I downloaded 18 hd floppies from Slackware over my university’s dialup. I loved that I didn’t have to run winsock to use the internet anymore.
1995 for me. I bought a copy of DLD, a long-since defunct distro at a store. This was before I went to uni and before I had internet, which made learning it very frustrating. And then I wanted to use a printer. Not quite happy memories.
X Windows was my day 1 challenge. I loved having to change the monitor sync and hearing your monitor go “SNAP” when you start it up, then staring at basically a horizontal line. That, and the line in the Usenet posting on how to set up X Windows say “You can physically destroy your monitor here.”
My first install was also slackware around the same time, but I just bought it from the computer store I worked at. Pat was an occasional customer, who sometimes brought in home brewed beer for the technicians.
Sorry to say I didnt get into it earlier like some folks here, although I could have. My computing experience started with MSDOS and Windows 3.11, and didn't start using Linux until I installed Mandrake Linux with KDE in college in 2002. Back then, shit was pretty rough though. Getting XFree86 running was an adventure in itself sometimes. What drew me to it was the ability to do things like quickly deploy a fully featured web server with scripting and database for next to no cost and using it like a developer's playground. Things I'd be spending thousands in licensing fees for in Windows.
At first I was SSHing into my server from Windows to work on files, but eventually I just installed the full Linux GUI on my desktop as well, so I could use all the cool tools there too.
Bro no kidding.. You'd install and hoped your keyboard worked by the end of it.
I stuck with it though.. Well over 20 years for me now.
EDIT: I actually remember digging through dbus configs one time for HOURS because I couldn't get my mouse working. No joke I realized at like 3am it wasn't plugged in. Hahah.. It was such a pain in the ass back then you just assumed it was something insane.
I first installed OG Red Hat 5.2 in 1998, but my computer had a Winmodem rather than a full hardware modem, so I never got it connected to the internet, which severely reduced how useful it was to me. I got broadband a year later, and that changed everything!
If you're installing Ubuntu or Manjaro, it's honestly easier than windows. The options make more sense, and you get much more useful info on your drives. With windows, I have to identify them by capacity, which has led to me installing on the wrong drive before. And live CD installs even allow you to look something up for help right there.
Arch is a totally different story though. No way I would have started using Linux if that was my introduction to it.
Correction: much more useful info full stop. Windows be like "an error happened, good luck shithead". Linux be like: "error 37: here's the full stack trace, we put it in a file so you can read in and copy/paste if need be, check the man page for details on how to solve"
What is your issue with installation exactly? I must have done 200+ installs of 2 dozen distros (not you Arch) and its always been smooth and easy.
And quick. Like, the whole process only takes 15 minutes for most distros
Yep. I installed Linux on my desktop. Worked great until I let it go to sleep, and it refused to connect back to my monitor. Then when I restarted it, it wouldn't get past some terminal "can't find video mode" screen or some shit
I'm going to have to spend a couple hours at least today after work to sort it out.
Maybe I can help you out. What distro are you using. Did you boot off usb and then install? How did you partition your SSD? Are you able to open a shell prompt?
Eh, there's always something new to learn. New distros, new programs, new ways of doing things. I think the latter happens from stagnation. Search out the new and interesting and you can always be an explorer.
Can someone point me to some linux distros to try as a new user? I'm going to consider dual booting as I still need Windows for the main game I play. But I wanna see if I can get into cyber security on my own. I'm planning on trying to get a list to try out in some VM's