getting an EeePc because they were neat and cheap in 2008 (And then changing to OS from Xandros to Ubuntu because the former was limited even for them time)
curiosity + the possibility at that time to get CDs from Canonical with ubuntu on them in the mail. I think it was the first time I heard of the possibility to run an OS via the CD drive without installing it (live CD)
At that time it was a pain to get wifi working and wrestling with the settings got me hooked on problem solving.
Ubuntu used to send out installation discs that let you install along side Windows. That made it really easy to try out Linux without a full commitment.
The more I used it, the more I enjoyed the experience of updating from the terminal, exploring FOSS, and learning a new OS. I miss it when I have to use Windows on my work machines.
Didn't want to buy a new PC when the Win98 on it became obsolete & hated the tiles that were on Win8 afterwards. Still continued working with both systems, but am now keeping almost (tax software excluded) to linux, where I'm not bothered with Karl Klammer 2.0 (aka "AI") if I don't want to use it.
curiosity back in 1995. Old SFF machine and was extremely slow running windows. Migrated to Linux and was pleasantly surprised at how fast everything ran. Web browsing, office suite running, and playing music without it skipping.
Kids high-end win95 machine had a hard time doing that.
I started using ubuntu for work, but the dealbreaker was windows 8. When I got a new laptop preinstalled with it that was so slow and clunky it gave me the final push to use linux as main os. Btw that old lenovo served me well for many years and is still around with a lightweight distro as a backup machine.
Little over a year ago, I tried Linux for my operating systems class to help my understanding. When I tried to make my laptop dual boot with Ubuntu though, I fucked it up and accidentally replaced Windows with Ubuntu instead.
Despite losing all my data and learned not to make such drastic changes without backups, I never regretted it. Not only did Linux help me understand how operating systems work for my class, but I also now prefer Linux over Windows.
I think about 15 years ago, sitting on my ars on the datacenter floor for over an hour trying to figure out how to set a fixed IP address on my brand new laptop with some successor of Windows XP. I was used to XP but couldn't find anything back on that piece of sh** Came home, installed Linux and haven't looked back ever since.
having to reinstall windows every few months and always worrying about losing my files in the process, set up a Linux Samba server to host my Documents
Some college course I took was dedicated to Linux. This was back, approximately, in 2007 or so. It wasn't until using it for my job on a daily basis, around 2016, when I started to test it seriously on my main computers.
windows generally being very very slow on my laptop. i started switching 6 months after switching to windows 11. this is a great example of virtual planned obsolescence, using software that simulates the computer running poorly. linux doesn't do any of that.
over time of using linux, i saw another reason: SDKs and anything related appeared more on linux than on windows, sometimes some README.mds straight up expecting you to have linux or WSL.
I would say "first try" was during school lessons. Using it on a daily base (on my desktop PC and every day) was the expiration of Windows 8 (IMHO the best Windows).
About 2005, back in consulting days, with a company Windows laptop. Put Linux on it as a hobby for evenings in hotels. Then Windows died, some random virus. Critical time in a project!
Discovered that ancient Linux partition could do everything I needed to finish the project. Sold!
I had to do some testing on SuSE back in 2000-2005, but I only connected to it on command line. In 2007, I was given Ubuntu 7.04 and 7.10 CDs to try, they ran poorly for me. I then got an Xubuntu 8.04 CD and used it on an extra laptop occasionally for 18 month. Then I tried Ubuntu 10.04 and used it on low power laptop when not on my main PC. I never found a later Linux that worked well on my systems until I tried Linux Lite 7.2 and Mint 22.1 last fall to replace Windows 10.
what made me try Linux for the first time was that I'm the type who, instead of moaning tries to change my behaviour. Around the time XP came out I thought "there has to be another way". I have to admit the learning curve at that time was steep, and a lot of stuff didn't work, but it was very much worthwhile to get out of the clutches of m$.
Long time ago, where Vista was on every computer. I always tinkered with very weird settings in Windows and thought, why not Ubuntu. I could not install it due to the graphic card not displaying anything on the live CD and tried a lot to make it work! Today everything is working so much smoother with Linux.
My first pc was a raspberry pi 3 running pi OS. I was a child and just wanted a "normal" windows pc. But I'm a linux user since 2 years now and have tested ubuntu, manjaro and fedora which i'm currently running (the kde version btw). I mostly use open source softwares and hope that the EU will push open source even more!
I don't remember what put me onto #Linux initially, but I liked the idea of a free and open operating system when I read about it.
I started with Slackware on an old Pentium desktop PC in 2001, then installed Mandrake off a Linux Magazine cover CD, and finally, when I got broadband in 2003, I settled on #Gentoo Linux. The tinkering aspect appealed a lot to me back then.
Exploring and tinkering the world outside Windows. And now is Windows Outside and become a foreign world for me. I am glade to be now in the Linux- and FOSS-World. It means freedom.
@It's FOSS That pushy alert from Microsoft going "omg Win 10 support is ending you HAVE to upgrade to our miserable ai-infested Win 11, but watch out your PC might not be good enuff for Win 11, so you better get ready by...."
... installing Linux, thanks for the tip Microsoft.
FrankM
in reply to It's FOSS • • •It's FOSS
in reply to FrankM • • •Richard Devine
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Tomi the Slav and 1024 others
in reply to It's FOSS • • •TheBen
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Angelo Schirinzi
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Aureliano en el tanque
in reply to It's FOSS • • •$: Iam_jfnklstrm
in reply to It's FOSS • • •curiosity + the possibility at that time to get CDs from Canonical with ubuntu on them in the mail. I think it was the first time I heard of the possibility to run an OS via the CD drive without installing it (live CD)
At that time it was a pain to get wifi working and wrestling with the settings got me hooked on problem solving.
Alfredo Duplat
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Worlds Gone Mad
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Stephen
in reply to It's FOSS • • •peter kleiweg 🇪🇺
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Jeff
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Ubuntu used to send out installation discs that let you install along side Windows. That made it really easy to try out Linux without a full commitment.
The more I used it, the more I enjoyed the experience of updating from the terminal, exploring FOSS, and learning a new OS. I miss it when I have to use Windows on my work machines.
AKK
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Still continued working with both systems, but am now keeping almost (tax software excluded) to linux, where I'm not bothered with Karl Klammer 2.0 (aka "AI") if I don't want to use it.
Thomas Traynor
in reply to It's FOSS • • •curiosity back in 1995. Old SFF machine and was extremely slow running windows. Migrated to Linux and was pleasantly surprised at how fast everything ran. Web browsing, office suite running, and playing music without it skipping.
Kids high-end win95 machine had a hard time doing that.
U.N. Owen
in reply to It's FOSS • • •At uni, tried CentOS.
From there tried various linux distros.
Kenner
in reply to It's FOSS • • •mdv
in reply to It's FOSS • • •cyberpunkrocker
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Django
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Paolo
in reply to It's FOSS • • •When I got a new laptop preinstalled with it that was so slow and clunky it gave me the final push to use linux as main os.
Btw that old lenovo served me well for many years and is still around with a lightweight distro as a backup machine.
Unix Monkey 🇨🇦
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Pirate
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Little over a year ago, I tried Linux for my operating systems class to help my understanding. When I tried to make my laptop dual boot with Ubuntu though, I fucked it up and accidentally replaced Windows with Ubuntu instead.
Despite losing all my data and learned not to make such drastic changes without backups, I never regretted it. Not only did Linux help me understand how operating systems work for my class, but I also now prefer Linux over Windows.
TomSeppert
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Came home, installed Linux and haven't looked back ever since.
dhanush
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Mario
in reply to It's FOSS • • •ShadSterling
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Paul Hulford
in reply to It's FOSS • • •MrGrumpyMonkey
in reply to It's FOSS • • •mor
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Ponali
in reply to It's FOSS • • •windows generally being very very slow on my laptop. i started switching 6 months after switching to windows 11. this is a great example of virtual planned obsolescence, using software that simulates the computer running poorly. linux doesn't do any of that.
over time of using linux, i saw another reason: SDKs and anything related appeared more on linux than on windows, sometimes some README.mds straight up expecting you to have linux or WSL.
Sebastián Gómez Z.
in reply to It's FOSS • • •jspb
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Onion
in reply to It's FOSS • • •mbeddedDev
in reply to It's FOSS • • •eMarginalia
in reply to It's FOSS • • •About 2005, back in consulting days, with a company Windows laptop. Put Linux on it as a hobby for evenings in hotels. Then Windows died, some random virus. Critical time in a project!
Discovered that ancient Linux partition could do everything I needed to finish the project. Sold!
Motorikschleife
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Pushakar Gaikwad
in reply to It's FOSS • • •WG
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Pankajkumar Patro
in reply to It's FOSS • • •It's FOSS
in reply to Pankajkumar Patro • • •Back To Analog
in reply to It's FOSS • • •yafes_celebi
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Slayerfest79
in reply to It's FOSS • • •I have to admit the learning curve at that time was steep, and a lot of stuff didn't work, but it was very much worthwhile to get out of the clutches of m$.
Luxii
in reply to It's FOSS • • •M4R10 🌱
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Windows 2000 freezes after some hours... So i tried Debian I think...
#linux #debian
Chef Moz
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Clero
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Piksu
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Thijs
in reply to It's FOSS • • •Wilfredo 💬
in reply to It's FOSS • • •I'm grateful for my first contact with the #GNU #Linux world in 1998, in the college #computer lab... despite the #WindowMaker #WindowManager hehehe
The previous year we used the #lab of another #college in the same #university running #Microsoft #WindowsNT 3.51
In 1999 I tried using Linux on my personal computer, and since 2001 I definitively used the #Brazilian #distro #Conectiva (now defunct)
zevon
in reply to It's FOSS • • •I don't remember what put me onto #Linux initially, but I liked the idea of a free and open operating system when I read about it.
I started with Slackware on an old Pentium desktop PC in 2001, then installed Mandrake off a Linux Magazine cover CD, and finally, when I got broadband in 2003, I settled on #Gentoo Linux. The tinkering aspect appealed a lot to me back then.
Alexey
in reply to It's FOSS • • •olafd
in reply to It's FOSS • • •I am glade to be now in the Linux- and FOSS-World. It means freedom.
Grow Fediverse
in reply to It's FOSS • • •@It's FOSS That pushy alert from Microsoft going "omg Win 10 support is ending you HAVE to upgrade to our miserable ai-infested Win 11, but watch out your PC might not be good enuff for Win 11, so you better get ready by...."
... installing Linux, thanks for the tip Microsoft.
It's FOSS
in reply to Grow Fediverse • • •Francisco Torres
in reply to It's FOSS • • •abapBastian
in reply to It's FOSS • • •