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Books. Lots and lots of books. And computer shows where you could pick up boxed software (OS, compilers, etc.) for anywhere from 50 - 90% off. Wasn't until 199
by smhenderson 9y ago
Books. Lots and lots of books. And computer shows where you could pick up boxed software (OS, compilers, etc.) for anywhere from 50 - 90% off.
Wasn't until 1995 that I discovered gcc which led to my discovery of GNU/Linux shortly after. Before that I scrimped and saved and waited for trade shows to pick up new books and versions of MS programming tools for DOS, Win 3.1 and then Windows 95. After that I ran a duel boot system to keep learning Windows and start taking advantage of free software. This was also about the time it became easy and affordable for me to be on the internet regularly and the ldp[1] was a great place to go instead of using dead trees.
Before Linux I could not afford access to any type of UNIX system (except maybe Xenix, saw that a lot at shows, was always tempted but never made the plunge). I did not know about *BSD at the time.
[1]http://tldp.org/ http://tldp.org/
- jamesrcole 9y ago> And computer shows... It's worth pointing out that, for a lot of places in the world, there weren't such things. There certainly weren't where I'm from in Australia
- smhenderson 9y agoYeah, I guess I should have stated that my experience was in the US. And I grew up in a large city as well so I can imagine the experience for someone living in a rural part of the US was more like yours than mine.
- rbg246 9y agoThere were a few regular computer fairs in Sydney in the mid 90s but anywhere outside of the main cities...
- jamesrcole 9y agoOr prior to then - or at least I'd imagine the further you go back from then the fewer of them there were. I'm from a bit north of Brisbane originally and if there were any in Brisbane around the 80s/early-90s I never knew of them (I guess that's the other thing about the pre-web world, that it was a lot harder to know of what was happening).