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My first Linux was in 1998 (when I was in 9th grade) and I think my first distro was RedHat, but then my boyfriend at the time told me Slackware was better so I

My first Linux was in 1998 (when I was in 9th grade) and I think my first distro was RedHat, but then my boyfriend at the time told me Slackware was better so I quickly switched. Like others in this thread, I learned so much from Slackware. I eventually moved to Debian and its derivatives and now I only use Linux in a docker container or in a VM, but I’ll always look back on that time in my life fondly b/c it’s what shaped the basis for so much of my computing life. My career as an adult has had lots of pivots, but I can confidently say that I wouldn’t have my current day job if it weren’t for all the stuff being a Slackware user taught me 20 years ago. Happy 25th, Slackware!

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nivenzo 8y ago
This sounds so much like me. Please tell me you ordered RedHat CDs from CheapBytes as well! I took a bit of an odd path after Slackware, running OpenBSD as a desktop OS. I used Window Maker, and one tangential benefit was that none of my friends knew how to use my computer, so couldn't muck around with it much.
- b3b0p 8y ago
  My first was 56k download of Slackware 4.3(?). Followed by I believe Red Hat 5.1 (from Best Buy). Later, I think I bought Red Hat 5.2 on Cheap Bytes. From there, I ran FreeBSD on my Thinkpad 600e using Window Maker. I miss it. Dearly. Now, I'm on macOS with the 2017 15 inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro. I like it actually (I only wish I could replace the keyboard and/or open it in case I get gunk inside it). Only because I never used the function keys and it's a neat little hackable toy (the touch bar that is). My escape is caps lock, so the esc key doesn't bother me. I'm spoiled and entrenched in the Apple, iOS, WatchOS eco system. I constantly think about getting another Thinkpad, probably daily.
- duxup 8y ago
  I've got small piles of them... I just liked getting them...
- danieldk 8y ago
  Please tell me you ordered RedHat CDs from CheapBytes as well! I started using Slackware Linux in 1994. I was 12 and it was the best way to get a lot of software for free (I only cared about 'free as in beer' then). Around 98ish, a friend and I made an extra buck by buying CheapBytes CDs in the US and and selling them relabeled in The Netherlands. Surprisingly our Tripod webpage is still online in its 90ies glory, with tiny screenshots ;): http://linuxlop.tripod.com http://linuxlop.tripod.com But when I started the Infomagic Linux Developer's Resource CD-ROM sets were a big thing: https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Developers-Resource-6-CD-Set/dp/B000LCH712 https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Developers-Resource-6-CD-Set/dp... There was a new version every few months with multiple distributions and IIRC TSX-11 and sunsite.unc.edu. Of course, the Walnut Creek Slackware and FreeBSD sets were also great.
- peatmoss 8y ago
  Slackware was a good gateway drug to the BSDs. That was certainly the path I took. The simplicity of the BSDs is really a nice feature. Slackware was for all intents and purposes a BSD with a weird kernel and userland. The simplicity of Slackware was a result of following BSD conventions mostly.
pjmlp 8y ago
Same here, started with Slackware 2.0 in 1996, already knew other UNIX systems given that I was a bit further along (at the university). It was Slackware that gave me the opportunity to play with something UNIX like at home, but then as UI/UX focused developer I followed a different path of desktop friendly distributions, Red-Hat, Mandrake, SuSE, Ubuntu, to eventually settle in Windows/OS X on desktop systems. But yeah, learned a lot. Knowing Linux deeply helped getting some of the projects that worked as jumping stone for something else.

deleted 8y ago

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nivenzo 8y ago

This sounds so much like me. Please tell me you ordered RedHat CDs from CheapBytes as well! I took a bit of an odd path after Slackware, running OpenBSD as a desktop OS. I used Window Maker, and one tangential benefit was that none of my friends knew how to use my computer, so couldn't muck around with it much.

b3b0p 8y ago
My first was 56k download of Slackware 4.3(?). Followed by I believe Red Hat 5.1 (from Best Buy). Later, I think I bought Red Hat 5.2 on Cheap Bytes. From there, I ran FreeBSD on my Thinkpad 600e using Window Maker. I miss it. Dearly. Now, I'm on macOS with the 2017 15 inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro. I like it actually (I only wish I could replace the keyboard and/or open it in case I get gunk inside it). Only because I never used the function keys and it's a neat little hackable toy (the touch bar that is). My escape is caps lock, so the esc key doesn't bother me. I'm spoiled and entrenched in the Apple, iOS, WatchOS eco system. I constantly think about getting another Thinkpad, probably daily.
duxup 8y ago
I've got small piles of them... I just liked getting them...
danieldk 8y ago
Please tell me you ordered RedHat CDs from CheapBytes as well! I started using Slackware Linux in 1994. I was 12 and it was the best way to get a lot of software for free (I only cared about 'free as in beer' then). Around 98ish, a friend and I made an extra buck by buying CheapBytes CDs in the US and and selling them relabeled in The Netherlands. Surprisingly our Tripod webpage is still online in its 90ies glory, with tiny screenshots ;): http://linuxlop.tripod.com http://linuxlop.tripod.com But when I started the Infomagic Linux Developer's Resource CD-ROM sets were a big thing: https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Developers-Resource-6-CD-Set/dp/B000LCH712 https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Developers-Resource-6-CD-Set/dp... There was a new version every few months with multiple distributions and IIRC TSX-11 and sunsite.unc.edu. Of course, the Walnut Creek Slackware and FreeBSD sets were also great.
peatmoss 8y ago
Slackware was a good gateway drug to the BSDs. That was certainly the path I took. The simplicity of the BSDs is really a nice feature. Slackware was for all intents and purposes a BSD with a weird kernel and userland. The simplicity of Slackware was a result of following BSD conventions mostly.

pjmlp 8y ago

Same here, started with Slackware 2.0 in 1996, already knew other UNIX systems given that I was a bit further along (at the university). It was Slackware that gave me the opportunity to play with something UNIX like at home, but then as UI/UX focused developer I followed a different path of desktop friendly distributions, Red-Hat, Mandrake, SuSE, Ubuntu, to eventually settle in Windows/OS X on desktop systems. But yeah, learned a lot. Knowing Linux deeply helped getting some of the projects that worked as jumping stone for something else.