>I remember a time when Linux was I (literally) remember a time from some years before Linux just was - because i was alive, and working in software, then. so

>I remember a time when Linux was I (literally) remember a time from some years before Linux just was - because i was alive, and working in software, then. source code of packages, including major ones, was available to download ... and source code for programs was available probably much before the technique of downloading was even a thing. people used to ship around programs in source code format via (magnetic) tapes or usenet or sneakernet, later, floppies, etc. see the Jargon File for much more computer lore than you would ever want to know about, including some of this stuff, although plenty of it is interesting, imo. >So long for hackability. pardon me. are Linux distributions not downloadable as source anymore? I guess, to many devs, including me, that's the ultimate meaning of hackability. because then you can hack anything from the top to the bottom of the stack. still editing ...