Post AsTO7Bb8w2deETZs2q by Suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com
(DIR) More posts by Suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com
(DIR) Post #AsTO79pFWcjYjeA6kq by zorinlynx@tiggi.es
2025-03-26T19:26:05Z
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This year marks 30 years; three whole decades of my running Linux.My journey into Linux began around April-May 1995, when I started using an ISP run by a friend of a friend, called Global Information Link. They used Linux on their UNIX shell server, and it was there that I first played with the OS through a telnet session. (No SSH yet!)In mid-April I discovered FurryMUCK, and the best way to connect to it is TinyFugue, a UNIX MU* client. I ran it in the ISP's shell to log into the MUCK. Eventually I wanted to play with my own MUCK server so I compiled FBMuck on GIL's shell server and fired it up, then invited a bunch of people on FurryMUCK to connect. This eventually became FluffMUCK, which swiftly got too big and the owner of the ISP told me I couldn't run it on the shell server anymore. The MUCK bounced around from host to host until I found a permanent home for it. But that's another story...Futzing around with all this stuff made me desperately want to install Linux on my own 486 PC, but the problem was I had an old BIOS which didn't support hard drives over 528MB without running special "disk manager" software. I had a 730MB hard drive with said software, and Linux did not support mounting drives configured that way. The drive was also "DoubleSpaced" which, if you are from that era, probably makes you scream in terror at just the thought of it.I couldn't just reformat the drive because I didn't have another drive to copy all my data to. Hard drives cost a fortune back then; I just had my one drive, with backups of my most precious stuff to floppy disk. It was rough, and Linux was not happening for me without help.Sometime after August 1995 I finally took the hard drive over to a friend's house; he had just gotten a new drive and this gave me a chance to copy all my stuff off, reformat my drive with DOS/Windows in the first 528MB and Linux in the remaining space, and copy my data back. You see, the BIOS could only access the first 528MB, but Linux didn't use the BIOS for disk access, so could access the remaining space just fine! I was finally running Linux, learning how it all works, and starting on a journey that would define my career for 30 years to come.Another defining moment was pulling an all nighter learning how to get PPP to work so I could get the brand new Linux install online via dial-up modem. Fun times.Here's to another 30 years of Linux! <3#linux#nostalgia
(DIR) Post #AsTO7Bb8w2deETZs2q by Suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com
2025-03-27T07:32:57.953581Z
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@zorinlynx Many such cases of; https://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-users-never-heard-of-gnu.html>They used Linux on their UNIX shell serverDid they use even use Linux?GNU was very popular on proprietary Unix's, as it was functionally a lot better than the default Unix software, so I suspect the server didn't use Linux used GNU instead.If that server was running GNU/Linux, it wasn't a Unix server.
(DIR) Post #AsTO7G8y2E4UKXQwK0 by zorinlynx@tiggi.es
2025-03-26T19:30:38Z
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For the record, my first distro was Slackware 2.3 and yes, I installed it from floppy disks. I *had* a CD-ROM drive but didn't have a Linux install disc so it was moot. Most people couldn't burn their own CDs in 1995.The numerous Slackware floppy images had to be downloaded from the Internet at dial-up speed and written to floppy disks using a raw writing utility.It was extremely tedious, but we didn't have anything better at the time. #linux #nostalgia
(DIR) Post #AsTO7Lqkor4G1mxTlY by zorinlynx@tiggi.es
2025-03-26T19:33:04Z
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One fun aspect of running Linux back then was the community, especially on FurryMUCK in my case.We were almost all nerds and wanted to play with Linux; we would share install and troubleshooting tips, help each other with issues, and so on.It was REALLY AWESOME and I made several friends through the process. #linux #nostalgia