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by nivenzo 2899 days 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.
4 comments
b3b0p 2899 days 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.

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microtonal 2898 days 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

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...

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.

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peatmoss 2898 days 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.
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duxup 2899 days ago
I've got small piles of them... I just liked getting them...
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