• dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    My first real experience with installing/running Linux on my own machine back in the day was with Gentoo. My experience was basically the same as Arch guy there, except with the added step of compiling every single component from source. On a Celeron equipped laptop. Nobody warned me about that part.

    It took fucking ages. I was stuck in textmode land with Matrix code flying up the screen for like three fucking days, before I even got to a shell prompt.

    I gave up. I just run Debian now.

      • boomzilla@programming.dev
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        1 year ago

        I was in an IT school around 2012. I thought I was the only one using Linux besides Windows (predominantely though). I wasn’t. He was daily-driving Gentoo where most of the students haven’t even heard of Linux the kernel before confronted with a bash shell in a course.

        I’d say in 2000 only the nerdiest people, academics or professionals knew the difference between say Red Hat or Gentoo at least here in Central Europe. Windows 95 (and 98) came pre-installed on every OEM PC and the best windows to that date (2000) would come out that year and I guess everybody was hyped for XP. Saying you are compiling your kernel and software yourself with GCC would have only got you puzzled faces instead of kudos in 2000 here.