How Long Have You Been Using an Open Source OS?

[SaguratuS]

I've been windows-free for about 3 and a half years now, minus the occasional boot for playing World o Warcraft (runs in linux, but no pixel shaders, and some minor loading crashes). I can't quite remember, but I think I started using redhat as a server about 5 years ago.

[Colin-uk Veteran]

ive been dual booting Xandros with XP for about 6 months now :)

<1year

[djgramma]

It's currently too daunting for me to learn linux when my job calls for Server 2000. I'm currently playing around with Knoppix tho, so that's a start. I plan to turn my old system into a linux box once I start building a new system.

Still a MS ###### tho. :p

[Mike Douglas]

My first Linux experience would have to be Red Hat 7.3 in 2002.

[Barney T. Administrators]

Last option  - I don't trust open source software  :no:

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And yet you trust your computer to security flawed MS, with their weekly critical patches?

Anyway.... I started using Redhat 7 when I bought my first boxed set from Staples years ago. I tried it and promptly put it in the attic. I had dial-up and couldn't get it to work with my ISP. I finally got an external modem and it worked! I dual booted with Windows for a while until I built some of my own boxes, then expanded to Linux only machines. I run Mandrake 10.1, Fedora Core 2 on desktops, and Suse 9.2 Pro on my laptop. I do have a Windows box :rolleyes: , but only because my bank uses MS Money and I need it to do my on-line banking and finances. Other than that, Uncle Bill can have it back. MS has become so paternal these days.......

Barney

[DaNIsH]

First time around 1998/1999, and on and off since then up untill about a year ago when I decided to give Gentoo a shot.

Don't even have a Windows partition anymore (although that's temporary, will have to test applications I'm writing in Windows eventually).

[Eli]

Roughly 20 minutes total starting today.

[hadiz]

About 3 years for me, on and off.

[benjaminzsj]

just started :D tday at about 3 pm :laugh:

but already addicted, didn't even have the time to wondering why, so many stuff :rofl:

catering for more tutorials and pratice, i think i'm in the right direction

[hornett]

On and off for 2 years, and for about the last 6 months or so I've been using Fedora & Gentoo fulltime :)

[Guest Smithee]

The first I ever saw of Linux, was an article reviewing Red Hat 6.4 (I think) sometime in 2000.

In 2000/2001 sometime I decided enough was enough, went down to Foyles (big London bookshop) and spent half an hour looking at all the Linux books. I eventually purchased Red Hat Linux 7 for Dummies for about ?20.

I then slaved away all weekend to get the thing to work (I later found out the boot sector on the CD was corrupted) and arrived victorious at about 11pm Sunday evening with a Gnome 2 desktop and Red Hat 7 sitting proudly on my system. And that's what started a strange love/hate relationship between me and Tux.

Have tried most distros as well as a one night stand with FreeBSD and the odd flutter with Darwin (I liked the way it would say "Welcome to Macintosh" on an x86), I currently use SuSE.

So I guess I fit in 3-5 years.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

I have had my mac for only 5 or 6 months, but i have dabbled with linux on and off for quite a few years.

The first time i played with it was when i got a copy of Red Hat 6 (or was it 5?) the only reason im not dual booting at the moment is a very weird issue (everytime i wipe my hd and try to install fedora, the cd/dvd doesnt boot, it will boot any-other time though)

[Hurmoth]

I played around with Linux for years, but until last year I had never really had it as a main OS.

I started out with Mandrake years ago and play around with it, but up until Fedora Core 2 I never used Linux as a main OS. Now I'm lovin' Linux :D

[amr_01]

For about 4 or 5 years. Started with redhat and mandrake, now using Gentoo (for about 2 years).

[UKer]

First used Linux back in 1996, when Slackware 3.1 (AKA Slackware '96) was released, this used kernel 2.0 at the time. Wasn't anything like it is now, and seemed at the time like it wouldn't really progess - how wrong was that! Thankfully it's now a bit easier to set up and use than it was, we had to keep swapping the hardware on our test box to get it working fully. Never used kernel 1.x, mainly as it was tried at my college and wouldn't work with the box we had spare at the time. Apache was released publically around that time and took forever to get working, but turned heads when people realised a web server doesn't have to cost a fortune.

[Codegen]

Well, I think I've been going on a year. I recently installed a stage 3 Gentoo 2004.3 with minor problems (such as accidentily installing 2 system loggers). I manage to cope using a P233 with SimplyMEPIS 2004.6 While my P4 is compiling KDE 3.3.2, as I hate using Links when I don't have to. Can you say "LAG"? Anyways,I have it installed with Kernel 2.6.10, and as mentioned, trying to compile KDE 3.3.2, and I'd thought that I'd stand by Mandrake all the time. Damn, how wrong I was! A lot eeasier not having to install/compile all of it's dependencies.

[SoapyHamHocks Member]

I first tryed winlinux , i couldnt get it to work with my xp so i then downloaded knoppix. I've been using linux of and on for about 2-3 years now. Using gentoo right now, and i must say i love it!

[Shadrack]

I've been using an open source os for server applications at work for 2 years now. My first experience with Linux was back when I was 13 and 14 years old. Setting it up on an old 386. It is pretty different now. You can do such powerful thing with it as a server.

:blush: I still prefer Windows XP as my client OS over any Linux Client distro I've tried. However, if VIM was only for *nix, i'd probably be switched over. Thanks goes out to the VIM team for making an excellent windows version :)!

[MegaManXcalibur]

Open source is less likely to have malicious code than closed source, because many, many people reveiw it (usually). Also the same goes for stability. To trust closed source over open source is a bit of a strange concept to people once they get into open source.

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Another thing to think about is that open source software isn't as inclined to install other software on your system (i.e. spyware, adware, etc.). Many companies who give out free closed source software often include spyware to make up for the lack of being paid, but with open source if somebody tried that another person would just rip out the part that loaded on the spyware and call it a fork. Its certainly a much more secure way to go in many respects.

[racer1337]

I only use Winblowz at work ( because my boss is a windows fan ). I do use a live CD when I can though :ninja: Linux everywhere else

[Djmutik1013]

I have used it on and off for about 4 years now. I started with Mandrake 7.0 and went on from there. Right Now I am looking into running it again but I do not know what to use.

[Homer]

First dabbled with it with Redhat 9 in 2003 I think it was, I ended up destroying everything on my drives. :(

Stayed away, then tried Mandrake 9 I think, thought pleh about it and went off Linux, tried SuSE, made my Windows partition unbootable but lucky I had backups this time around, I now run FreeBSD on my other machine, and in my personal opinion I 100% prefer it over Linux. Far more logical, and simple.

Windows dominates my main machine for now though just due to the fact... it works.