Hey Guys.
I was wondering how many of you use a Linux distro as your everyday operating system and if you do, what distro are you running and what type of hardware are you using?
I am a long-time linux user at almost 25 years. So I’ve played around with a lot of distros over the years.
Currently I use:
Desktop Computer ( AKA: The Flux Capacitor)
OS: Debian (Yes. I’m old school)
Motherboard: MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk
Processor: Ryzen 9 9900x
RAM: G Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5 128GB
GPU #1: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB
GPU #2: AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT 16GB
SSD: Samsung 990 Pro 4TB
Power Supply: NZXT 1500 Platinum
I use this rig to run all my AI locally.
I’ve recently converted (start of this year) to Linux full time for personal/home use on my PC - it’s an older home build currently running Fedora 42 KDE Plasma. Have also tried the new System76 Pop!_OS Cosmic alpha quite a bit and liked it but wasn’t quite functional enough when I trialled it in Feb-Apr. And I will be switching to using Asahi Linux on my MacBook Pro (M1) in next few months. Still have to use Microsloppy Windows at work regrettably…
My original Linux experience was 25 years ago, around 2000-2002, when I ran a second PC at home for about 12-18 months to try out Linux (the old Red Hat distro IIRC with GNOME DE) - however it was a bit early in Linux life-cycle and I did a lot more gaming back then so functionality wasn’t perfect and gaming was problematic - and I was currently managing a corporate IT department - so I went back to entirely Windows for personal use, at least until advent of iPhones eventually got me using both Windows and macOS (so that’s sort of Linux ) several years ago… But if I had discovered more of the embryonic Linux support community online at that time I might have stuck with it for longer or have had 25 years under my belt by now (it was still the infancy of proper web search at that time)…
One thing that came out of my dabbling with Linux though was (a) I was a longtime fan and supporter of Opera Web Browser (still have my fan merchandise cap I purchased about 2002) - at least until Microsoft bought it 10 years or so ago(?), and (b) was a big fan of Office alternatives ported to the Windows environment (OnlyOffice, WPS, etc).
I have similar interests. I started on Puppy OS aka Puppylinux and moved to Debian—> Ubuntu—> various distros—> Gentoo—> Linux from Scratch----> Arch Manjaro—> Cup of Linux----> Various Arch distros—> now using Makulu Linux and POP OS. I build all of my desktops and NVR’s from scratch. Many different types of laptops and a few mini and micro PC’s including Atomic Pi. Lots of experience with Mint also. I haven’t found my favorite distro yet but am still looking. I like to play with virtual machines and Live USB’s loaded with my favorites including Kodachi-Linux, Tails and more. I prefer Homeplugs for LAN distribution in the residence and have different WAP’s outside on different non interfering WiFI channels in shop and out buildings. I no longer use Mesh networking or WIFI repeaters do to interference and poor bandwidth allocations.
I run Ubuntu on a Dell Precision T3600 desktop that is around 13 years old. It runs great.
I also run Ubuntu on a one year old MSI Raider laptop. It really cooks on this machine and the dual M.2 ports allows me to still run Windows (barf) for the few applications I use for work that only run on Windows.
I have tried Pop! OS, Linux Mint, and Ubuntu. I settled on Ubuntu because it is popular and has a lot of community support, which was important as a newbie. Also, it is possible to run Ubuntu via the GUI completely, so it has been what I have installed for my less technically inclined family and friends.
I’ve been daily driving Linux for 6 or 7 years now and find the alternatives quite distasteful!
This sounds like fun? In the Microsoft era, I started with MSDOS or PCDOS. I remained with MSDOS until the last edition/version of WIN 95, WIN 98, WIN XP, WIN2000 and said NO MORE WINcrapola, SCAMS, Malware and started learning GNU Linux distros. One neat thing I learned is that in the old browser wars, Bill Gates testified in court that Internet Explorer was the backbone of WIN98 and could not be removed without destroying the rest of the functionality of WIN98. About the same time a software genius in Australia started selling WIN98 with IE removed! This included 98Lite, 98SE, Me, XP lite and 2000lite. I still have the CD’s. URL is here—>https://www.litepc.com/98lite.html Tell me about “honesty” by Big Tech?
Started with Unix in 1989 and startend with Linux around 94 with Slackware never had windows on my desktop also
I have worked with hp-ux, Solaris up to 10 ,
AIX
Today still Slackware is my distribution of choice
This is why I mentioned in the “Windows era”. My first PC was a home built crude copy of a DEC PDP8e ( 12 bit) with core memory with sense and inhibit wires I bought at government surplus shops. It was programmable with toggles on the front panel and a paper tape reader that never worked. My second PC was a kluged together Data General Nova 2 with an ASR 33 for input and output with paper tape reader and punch. I first learned Assembly by VFAP ( Valley Forge Assembly Program) 1960’s. A Card reader was used for input/outputs on a GE computer using Multics and FORTRAN. I replaced the NOVA 2 with a dual floppy PC clone (smaller, cheaper and didn’t fill up the room). I had to sell the ASR 33 ( makes a lot of noise) to buy the IBM 5150, two floppy drives, monitor and printer ( early hobby type pc). Most applications were for FFT programs ( Fast Fourier Transform) to compute DFT. A long time ago.
First car phone was a Motorola MICOR ( Low band VHF) and later replaced with GE Full Duplex on UHF ( talk and receive at the same time). All voice was unencrypted and in the clear. Anyone could monitor with a scanning radio receiver until AMPS came out and anyone could listen in on old tunable UHF TVs until the 2G PCS phones using TDMA. CDMA (super band) phones came out at about the same time different system. After this time everything Zucked.
I switched to Linux for my daily driver 10 years ago.
I currently use LMDE on a 8 year old Asus PB60 mini pc it does what I need.
Unfortunately I do have to keep a desktop Windows PC for use with Adobe products but as Rob preaches I practice separation only Adobe on the Windows box everything else on Linux.
Linux isn’t my daily driver just yet. I installed Mint on an old laptop earlier this year with a first gen AMD dual core processor and it runs fine except for streaming video. Many years ago I ran SETI@Home on a Floppix system. Had to “sneaker net” the work units and results to and from another computer that had Internet access. Around the same time I played around with another distro that had a GUI but I didn’t think we were ready for each other at the time.
Gowsh… my first linux experience was slackware in the 90s. I ran away screaming with my tail tucked between my legs… lol I’m an old old Novell Netware dude 3/4/5/6/7 (when they went Suse)… in the 2000s I had a cloud services business on RedHat Enterprise and Qemu/KVM… things have come a long way. I now just use Pop OS on an HP Dev One that I tweaked out a bit. My Frankenputer, as I call it.
I remember that! Early in my IT career in the mid-90’s, running Novell servers and networking protocols, plus Token-Ring networking hardware (not crappy 1990’s Ethernet), plus the old IBM Lotus suite of apps (123, etc)…
…and the old internal “email” system that wasn’t internet enabled - can’t recall if it was Netware, or Lotus, or someone else - only internal and you had dial up connections between your servers in different countries (and even different cities sometimes) to pass the organisations mail from one server to another… and later they had a jury rigged internet gateway so you could send to the internal server, at a special internal address; with recipient email address appended to it to go out the gateway… and the whole company effectively had one external email address for incoming email!! Can’t remember the name…
used to be an all apple household: iphone, ipad, mb pro, icloud… ditched apple a few years back. hear the m1, m2, etc are solid performers and low power consumption.
my previous laptop was a system76 pang11. after me the mrs used it for a year. just got her a framework 13 also. she loves it. i hope fw stays around and doesn’t go to shit like big tech, as i do not know where i would go from here.
I started with ms-dos. In (about) 2000. I tried Lindows. And software package CNR. Loved it
After the microsloth issue, i started trying many listros. I like the fact you can try them via cd rom.
Fast forward, i have a Lenovo (ancient) dual boot, running MX linux and windoze.
Another laptop, with Mint, and windose
Another laptop with ububtu, and windose.
Ive tried to upgrade to win 11, but all fail with the ‘fail to update boot loader’. Lol. Its because im dual booting, and im not willing to remove linux.
I will always use linux. As they still recognize old hardware. Ive a hp 1010, laser printer. Nothing wrong with it. Still get toner cartridges. But of course Winfoze won’t recognize it.
Cheers
From Southern Ontario
) several years ago… But if I had discovered more of the embryonic Linux support community online at that time I might have stuck with it for longer or have had 25 years under my belt by now (it was still the infancy of proper web search at that time)…