It's time for a poll. How long have you used Linux?

The only thing I didn't like about Linux back then was the backup software, it sucked big time. :mad:

Hard to understand and it only backed up files and some software if you're lucky, I wanted to create a system image and there was nothing except clonezilla which is a nightmare at best. :eek:

Backing up files and software is no good it the HDD or SSD fails, then in 2016 I found I could use Macrium Free Rescue Media to create a system image which worked great and now I use both Macrium and Foxclone...happy days. :D
You bring back unwanted memories of Red Hat RPM. It was horrible. "Your program installation failed." Try again. "Your program cannot be installed because it is already installed." Uninstall. "Your program cannot be uninstalled because it is not installed." ad infinitum.
 


It might be worth pointing out about such polls that "years of experience" is a malleable concept. Twenty years of experience can mean twenty years of accumulated experiences, or twenty years of one year's experience repeated twenty times, among other variations. And none of the variations necessarily correlate to learning or the capacity to share it.
 
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It might be worth pointing out about such polls that "years of experience" is a malleable concept. Twenty years of experience can mean twenty years of accumulated experiences, or twenty years of one year's experience repeated twenty times, among other variations. And none of the variations necessarily correlate to learning or the capacity to share it.

As oft said throughout the thread, trying to use this for anything scientific would be just plain silly.

For example, I'm now in a different category than I was in when I first created the poll.
 
I started with installing WUBI, the windows installer version of Ubuntu. I believe it was version 8.04, but could be wrong. It was the easiest OS installation ever. You did not have to partition your hard drive, or anything else really. You had to make sure there was enough space on your hard drive, but that was about all. Then you just downloaded the WUBI installer and it did almost everything. Once complete, you would restart your PC, and a be presented with a boot menu that gave you the option to choose Ubuntu or Windows. This was about 13-14 years ago, and they don't have WUBI anymore. WUBI was the easiest way to install linux ever, as long as you had a windows machine.
 
This was about 13-14 years ago, and they don't have WUBI anymore

No, but Microsoft have WSL now on Win 10/11 [Windows Subsystem for Linux]
 
This was about 13-14 years ago, and they don't have WUBI anymore.

This may amuse you:


WUBI still kinda exists - there's a fork. It's now good for those who use UEFI. I'm not 100% certain but I think I recall someone mentioning that the fork is being maintained by someone who is affiliated with Ubuntu, like an Ubuntu dev or similar.
 
So is there a reason you have not voted in the first category?

Wizard
 
I avoided posting in this thread or filling out the poll because I did not know how to answer.

I like @osprey's comment above about experience. There is a big difference between exposure and experience. I have a lot of exposure, but little real-world experience with Linux. I am especially inexperienced with the desktop aspects, and really appreciate the help I have received from the other members who have generously answered my dumb questions.

My first exposure to Linux was in the 1990s. My friends/coworkers and I used to copy and share CD ROMs with Linux. I remember Slackware for Intel PCs, but I don't remember if another version of Linux preceded it. For PowerPC, there was MkLinux, followed by LinuxPPC. (Everybody was eager to get their hands on that first MkLinux. The originals were handed out at a conference and it took time for copies to trickle down to us.)

Since then, I have always had Linux available in a virtual machine or a VPS. (In fairness, I have Windows VMs, too.) To be clear, Linux was never my primary desktop computer. That may change in the future and I am already planning for it.

Some people are passionate about their choice of operating system. I am not. I tend to see the similarities between them and not notice the differences in how the user interacts with them. In general, I know enough to "get the job done" regardless of which operating system is thrust in front of me on the screen. I do not like that humor thread here that is full of cartoons bashing non-Linux operating systems. I would rather be respectful and supportive of others' choices, Linux or not.
 
I know that the 'poll' is over, but just thought that I'd add to the thread....

I first encountered Linux in June 1994, I was on a basic computer course, (MSDOS, Wordstar, Lotus-1-2-3), I went to buy a computer magazine, & there was this one with a floppy disk stuck on it, so I bought it.....

I played with it for a while, but went the DOS/Windows route, as that was what I had learned.

But in 1999, I had an accident, & accidentally wiped Windows from my computer, so I had to install & learn to use Linux.... ;)

From then onwards, it has been Linux & sometimes BSD, with an occasional foray into other uncharted/untried O/Ses. :D

(Have you tried Haiku lately? - https://www.haiku-os.org/ )
 
(Have you tried Haiku lately? - https://www.haiku-os.org/ )

I don't think I've used it in the past few years, though I did once have a Haiku VM.

And, it's a very informal poll. Attempting to use the results for anything important would be a bad idea.

Heck, my answer today would be different than the answer I gave then. I also went with the date when I switched completely to Linux at home.
 

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