this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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I tired Linux a few times in the past, but didn’t really start using seriously until 2019. I love poking around old OSs and distros, and I want to spin a few up in some VMs my next free evening.

Any suggestions? Open to any distro (or let’s be honest, DE). Any versions that holds a special place in your heart or that’s exceptionally novel? Really interested to see what’s out there!

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

My second distro was Debian 8, initially with LXDE (which has barely changed at all since then, so it's still nostalgic) then later switching to KDE Plasma 4. I probably hold the most nostalgia for it, even more than I do for my first distro (Linux Mint 17). For a while I was into Plasma Netbook, which I find to be an especially weird, nostalgic product of its time, and the Oxygen theme in general is probably my favorite default look for any DE.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Tom's Root Boot.

One floppy disk, one Linux machine!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Crunchbang (#!) linux breathed live into some very wimpy hardware I’ve had in the past.

Loved the minimalism.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Conectiva Linux in late nineties came with Window Maker as default. That’s old school as they come.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Wao, Mandriva and DamnSmallLinux 🤣🤣🤣

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

RedHat 5.3 with fvwm (or fvwm95) is very nostalgic for me because it was one of the few walnut creek CDs I managed to get working. Mandrake and early SuSe were cute as well.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Just for curiosity, where do you get these old distributions?

I might try the Ubuntu version which got me into Linux one of these days😇

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I have fond memories of Kubuntu Feisty Fawn and the whole suite of KDE apps that were around back then. It's nice to see that Amarok got a new release recently after such a long time.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Early versions of Ubuntu,
Red Hat before RHEL,
Mandrake/Mandriva.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Gentus Linux comes to mind, obscure distro based on Red Hat (not RHEL mind You) released by now forgotten ABIT, a motherboard manufacturer. I was daily driving it as teenager back in 2001 for couple of weeks until I learned by trial and error how to get windows 98 installed back. Another one would be Mandrake Linux which I was dual booting couple years later.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

I read gentoo instead of gentus, found it awkward that someone would call gentoo obscure, did a websearch, came back to the post with gentus as a reply, re-read the post.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago

Slackware like 7-12.

Basically until they pulled fortunemod.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

I’m nostalgic for Ubuntu when it still had Unity as default, and Linux mint around 2014. That’s when I began coding, and that’s the time I liked the look of them more than the current modern offerings. Plus there was more ease of customization it felt like

[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Early Knoppix live CDs have a special place in my heart

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Yeah, Knoppix was kind of a 'Tucows vibe' distro. Pretty approachable.

Zen Linux was another short-lived 2005 liveDistro, which had a nice feel and Art.

Also, installing all https://trisquel.info/ versions side-by-side and doing a 17 year fast-forward would be cool.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Same. I also have an old Backbox distro that I used daily for years and every once in a while fire it back up for shits and giggles.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Get a CD with RedHatLinux, SUSE or Debian 1 or something and try to install that

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Red Hat used to be a really solid choice for desktop back in the 90s and early 2000s. Some milestone releases:

  • 6.2 was the first version to put up ISO images for install. This is the one to get if you really want a blast from the past (early version of anaconda installer, ext2, LILO bootloader, Linux 2.2, Gnome 1 etc.)
  • 7.3 was the last version to come with the Netscape browser.
  • 9.0 was the last version before they split into Fedora and RHEL. It's the last and most mature desktop release of that era, included the "Bluecurve" unified look and feel introduced in 8.0 but had bugfixed versions of KDE and Gnome.
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[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

Nostalgic doesn't necessarily correlate to "special place", so It Depends™.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Hanna Montana Linux, just for giggles

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Gonna recommend this to all my co workers.

It is not vulnerable to Windows viruses.

:-)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago
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