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What was Linux like in the 90s (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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I really wish that I was born early so I've could witness the early years of Linux. What was it like being there when a kernel was released that would power multiple OSes and, best of all, for free?

I want know about everything: software, hardware, games, early community, etc.

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[–] 23 points 1 year ago* (4 children)

You got it from a friend on a pile of slackware and floppies labeled various letters. It felt amazing and fresh, everything you could need was just a floppy away.

Then we got Gentoo and suddenly it was fun to wait 4 days to compile your kernel.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago

    I remember my first Slackware installation from a pile of floppy disks!

    I also remember that nothing worked after the installation, I had to figure out how to roll my own kernel and compile all the drivers. Kids today have it too easy.

    shakes fist Now get offa ma lawn!

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    I remember I had over one hundred floppies to install it all. And those were just for the stuff I was interested in. This was circa 1996. I bought Red Hat 5.0 a year or so later. It came on 4 CD-ROM's and was cheaper than that pile of floppies had been.

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  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Is Slackware just pirated software?

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    No, it’s one of the first Linux distributions

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Thanks! The Wikipedia was an interesting read. It seems it was closed source? That’s an interesting Linux method

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Slackware is still around, no past tense. What makes you think it was closed source?

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    There is no formal issue tracking system and no official procedure to become a code contributor or developer. The project does not maintain a public code repository. Bug reports and contributions, while being essential to the project, are managed in an informal way. All the final decisions about what is going to be included in a Slackware release strictly remain with Slackware's benevolent dictator for life, Patrick Volkerding.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    That doesn't make the source code proprietary or non-open, it just means it isn't a community driven project.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    It is a community-driven project, but there is no structured way to join.
    You can become a member of the community when Patrick Volkerding or one of the lead devs ask you.
    I've been in contact with them for a while and ultimately decided against contributing.
    They acted too much like old men when you step on their lawn, and I don't see the point in this distro anymore, apart from it being a blast from the past.
    Literally everything it does is done better by others now.

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