This is gonna be fun. Hahaha. Again like William I hope someone will plunk
this into a "Testimonials" page on the PLUG website (sort of like the
ReiserFS testimonials but IMHO with much better answers).
[WARNING: This is going to be pretty long]
On Tue, 29 May 2001 at 05:00, eric pareja wrote:
> What got you started in Linux?
> Who influenced you into using Linux, if any?
> Where did you first learn about Linux?
I had a flaky SCSI subsystem that my BIOS couldn't detect. Consequently
Windows couldn't access this either. The controller and my drives were
failing for quite awhile and were more off than on and in an off-and-on
situation.
My brother (Anton) downloaded this thing called "Pocket Linux" and said he
tried it but it was too difficult. He said it was some sort of UNIX. So I
checked it out and the kernel detected my SCSI card. I could even access
the drive (which had a partition on FAT16 I think) and I think the thing
automounted the partition although I'm not too sure anymore. I never found
out what kernel this ran or what version of Pocket Linux this was. I think
this is the same Pocket Linux that is on
<http://pocket-linux.coven.vmh.net/>.
My cousin Dido (Rafael Sevilla) even before I bumped into Pocket Linux
used to lambast my installation of Windows NT 4 (Workstation legal, Server
then was pirated, bwahahaha!!!). I didn't really pay too much attention to
his lambasting. I couldn't understand the hacks he was saying and thought
"hell, I can't hack this, it shouldn't be too bad for the organization as
of now". Plus I thought he was too much of a geek, anyway. Now I'm just
about as "geeky" as he was back then (he's geekier than me now, he'll
probably be geekier than I forever, hehehe), and I know NT s_cks. The
exploits are all over RootShell. :)
Aside from my brother, Dido's probably the only human I can remember that
talked to me about Linux before I did my own research.
Then there's this website of someone that I found while searching for
optimization information on NTFS, which I was studying at the time on an
administrator level (not as a hacker). He had this narrative on working on
NT, getting tired, and going back to Linux and Apache which was so much
easier. That got me into thinking, and reminded me of Dido and Pocket
Linux. There's this guy saying it's actually much easier than Windows.
That can't be true, I said at the time. But I searchd anyway, and saw
screenshots of WindowMaker on RedHat 5.2. They were cool to me. They
looked prettier than Windows 95 or NT, and I thought Linux was all console
and found myself to be wrong.
> How did you get your copy of Linux?
Aside from Pocket Linux (which I think served more as an inspiration than
as a "real" Linux), I got the boxed set of RedHat 5.2 from RedHat. I got
it shipped via FedEx.
> When did you first hear about Linux?
See above.
> When did you actually use Linux for the first time?
> When did you install Linux on your own 'puter?
Aside from Pocket Linux, I got RedHat 5.2 on 09 February 1999. I am sure
about this date because I just dug up some files (real files, printouts in
folders) of what at the time I called "Project Enterprise". I got clearing
from Papa to buy a copy of RedHat from the web. I paid US$ 99.95 for the
boxed set plus the "Linux Undercover" book (that proved to be VERY GREAT
as I read it while in Baguio for that year's Holy Week break with the
family), plus US$ 38.00 for shipping via FedEx for a total of US$ 137.95.
I paid using my father's MasterCard (with his approval of course, this was
a legitimate company expense that he was reimbursed for). The FedEx
package's invoice and airway bills were signed by Anne Risley of RedHat. I
don't know when I got the package, but I'm sure it was before Holy Week,
and I started on Linux right away.
I first installed Linux as a server soon after a little experimentation. I
had Samba up to replace our NT Workstation that was centrally sharing the
organization's files and was down all the time. I had Fetchmail + QMail +
UW-IMAP + Obsidian to serve e-mail on the web for all the users and to
replace a current MDaemon + WinGate pirated (cracked) tandem. I think I
had the replacement up in a week or two. I also joined PLUG soon after. I
don't know how I found PLUG, though.
> Why did you decide to try Linux out?
The stability attracted me, plus the fact that except if you wanted the
boxed package and the book, it was free. Part of "Project Enterprise" was
to get an MOLP (Microsoft Open License Program) for our Windows 95 and
Microsoft Office boxes. The US$ 137.95 was cheap compared to that, except
I couldn't quite get Linux (still can't) to replace the workstations as
I'll need to release everyone from their "Microsoft Office Mentality"
first. (I'll database everything here in the office, then I'll force them
into Linux workstations, hahaha!).
> Why do you still use Linux? or Why do you no longer use Linux?
I still use Linux because I can't live without it anymore. Aside from the
fact that it's fast, stable, and free (and allows me to get paid monthly
without being here most of the time because the server's doing everything
it should do perfectly), I've gotten to be part of so many virtual
communities because of Linux. The open source philosophy has also gotten
into me and I believe it is the right away to go (boo Mundie!).
> What is your favorite thing about Linux?
I only wish I could find a more stable office suite that isn't as bloated
as StarOffice (gnumeric and abiword are still immature for our purposes).
Aside from this, everything else about Linux is a favorite. :)
Thank you Eric, for inspiring this sharing. :)
--> Jijo
--
Linux, MS-DOS, and Windows NT ...
... also known as the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
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