Linux

48008 readers

968 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Rules

Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
No misinformation
No NSFW content
No hate speech, bigotry, etc

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Nostalgic Distros? (self.linux)

submitted 4 months ago by OpossumOnKeyboard to c/[email protected]

72 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 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.

[–] afSegelhud 1 points 4 months ago

Yes. I think around Red Hat 6 was the first time I compiled the kernel to make sure some hardware worked. Good times

load more comments (3 replies)