this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2025
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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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Knoppix. I didn't see it listed yet so I had to chime in.
I saw it and was confused that computers could run something that wasn't Windows and wasn't Mac. Then I was handed a Knoppix LiveCD and suddenly MY computer was Linux. Absolutely blew my mind.
I then explored Mandrake (now Mandrivia?) for a while but it never really stuck.
A few years later Ubuntu was handing out LivdCDs to everyone running Warty Warthog and soon after window managers started to use Beryl (?) which let you have a fancy cube desktop. Absolutely pointless but that's how it all started.
If I remember correctly I had the same start: tested Knoppix, tried Mandrake for a short time, then Ubuntu which I used for several years until Gnome 3 when I switched to Xubuntu for several years, but when snap happened I tried Debian, then Mint for a while, but I'm now trying MX.