I had a similar journey. I was introduced to Linux (Slackware) in the late 90’s when i was handed a stack of floppy disks. At that time I really only tinkered with the system. Span many years my primary system remained windows and/or Mac with at least a VM with some distro of Linux. As I went further into development mac became more and more the choice (mainly my work machine) since the OS was closer to Linux then windows was at the time, as well needing access to the Adobe suite. At home I was driving on distribution or another on my main workstation, this began around 2016. However I just could not let go of MacOS for Adobe and had a MacBook at hand all the time. Enter the pandemic as the work at home orders came down. I sat down at my Linux box and never looked back. My MacBook ended up never getting opened for months on end. My solution for Adobe was to run a windows VM when needed. Today my systems are Fedora on my workstation, the i3 spin on my laptop, and various proxmox servers holding different VMs.
I remember Slackware in the nineties, and those SuSE distributions on CD! First tried to use Linux after my Windows 3.1 installation broke and then my father told me that he read about a new operating system called Linux in a printed computer magazine. Even the local electronics vendor had heard about it, that's where I got the CDs. Still used Windows 3.11 (which also came on floppy disks) as a main operating system, later I stuck to Windows 2000, XP and Windows 7 for years, at least at work as an employee, while using Linux on my personal laptop for side projects. Later, I used Mint and Ubuntu at work, before switching to one of the popular Macbooks because of the shiny hardware. Later, self-employed again, I bought a high-end Linux laptop that came pre-installed with Ubuntu budgie and pre-configured driver configuration maintained by the Germany hardware vendor (Tuxedo), so I'm back to Ubuntu again. No driver problems, no network problems, and a Windows VM for the occasional proprietary software that doesn't run in Wine, and for testing websites in Edge and Internet Explorer. Don't miss MacOS at all, not to talk about Microsoft's ugly UX fail called Windows 10 / 11.
I am sharing your opinion. Now that I am using Linux, I have fewer problems with connections, external tools, and running apps. Not to mention how much faster my machine is. SO I am really happy, that I wrote this article, and have so many comments and likes on it. So many, for me by the way :)
PS. Win 3.1 was a rocking OS! :) I loved it. With the dial-up internet, it took about 5-10 minutes, to download even 1 image. What a magical age we lived in. :)
Thanks for the feedback and for sharing your story. It was fun to read it. I also remember these days. :) Floppy was a super invention. I remember Doom II took 10 floppies. Damn, I miss those days :). Anyways, I am so surprised that you left your Mac behind. One of my friends, who is working as a DevOps used Ubuntu for years. Even he has a big part in it that I have switched to Linux. So he switched to a Macbook and now he says he loves OSX. So If I can say so, I am so proud that you did this! :)
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
I had a similar journey. I was introduced to Linux (Slackware) in the late 90’s when i was handed a stack of floppy disks. At that time I really only tinkered with the system. Span many years my primary system remained windows and/or Mac with at least a VM with some distro of Linux. As I went further into development mac became more and more the choice (mainly my work machine) since the OS was closer to Linux then windows was at the time, as well needing access to the Adobe suite. At home I was driving on distribution or another on my main workstation, this began around 2016. However I just could not let go of MacOS for Adobe and had a MacBook at hand all the time. Enter the pandemic as the work at home orders came down. I sat down at my Linux box and never looked back. My MacBook ended up never getting opened for months on end. My solution for Adobe was to run a windows VM when needed. Today my systems are Fedora on my workstation, the i3 spin on my laptop, and various proxmox servers holding different VMs.
Best choice ever made!
I remember Slackware in the nineties, and those SuSE distributions on CD! First tried to use Linux after my Windows 3.1 installation broke and then my father told me that he read about a new operating system called Linux in a printed computer magazine. Even the local electronics vendor had heard about it, that's where I got the CDs. Still used Windows 3.11 (which also came on floppy disks) as a main operating system, later I stuck to Windows 2000, XP and Windows 7 for years, at least at work as an employee, while using Linux on my personal laptop for side projects. Later, I used Mint and Ubuntu at work, before switching to one of the popular Macbooks because of the shiny hardware. Later, self-employed again, I bought a high-end Linux laptop that came pre-installed with Ubuntu budgie and pre-configured driver configuration maintained by the Germany hardware vendor (Tuxedo), so I'm back to Ubuntu again. No driver problems, no network problems, and a Windows VM for the occasional proprietary software that doesn't run in Wine, and for testing websites in Edge and Internet Explorer. Don't miss MacOS at all, not to talk about Microsoft's ugly UX fail called Windows 10 / 11.
Hello Ingo,
I am sharing your opinion. Now that I am using Linux, I have fewer problems with connections, external tools, and running apps. Not to mention how much faster my machine is. SO I am really happy, that I wrote this article, and have so many comments and likes on it. So many, for me by the way :)
PS. Win 3.1 was a rocking OS! :) I loved it. With the dial-up internet, it took about 5-10 minutes, to download even 1 image. What a magical age we lived in. :)
Hello Jase,
Thanks for the feedback and for sharing your story. It was fun to read it. I also remember these days. :) Floppy was a super invention. I remember Doom II took 10 floppies. Damn, I miss those days :). Anyways, I am so surprised that you left your Mac behind. One of my friends, who is working as a DevOps used Ubuntu for years. Even he has a big part in it that I have switched to Linux. So he switched to a Macbook and now he says he loves OSX. So If I can say so, I am so proud that you did this! :)