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Deanna
Community Manager
Community Manager
  • 4,941 Views

RHLC May Challenge: What is the first open source product you discovered?

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We will be hosting a monthly challenge where community members who engage and contribute have the chance to win unique badges in the Red Hat Learning Community!

May challenge: Reply to this thread with the the first open source product you discovered. Feel free to share how this discovery has impacted your career and interest in open source software!

Good luck.

--
Deanna
4 Solutions

Accepted Solutions
EmanuelHaine
Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
  • 4,226 Views

In my case, it was Linux, where a friend of mine presented to me and he convinced me to uninstall my Windows and install Linux. Since then, I've been using Linux. For the first 6 years, I was acting on a user level and after that, I started to work as a Linux Analyst.

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dennisk
Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
  • 3,857 Views

SDF Public Access UNIX System .. Est. 1987 which provides Free Software advocates with a free UNIX shell account and all the tools of the trade.

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Tracy_Baker
Starfighter Starfighter
Starfighter
  • 3,851 Views

Linux here, too. A friend introduced me to Red Hat Linux 4.0 (not Enterprise) ~1996.

Then there was WWIV BBS software (written in C) going back to 1984. Technically, this wasn't "open source." However, if you purchased the software, you got the source code. You could develop your own modifications - "mods" - and distribute them freely. A lot of people did this, including yours truly (to this day, if you know what search terms to use, you can still find many of the mods I wrote). So while you did pay to get the source code, the spirit of open source was there.

Program Lead at Arizona's first Red Hat Academy, est. 2005
Estrella Mountain Community College

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BRIANWALLACE
Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
  • 3,841 Views
For me it was Linux. Back in 1999 while doing a certification course in web software.

I can't remember the OS version then but when I saw all the cool software Linux came with such as Apache's text editors and spreadsheet software, I was turned on to it. No subscription required!

Programs like Thunderbird, Pidgin, Shotwell all evolved in my tool box and were so useful. I could say I grew into Linux, as in the beginning the fear of the terminal was ever present.

Many of us can attest to that fear of crashing the OS by careless entries into config files. And crashed the kernel I did a few times! I learnt that experience comes by epic failure. Had plenty such failures. These gave me the desire to dive deeper into Linux and the confidence grew as I gained understanding of how to manipulate the OS better.

One of the coolest parts of Linux for me is the ease of compatibility of the KVM software and the ease of setting up virtualization. The other is the ease of adding printers due to the flexibility of CUPS.

Thanks for allowing us to share on this topic! It's meaningful!

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11 Replies
EmanuelHaine
Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
  • 4,227 Views

In my case, it was Linux, where a friend of mine presented to me and he convinced me to uninstall my Windows and install Linux. Since then, I've been using Linux. For the first 6 years, I was acting on a user level and after that, I started to work as a Linux Analyst.

lauriano
Mission Specialist
Mission Specialist
  • 4,159 Views

In my case it was Ubuntu,
after i got a browser hijacking virus,
a friend of mine recommended me to use some gnu-linux system, I just abandoned windows.

DavidOBrien
Starfighter Starfighter
Starfighter
  • 4,138 Views

Linux, specifically Mandrake. We were mostly a Windows shop but I was mates with the sysadmin who did everything on Linux, and he got me set up with Mandrake in a VM on my Windows machine. I soon switched over to Linux at home and by the time I joined RH in 2006 I knew my around pretty well.

JG_Kootstra
Flight Engineer Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
  • 3,910 Views

Linux, a gift of the IT training class mates. Metro Linux (a clone of slackware).
At the office the next encounter was Red Hat Linux.

dennisk
Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
  • 3,858 Views

SDF Public Access UNIX System .. Est. 1987 which provides Free Software advocates with a free UNIX shell account and all the tools of the trade.

Tracy_Baker
Starfighter Starfighter
Starfighter
  • 3,852 Views

Linux here, too. A friend introduced me to Red Hat Linux 4.0 (not Enterprise) ~1996.

Then there was WWIV BBS software (written in C) going back to 1984. Technically, this wasn't "open source." However, if you purchased the software, you got the source code. You could develop your own modifications - "mods" - and distribute them freely. A lot of people did this, including yours truly (to this day, if you know what search terms to use, you can still find many of the mods I wrote). So while you did pay to get the source code, the spirit of open source was there.

Program Lead at Arizona's first Red Hat Academy, est. 2005
Estrella Mountain Community College
AmeyaSathe
Mission Specialist
Mission Specialist
  • 3,845 Views

Mandrake Linux along with its packaged GNU tools back in 2004.

BRIANWALLACE
Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer
  • 3,842 Views
For me it was Linux. Back in 1999 while doing a certification course in web software.

I can't remember the OS version then but when I saw all the cool software Linux came with such as Apache's text editors and spreadsheet software, I was turned on to it. No subscription required!

Programs like Thunderbird, Pidgin, Shotwell all evolved in my tool box and were so useful. I could say I grew into Linux, as in the beginning the fear of the terminal was ever present.

Many of us can attest to that fear of crashing the OS by careless entries into config files. And crashed the kernel I did a few times! I learnt that experience comes by epic failure. Had plenty such failures. These gave me the desire to dive deeper into Linux and the confidence grew as I gained understanding of how to manipulate the OS better.

One of the coolest parts of Linux for me is the ease of compatibility of the KVM software and the ease of setting up virtualization. The other is the ease of adding printers due to the flexibility of CUPS.

Thanks for allowing us to share on this topic! It's meaningful!
Deanna
Community Manager
Community Manager
  • 3,739 Views

@BRIANWALLACE this is a great story - thank you for sharing!

--
Deanna
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