Amazing how far linux has come!

Hi all,

I was just thinking about how far Linux has come.

I remember getting my first PC in the 90s — a 486 DX50 — and trying to put Red Hat on it. Even getting hold of a CD back then (especially in Australia) was a mission in itself. Then came figuring out drivers, wrestling with X just to get a desktop, and hoping you picked the right video card option.

Choosing between KDE and GNOME felt like a big decision. If you really wanted to rice things up, you’d run Enlightenment on top of GNOME. Multiple virtual desktops blew my mind at the time — it felt genuinely futuristic.

I even tried compiling my own kernel and broke my system more times than I can count. Frustrating, educational, and honestly… a lot of fun.

Over the years I kept trying to switch to Linux permanently, but something always dragged me back to Windows — usually work or software compatibility.

Now though, with Proton and so many applications being web-based, I think I’ve finally made the move for good. I still keep a Windows VM around for the odd work-specific app, but I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything anymore.

If anything, it’s the opposite. These days, not using Linux feels like a performance hit. Going back to Windows just feels sluggish and buggy by comparison.

Anyway, not sure there’s a point to this post — just feeling a bit nostalgic and no one I know would really understand this post, lol.