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RE: How I Ended up With Linux – A User Discovering Open Source
I'm so honored that you read my post and followed through with installing Mint! It's also fascinating to read your history with computers. It sounds like you were actually exposed to Linux much earlier than I was. I remember cutting my teeth on DOS back in the 80s, copying games on 5.25" floppies with my grandfather's Compaq "portable". But I didn't see Linux in action until my wife bought me a netbook that came with it pre-loaded in 2006.
In Neal Stephenson's In The Beginning Was The Command Line he provides an funny extended metaphor that compares people selling Windows to a Ford dealership, and Mac to a high-end sports-car dealership. But just across the street is a place giving away tanks for free.
Well, knowing the address won't help much if you never walk through the door. Now that I'm in it feels like it's not such a big deal, but I'm sure many people are still looking in from outside, not quite sure if they should dare to come in. This post is for them mostly.
Oh, the old 5.25" floppy disks! I think that was just before my time. The aforementioned 286 had only a 3.5" disk drive, which was the reason one of our friends (with cool games nonetheless) could not exchange games with us: his PC only had a 5.25" drive. Until his folks got a 386 and everyone started hanging out at his house...
I love that analogy with the car dealerships. I think I saw a meme like that. Another one compared Windows to WallE, Mac to EVE, and Linux to the Terminator. :-)