Linux

DOS -> Windows (3.1 through to XP) -> Slackware -> Red Hat -> Fedora -> OpenSUSE -> Ubuntu -> Mint -> Ubuntu -> Arch

It’s been quite the journey.

Windows 95 -> 98 -> XP -> 7 -> 8 -> OSX -> Arch (1 month) -> Gentoo (1 year) -> VOID (3 years) -> NixOS (4 years) (transitioning to Guix System now)

For reference, this was my editor hopping journey which started during my OSX days since I learned to program during this time: Sublimetext -> vim -> neovim -> emacs

Windows -> Ubuntu and Arch on some other computers -> Windows -> Arch -> Nixos

I used Ubuntu for a long time, because it was easy to use and I wasn't really a power user on linux (was just using it on a cheap laptop for classes a long time ago). When I built a server for myself recently, I didn't really explore distros and plopped Ubuntu on it.

More recently, I got a new laptop and ended up installing Fedora on it. So far, I like Fedora a lot. I know there's probably a better distro out there for me, but this one worked without fiddling and I'm liking it a lot more than Ubuntu. Ubuntu snaps kinda screwed my server for a year or so. I need to replace Ubuntu on that soon, I'm just not looking forward to dealing with that so it silently stays Ubuntu.

I have distrohoped a lot that I don't even remember the sequence of the distros I have used.

Ubuntu (2007) >> Arch (2009) >> Debian (2014) >> Fedora (2024)
Plus now and then installing OpenBSD for fun for a couple of months at a time.

MacOS (old one like around 2012 or so) -> Windows 8 -> Windows 10 -> Several Linux on VM(Kali, Ubuntu(s), Fedora…) -> WSL1(Kali, Ubuntu) -> MacOS (with a newer OS) -> NixOS -> Void Linux ->

Now I’m currently using Void Linux, Windows 11, MacOS Sonoma.

I’m planning to put ~~Fedora~~ Debian (because it’s well supported by linux-surface community) on my Surface Laptop 1st gen which I’m not using right now.

I'm not the biggest distrohopper but I have tried a few, both on my laptop and desktop. I still keep windows around on a dual-boot but I'm basically only using it for the odd game or two and also onenote (obsidian + excalidraw comes close but nothing really has a seamless transition between pen and typing text like OneNote)

Early 2018 and before:

Windows only

2018-19:

• Ubuntu 18.04 (desktop),
• Ubuntu 18.04/18.10/19.04 (laptop)

2019-2022:

• Manjaro w/ KDE (desktop),
• Arch Linux w/ GNOME (laptop)

2022-2023:

• NixOS (laptop, for literally a day because it didn't have a package I needed to make my laptop work correctly)
• EndeavourOS (kde on laptop, qtile on desktop)

2024:

• No changes to the desktop setup,
• NixOS w/ KDE and also a half-functioning hyprland setup on the laptop now that the package got added.

Future?

Maybe if I can get my NixOS config to a point where I'm happy with it I'll switch my desktop setup to that as well, in theory it should be pretty painless since i'm already using a flake setup split across multiple modules. I do really like that I can experiment with my setup without the risk of actually breaking anything since NixOS is semi-immutable.

If I don't stick with NixOS I've also been thinking about trying fedora, opensuse, or an immutable distro, or otherwise just moving my laptop back to either Arch or EndeavourOS since that's what I'm familiar with.

• MS-DOS 6.22 / Windows for Workgroups 3.11
• Red Hat Linux 5.2
• Slackware Linux 3.5
• FreeBSD 3.2 -> FreeBSD 6.0
• Kubuntu 6.06
• Linux Mint Darnya
• Arch Linux with KDEmod and oss4, later with awesome window manager
• Fedora Leonidas, Constantine
• Microsoft Windows 7
• Fedora Goddard, Lovelock (this time with KDE)
• OpenBSD 4.9 -> OpenBSD 7.0
• Debian stable (buster, then bullseye, now bookworm)

I left OpenBSD reluctantly when I found that it wasn't meeting my needs anymore. I needed an iPad Pro and an iPhone to fill in the missing functionality and they don't play nice with OpenBSD for things like transferring files, photos, etc.

I've since converted the family to Debian stable. Backports and flatpak make it incredibly reliable. We can do everything from here and its well documented for every use case. Video chats, zoom conference calls, file sync/sharing, bluetooth music through Spotify, etc. Started with buster when it was the stable distro; jumped early to bullseye during the freeze; and now holding onto bookworm.

I don’t even remember all of them, let alone the correct sequence. I’ve also had multiple computers at one time (still do), and usually they have different distributions (still true).

First experiment: Mandrake

First serious use: Ubuntu edgy eft or something

Spiraling out of control: kubuntu, xubuntu, lubuntu, debian, kaos, mint, easypeasy, fedora, korora, rox, manjaro, openmediavault, rockstor, + many niche distributions

Current: arch and debian

Before you ask, no, I’m not a diagnosed psychopath.

Windows into I went to college for development and decided to check out this Linux thing. At the time, I wanted something as different from Windows as possible, so I went with Ubuntu with Gnome 3 (I know) for about a year. Tried out Fedora, couldn't get my sound to work and accidentally uninstalled the desktop environment trying to fix it, slunk back to Ubuntu, tried out a Debian briefly, and eventually ended up on Linux Mint with Cinnamon and KDE.

At one time I really wanted to try a bunch of stuff and probably would've hopped a lot more if Fedora didn't shatter my confidence, but nowadays I want as little disruption between machines as possible. I have to use Windows for work, so I keep my Linux setup pretty vanilla so I don't miss features between the two very much. I'll probably still play with other distros every now and then on old laptops, but I've fallen into a "if it ain't broke" mindset with my daily machines.

Didn't really hop much, started with Windows, went on to OSX, got annoyed at it and ran Arch in a VM until I was comfortable with it, then went bare-metal with it.

Happy Arch user for some years now, though recently I'm using Fedora for work and I really like it. It's not a good fit for some machines I'm running which need a lot of customisations to run properly.

Windows 95 -> Windows 98 -> Windows XP -> Windows Vista -> Windows 7 -> Dual Boot Ubuntu -> Windows 7 -> Dual Boot Ubuntu -> Windows 7 -> Windows 10 -> Ubuntu (VM) -> Pop_OS! -> Windows 10 -> Manjaro -> Fedora -> Manjaro -> Open Suse -> Linux Mint -> Linux Mint DE -> Fedora -> Debain -> Linux Mint

Mint->arch->nixos

Ubuntu VM (~2 years) -> Debian VM(1 week) -> Arch VM (1 month) -> Arch

Fedora → Ultramarine → Arch Linux → NixOS → dual booting NixOS + EndeavourOS → dual booting EndeavourOS + something I don't remember the name of → something I don't remember the name of → NixOS → SolydXK → NixOS → CROWZ → NixOS → Ultramarine Linux → FreeBSD → Devuan → FreeBSD → Arch Linux → Parabola GNU/Libre → Ultramarine Linux

All of that happened around September of the last year and this year! I also did not count how much I stayed in those!

Fedora was my first, it being recommended on somewhere made me install it on a USB stick, After doing so, I did the installer without knowing what it was for and ended up purging my hard drive. I did not think too much of it, and continued using it until I found about Ultramarine Linux; I was tired of the Fedora login loop that I had, so I decided to just install Ultramarine, and guess what? It happened again! I was annoyed (angry), so I installed Arch Linux instead. As expected, I had to fix stuff from time to time, which was tedious. Er, I decided to install NixOS and — Okay, I'll end it here. My hands already hurt from all the typing and I didn't think it would take this long just to write this thing. Feel free to ask anything, but be aware, I do not remember a lot about this!