I'm gonna make up an arbitrary number here and say that at least 60% of current Linux users wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the Internet. And I'm including myself. We would all still be connecting to our local BBS and Microsoft would be running the show. Don't get me wrong, I love learning new Linux shit. I'm still a nub but I'm getting better. If I didn't have internet to search for answers to my questions, I'd have broken my fist by now from punching the wall.
>>51240164
>mfw you're right
I only started using Linux because I heard about it on /g/
>>51240164
>I'm gonna make up an arbitrary number here and say that at least 60% of current Linux users wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the Internet.
It might be closer to 95% considering Linus posted his famous message on a newsgroup, which needed the net for that message to be read.
>implying you wouldn't have just found the same information from a BBS
>>51240228
while i've gotten some tips and tricks from here, i first tried linux in 2004, 2 years before i got into 4chan, and even my current use of arch (since 2012) wasn't influenced by /g/, but by a friend who was using it (i was using debian at the time)
>>51240246
I tried Linux in 2000 I think. mandrake.... Holy fuck it was awful.
>>51240233
BBS's and the internet are different things, but BBS's are still pretty effective at spreading information
>>51240282
the one i used was SimplyMEPIS 2004.4, it was pretty solid, ran KDE 3.x
i liked how it came with all the basics, konqueror, k3b, gaim... it was easier to install and use than windows even then
especially interesting to me was how it picked up my 4 year old parallel printer automatically without any configuration or need to install anything extra, i didn't even know parallel devices could be auto-detected
>>51240164
>'m gonna make up an arbitrary number here and say that at least 60% of current Linux users wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the Internet.
You have wisdom beyond your one inch dick.
>>51240164
>implying distros like Debian don't just work without having to look for answers online
>>51240318
Dude, I remember when Mepis was THE shit when it came to Linux. Fully featured, loaded with software. Then it all just fell apart.
>>51240284
BBS's back then were very much local and not global like the net which would have severly hindered its growth.
BTW, I used BBS's in the 80's/09's and internet since 94.
>>51240367
sure, it would have been a slower process
i'm only 25, and got internet access in 2000, so i didn't experience BBS's personally
I'm sure that 99% of the world wouldn't need a computer if the internet didn't exist
>>51240367
If you got onto a BBS that was a Fidonet node, you could talk to anyone in the world, potentially.
>>51240164
I bought my first Linux distro back in 2002 way before I had internet, and yes it was shit
