Linux Distros are So Much Better Than They Were 30 Years Ago

With the 30th birthday of Linux coming up, TechRepublic’s Jack Wallen argues that its distros “are so much better today.”

I remember like it was yesterday. The very first time I booted into the Linux desktop. The distribution in question was Caldera Open Linux 1.0, which installed with kernel 2.0 and the desktop was Fvwm95… It was just unsightly. The colors were decidedly too Microsoftian, and it was all so … clinical…

The Linux desktop has morphed from an ugly, awkward, and less-than-productive state, to an almost avant-garde work of art, into an elegant, productive and professional environment. All the while, it offered more choices than most users had time to consider. Even today, I could go back to Enlightenment, or opt for the likes of Pantheon, Budgie, KDE, Openbox, Fluxbox, i3, Gala, Windowmaker or numerous other takes on the desktop…

If I were to go back in time and look over the shoulder at a younger me, I would probably see someone who loved the desktop he was using, but wished it could be a bit more productive. I would then whisper into his ear and say, “Give it time.”

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This may come as a surprise to you,
but just about everything is so much better now than they were 30 years ago,
with the exception of anyone who was 60 years old or more 30 years ago.