My #linux distributions history:

1995: #slackware, my first linux experience, in my campus lab as a student of information engineering, also install this on my PC using dozens of floppy disk.

2000: #redhatlinux (not #RHEL), mainly used as my cybercafe router and servers. Also try #knoppix on my PC occasionally

2003: Fedora Core Linux (called as #Fedora Linux now) as a continuation of of #redhat linux. Fedora was also the first time linux was used as my primary OS on my PC and laptop.

It seems like common knowledge to say that the "Linux desktop" has come a long way from its beginnings, and that while it used to feature quite a horrendous and complex user experience that was really "only for nerds", it's now - thanks to decades of volunteer improvements - finally on par with the user experience of commercial software.

Nowadays, even non-"computer people" can set up and use a Linux system, while in the past, you couldn't even get through the installation without a PhD in compsci.

That's what people keep saying.

But honestly, after having gone through a Windows XP installation right after a Red Hat Linux 8.1 installation, I am not sure about this at all anymore?

Even with both being systems released around the same time, Red Hat was considerably easier to set up and overall more user friendly.

Both feature graphical installers in plain English, accessibility options, language and locale selections from the very beginning.

Windows however confused me with "workgroups" and "domains", which I didn't know what to do with for a personal PC. Scroll bars were unresponsive. It also took way longer to install.

Red Hat didn't have any of these issues, and even allowed me to choose a bunch of thematically ordered software to pre-install, all in a big menu with icons and explanations, which was nice.

Why did people think back then that Windows was more "normal people friendly" than Linux? It's utter nonsense.

#Linux #RedHat #RedHatLinux #Windows #WindowsXP #RetroComputing #RetroComputers

Wow, this looks awesome: https://github.com/neeeeow/Bluecurve

#RetroComputing #RedHatLinux #Linux

Red Hat 2.1 on 86Box with Socket 5 (1994)

Welcome to our first post with retrocomputing experiments on 86Box where we test old computers with old Linux distributions, as we said in that article. We’ve used 86Box as a program that allows us to perform this kind of experiment, since it provided a wide spectrum of old computer motherboards (and their components, such as graphics cards) to test.

You can download the Red Hat 2.1 ISO from the Internet Archive here, and you can obtain 86Box here.

We’ve chosen a Socket 5 (1994) motherboard as a testing ground for this experiment, and we’ve created a virtual machine, called RedHat21.

In the configuration stage, we’ve selected a combination of hardware that is known to work reliably with this version of Red Hat, such as 128 MB of RAM, an S3 86c801 graphics card, and a PS/2 mouse. Additionally, we’ve selected a Mitsumi CD-ROM reader for full compatibility. As for the hard drive, we’ve selected 1024 MB as the size.

After the configuration is complete, we’ve started the installation process. First, we had to extract the appropriate floppy images from the Red Hat 2.1 ISO file, since booting to it by itself is not possible. Those images are found in the images directory inside the ISO file.

We’ve started the virtual machine and inserted the floppy and the CD-ROM images as below. Please note that you’ll have to use the boot0000.img file found under images/1213.

Afterwards, we’ve entered the BIOS setup and configured the hard drive parameters manually according to the specifications given.

When finished, we’ve saved the BIOS changes in order to make sure that Linux recognizes the hard disk.

By default, the virtual machine used the floppy disk as the first boot device to boot from, so we’ve seen the LILO bootloader screen as you can see here.

Press ENTER, and the boot process starts until it asks for the first RAMDISK. From there, right click on the floppy disk icon, and select the first ramdisk image, called ramdisk1.img. Press ENTER, and it will be loaded, which will then ask for the second one before the installation starts.

The Red Hat installation process went as follows:

There were some oddities in the installation process. First, a part that deals with swap partitions ends up failing, because the command was called incorrectly. More specifically, the mkswap command was called with an extra parameter, 10, which wasn’t supposed to exist according to the command syntax. Second, the X server configuration part doesn’t seem to be polished because of missing symbolic link of the X binary to an X server when auto probing is started.

As soon as the installation program informed us that it was finished, we’ve ejected the floppy disk and let the virtual computer reboot.

Since we didn’t want to configure networking, the sendmail part was the reason why the boot up process was stalled for one minute before we’re greeted with the login prompt.

We’ve logged in as root to verify that the X server starts correctly.

When we started the X server, it ran at a 640×480 resolution with an antique FVWM window manager. Alongside that, xterm, Arena, and the Red Hat control panel started together with the X server.

However, the X configuration part seemed to ignore our selection of the PS/2 mouse, and proceeded to use the Microsoft mouse protocol; therefore, the mouse cursor acted jerky when we attempted to move the mouse. We’ve changed the protocol to ps/2 from microsoft as seen below.

To further enhance the X server, we’ve started xf86config, and set the parameters that matched the hardware that we’ve installed. We’ve deliberately selected a monitor configuration that is capable of resolutions bigger than 1024×768. Afterwards, we’ve edited the /etc/XF86Config file to make the X server use the 800×600 mode. Now, when we ran the X server, the GUI became more useful.

Stay tuned for the next operating system experiment with 86Box!

#Linux #LinuxDistro #news #redHat #RedHat21 #RedHatLinux #Tech #Technology #update

Unlock the Power of systemd-logind on openSUSE Tumbleweed Now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMLjbyVswl8

#opensuse #opensuseleap #opensusetumbleweed #leap #tumbleweed #microos #slowroll #aeon #leapmicro #suse #sysadmin #linux #redhat #redhatlinux #fedora #systemd #sysadmin #loginctl #LinuxTips #LinuxAdmin #LinuxTutorial

Unlock Podman in 5 Minutes: Container Commands for Busy Professionals!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NIz8MjcaU0

#opensuse #opensuseleap #opensusetumbleweed #leap #tumbleweed #microos #slowroll #aeon #leapmicro #suse #sysadmin #linux #redhat #redhatlinux #fedora #openshift #python #Podman #ContainerManagement #DockerAlternative #LinuxTools #SysAdmin #PodmanTutorial #Containers #LinuxContainers #TechForBusyPeople #EfficiencyInTech

Red Hat Linux in 1998 (2009)

https://linuxgazette.net/165/laycock.html

#HackerNews #RedHatLinux #1998 #LinuxHistory #OpenSource #Community #TechEvolution

💡 Pwn2Own Berlin 2025: exploit su AI, Docker, Windows e Linux

https://gomoot.com/pwn2own-berlin-2025-exploit-su-ai-docker-windows-e-linux

#blog #docker #news #oracle #picks #pwn2own #redhatlinux #tech #tecnologia #virtualbox #windows11 #zeroday

Pwn2Own Berlin 2025 lit up the cybersecurity scene! Researchers exploited jaw-dropping flaws in Windows 11 and Red Hat Linux—from unexpected memory errors to full system takeovers. How safe is your software? Check out the full story.

https://thedefendopsdiaries.com/pwn2own-berlin-2025-unveiling-critical-software-vulnerabilities/

#pwn2own
#cybersecurity
#softwarevulnerabilities
#windows11
#redhatlinux