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Stefano Marinelli » 🌐 2024-04-18
@stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe

"How it all began"

I saw an ad for this CD set at a very low price in a computer magazine. I decided to give it a try, enticed by the low cost and this 'alternative solution to Windows', and in late 1996 I ordered this set.
When it arrived, I was fascinated (having never used a Unix or Unix-like system before) but a bit daunted by the lack of support for the main applications I knew. A few months later, though, I decided to give it another go and from that point, I never looked back. Whether it was Linux, one of the BSDs, or something similar (but Unix or Unix-like), I was not going back to systems like Windows.

My #ThrowbackThursday today is probably one of the most significant in my computing life.

#Linux #TechHistory #OpenSource #Unix #TechNostalgia #ComputingMemories #BSD #TechnologyEvolution #OldSchoolComputing #1996 #ITLife

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This is a photo of a 6-CD set case for "InfoMagic LINUX Developer's Resource". The CD case cover has a whimsical cartoon character on the front, which appears to be an anthropomorphic penguin dressed as a wizard, complete with a wizard's hat and a magic wand. The character is standing on a stylized representation of the globe. The background is blue and there is a yellow banner on the top right corner that says "QuickStart Guide inside". The packaging suggests that this is a software resource kit for Linux developers from the era when software was commonly distributed on CDs.

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This is a photo of the back cover of the "InfoMagic LINUX Developer's Resource CD-ROM" case. The cover lists the contents of the 6-CD set, including distributions like Red Hat 3.0.3 "Picasso", Slackware 3.1, Debian GNU/Linux 1.1.4, and others, with various kernel sources up to version 2.0.12+. It mentions the inclusion of a "QuickStart" installation guide and additional software like X-Free86 Version 3.1.2, with references to online resources. There's also information about the included on-line documentation like "Installation & Getting Started Guide" by Matt Welsh and "Network Administrators Guide", as well as file format details. Contact information for InfoMagic, including telephone, fax, email, and web address, is listed, along with the company's address in Flagstaff, AZ. A barcode is present on the bottom right. The text indicates the product is from 1996, providing a glimpse into the distribution of Linux software in the mid-1990s.

Jay 🚩 boosted

Stefano Marinelli » 🌐 2026-04-02
@stefano@journal.bsd.cafe

Announcing the BSD Cafe Billboard

Today, we're introducing three things. The first one is a forum. A real forum - with categories, threads, and actual conversations that don't disappear in a timeline after six minutes. The second is a Fediverse platform. Fully federated, ActivityPub-native. Your posts go out, the world's posts come in. No walled gardens, no algorithms, no tricks. The third is a Bar. A place to sit down, talk to strangers who happen to care about the same weird things you do, and stay as long as you […] [SENSITIVE CONTENT]

Today, we’re introducing three things.

The first one is a forum. A real forum – with categories, threads, and actual conversations that don’t disappear in a timeline after six minutes.

The second is a Fediverse platform. Fully federated, ActivityPub-native. Your posts go out, the world’s posts come in. No walled gardens, no algorithms, no tricks.

The third is a Bar. A place to sit down, talk to strangers who happen to care about the same weird things you do, and stay as long as you want.

A forum. A Fediverse platform. A bar.

Are you getting it?
These are not three separate things. This is one thing.

And we’re calling it Billboard.

https://billboard.bsd.cafe