From: ronb02NOSPAM@gmail.com   
      
   On 2026-01-29, rbowman  wrote:   
   > On Wed, 28 Jan 2026 23:36:16 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:   
   >   
   >> People who interested in Linux didn't have the easy access to Linux they   
   >> have now. As mentioned in another post, you could buy Linux magazines   
   >> that included various Linux distributions, but that was hit and miss.   
   >> When Ubuntu came out with the free CDs, suddenly everyone could get   
   >> multiple CDs to pass around.   
   >   
   > Question:  iirc Canonical didn't follow the AOL model and bulk mail CDs   
   > but would send them to you on request. Why were people suddenly requesting   
   > CDs? How did they even hear about Linux? Mandrake had been the previous   
   > newbie distro and came as a boxed set. If Mandrake had mailed out free CDs   
   > would it have achieved the same penetration. (ignoring the copyright suit   
   > and name change)   
      
   I can't remember where I first saw news about the free Ubuntu but a lot of   
   people knew about it. I guess it was over the Internet.   
      
   I used Mandrake Linux for a short while. That was right before we got high   
   speed Internet for the first time via AT&T cable. I was working in Tulsa and   
   my wife called from Texas and let me know that it had been installed. I told   
   her to download Firefox, she did, there was a pause... "It's not working." I   
   said, "maybe it's already downloaded" — she checked and it was. So that was   
   basically the end of buying Linux CDs.   
      
   --   
   "Not just insane... Trump insane."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)