My Linux timeline

I decided to install Linux O/S on my PC on 2004 May because I read an article that saying Linux has every software that we want to use.
So when I went to Kandy city to pay our telephone bill, entered to a CD-Shop and then asked for Linux.

The sales person then given me Redhat-Linux-ver-9 and said it cost LKR250/= because it has 3 CDs. so I paid that fee and came home with Redhat-Linux-9. Then I placed redhat9-cd1 after booting my PC by XP.
Then what I see? The Cd doesn't contain any setup.exe file to install Redhat9 to my pc. Then I went through may folders to find the setup.exe. Where is it? Then I read the html file that introduces Redhat9. I didn't understand anything. So I decided to keep that cds away from my pc.

After some weeks , the CD-Rom on my pc didn't read any cd. So, I made a call to the dealer who sold it to me. Then they told me to open the casing and carry only the CD-ROM to them to check it. I'm new to computers. I didn't even opened a caing of a PC before, and there is a warrenty that given me from the

Dealer. So, I decided to carry whole CPU to the dealer. Then I asked them to install Linux on it and make my PC to dualboot with Linux and XP. They told me they could install Redhat9 and can't install XP to dualboot with it So, they given me some options. Keep my PC runing on XP without installing Redhat9 , dualboot with Redhat9 with windows 98. So, I decided to select the 2nd option because I want to
experience Linux. So, they installed Redhat and Windows 98 on my PC. When I came home , I started to experience the Redhat9. After sometimes I wanted to listen to a song. So, I searched for D:\> drive on my PC, because it's the partition that I copied my favorite music. Where is it? so I placed a MP3 disk and
tried to listen a MP3. It failed. So, what should I do? Said goodbye to Redhat9 and started windows 98. MP3s work well with 98. So, but I don't like the appearence on 98. I decided to format my pc and install windows XP on it. Redhat didn't live on my PC for more than 1 day and I didn't used it more than 1 hour.

Then it's May-2005 and saw an advertisement called a computer magazine cost LKR150/= bundled with free CDROM.

Then I bought that mag and got the free CD. It's knoppix. It made my mind to love Linux because it has many plugins and codecs. Unfortunately, Knoppix is only a Live CD and couldn't setup on a PC.
I remebered Redahat9 again because I can't forget the Look-&-Feel that brought by Knoppix. So, I installed it on my PC. Then waht is the secondary os? I don't have 98 bootable CD to install 98. Then I decided to install XP on my PC and made it dualboot with redhat9. But after some weeks, I got boared abaout Redhat because it couldn't play MP3s. so I said goodbye again to redhat.

I found Ubuntu5.04 from my colege friend. He took LKR200/= to give me Ubuntu5.04 because it has 2 CDs , LiveCD and Setup CD.I didn't know it's a free CD shipping with free of charge. Then I installed it on my PC. It didn't give feeling that I got with Knoppix. So, removed that also. But I collected many Ubuntu and Kubuntu versions by registering with Canonical but didn't used some CDs to boot my PC.
I'm a customer of the it mag which comes with free cd. So , I got a Mepis Linux CD from that mag (july-2005 issue). I stated my pc from it and made my mind to install it. So, I installed it on my PC. I didn't remove it till I found any other Linux.
After my A/L s, I wanted to find another Linux distro. So, I went through many CD shops in Kandy to find one. I got number of funny answers from sales persons. Someone told she didn't heared the word "linux" before I tell it to her.

Got Mandriva Corporate Server 4 for LKR200/= and installed it. But I didnt like it.
Then I found Fedora core 6 DVD for LKR250/= and RHEL5 5cds for LKR350/= on oct-2007. Why I pay for CDs when I could use DVDs. Then I bought FC6. It took my hours to install FC6 on my pc and bored about FC6 from the installation. Then I removed FC6 after using it for some hours and installed Mepis Linux again.Found openSUSE10.0 but sales person told it has some errors, and he didn't explained what are them
and he tried to sell windows XP pirated copy for LKR250/=.

Then I found Mandriva Free 2006 3CD's(on Dec-2006) from Buddhika sir who is in Asian Destination. So I copied that 3 CDs to another 3 CDs coz I must return that 1st copies I got from sir. Then I used that Linux version till I found openSUSE11.0 on Sep-2008.

Found openSUSE11.0, MandrivaFree2009, FC9. I bought openSUSE11.0 and Mandriva free 2009 both DVDs for LKR400/= because I couldn't forget the experience with Fedora. Then I tries to install MandrivaFree2009 because I used MandrivaFree2006 for months. But what I see when boot from MandrivaFree2009 DVD? it's a 64bit version that failed to run on my 32bit PC. Then I installed openSUSE11.0 successfully on my PC.
Till now I use openSUSE11.0 on my PC.
K.W.Roshan Herath - Gelioya , Sri Lanka.