Admit it. Your first OS is your favorite.

[neoliminal]

And you hate the last OS you tried.

[Fedechiar]

Er...No.

First OS: Win 95
Last OS: Debian

What am I using now? Debian! If I had a choice between Squeeze and Win95, I'd take Squeeze in a millisecond (my love for Linux came a little late, but since I started college i haven't used Windows except for gaming). Even among Linux distros, I tried Ubuntu (and left it because of Unity) and OpenSUSE before I settled on Debian

[Tomlidich]

first: win 3.1

second: win 95

third: win 98

fourth: xp

fifth: vista

sixth: xp again

seventh: ubuntu/debian

which one do i like?


debian of course!

but i will use xp for the things that do not run on linux. it is tolerable, but it is certainly not my favorite.

*note: i also tried seven somewhere after switching to debian, but determined that it is just a reskinned and debugged version of vista. so my decision stands.

[philsov]

what good was windows 3.1?

Half graphic user interface for basic windows functions (notepad, paint, etc), but then I need to go into command prompt for anything I've installed?

The only thing I liked about that (and windows 95) to this day is the grey color scheme for the toolbar.

[Tomlidich]

what good was windows 3.1?

Half graphic user interface for basic windows functions (notepad, paint, etc), but then I need to go into command prompt for anything I've installed?

The only thing I liked about that (and windows 95) to this day is the grey color scheme for the toolbar.

was all i had at the time.

was unstable, the color scheme looked like boiled cat shit, and the programs were badly coded

it was a huge jump when going to 95 and 98.

[philsov]

natch. Lemme expand on my first post.

My first OS was 3.1. and it sucked balls relative to apple at the time or almost any subsequent version of windows.

[Adam H]

Fuck windows 7.

This is all.

[Jplus]

I'm not sure about the order, but my first OS was either Atari TOS (with GEM) or Windows 3.11. Neither is even close to favourite.

The last OSes I tried were Haiku and Plan 9, and I quite like both of them.

So, no.

FWIW: my favourite OS is Mac OS X (for the time being).

[DrZiro]

First OS: Windows 3 something. Current OS: Mac OS 10.6.
Recently I've actually started running Win3 through DOSBox, to play some old games. No, very little nostalgia.

[Meem1029]

Not at all.

Windows 98 as a young child, then xp, then vista, then 7, then ubuntu (stuck with this for about a year), then arch, debian, fedora, and back to ubuntu (in about 2-3 weeks for that whole last stretch, then ubuntu for another several months), then I just tried Arch again and got sick of trying to get stuff to work (I'm not sure what was wrong, but multiple things weren't working and I couldn't find a de I liked (Gnome fallback mode was being stupid there but fine on ubuntu)) and then decided to come back to Ubuntu. I really liked arch the first time I used it, but things just aren't wanting to cooperate now for some reason. I also tried arch for about an hour one other time and then it just hated me, and I've used Windows 7 every once in a while too.

[ekolis]

First OS: DOS 3.x
Most recent OS: Windows 7

I don't think so, Tim...

[Rumpelstiltskin]

That's not true.
My first OS was windows 98 and the lastest xubuntu, lots of OS where used in between. My rank is as follows:

1- Arch linux
2- Crunchbang linux
3- Xubuntu

Right now I'm using xubuntu because I had to switch to x64, didn't had the time to perform a proper arch install and archbang wasn't a good solution to that issue.

[JuEeHa]

Nope. My favorite OS is either my own linux distro or rhapsody dr2. My main OS history:
2003/2004:
-Windows 95
-MS-DOS 6.22 with DOSSHELL(I think that it was actually a impovement from Win95)
2006:
*New machine*
-Windows 2000
2007:
*Learned about linux*
-SuomiKnoppix (tried to keep up to date few years after it's development stoped using Debian repo and handbuild kernels)
2009:
*Temporary problems with GPU*
-Amiga 500 with Workbench 1.3
*Problem fix'd*
2010:
*after 3 years of using linux my HD broke -> I lost all updates to SuomiKnoppix and after reinstalling it woulnd't update becouse packages were too old*
-My own linux distro
2011:
*My machine turns 11 -> Start to look for a new machine*
-Mac OS X 10.4
Now in use: My own distro, OS X

OS's/OSi/OSs used for hobby:
2006:
-FreeDOS
2009:
-Amiga workbench
-Mac system 6
2011:
-MacMINIX
-My own realmode multitasking os with limited Unix v5 compatibility
-DexOS
-Visopsys
-Rhapsody dr2

tl;dr: I hate my first os.

[Iranon]

MS-DOS 5.0 and 6.2 (liked. Missed the simplicity for far too long)
Windows 95 (disliked. Malware and dependency hell)
Windows 98SE (liked. Still use this occasionally on an ancient laptop; a little bare but surprisingly few unpleasantries)
Windows XP (disliked. Windows started to feel condescending and obtuse, and I ran into far too many issues)
Windows Vista (disliked. Bloated monstrosity, always trying to do stuff I didn't want it to)
Windows 7* (disliked. Slightly leaner and cleaner than Vista, but felt like a service pack sold at full price)
<Linux distro sluttery, a few awkward fumblings with the BSDs. Not listing anything I didn't have as my main OS for at least a few weeks>
Linux Mint (liked. Idiot-friendly without being too condescending.)
Archbang (liked. Pleasantly direct and transparent.)
Arch Linux (like! Clean and simple base, other people's hacks easily available if I cba doing things properly, excellent documentation)
Windows 8 preview (disliked. The improved search function was useful considering the modern Windows interface huts my brain, other innovations seemed gimmicky and poorly designed)
Mac OSX Lion* (respect but don't quite like)

* not on my own machine, but on a daily basis for a decent period of time.

[Fedechiar]

So, let's change the first post to "Admit it. You tried Linux and then instantly disliked anything Microsoft"

[hotaru]

first: ms-dos 3.2
definitely not my favorite, but i've used much worse.

last: 1st edition unix
not really practical, but i did enjoy it quite a bit.

[Endless Mike]

No, I don't think Apple DOS is my favorite by any stretch of the imagination.

Last OS I tried is, Windows 8 Preview, but not really for much time. I didn't like it. My desktop and work laptop run Windows 7 and my Macbook Air and Mac mini HTPC run OS X 10.7, both of which I like quite a bit.

Others I've used for a bit:
MS-DOS version something (never had a DOS computer in the house, though my friends did and it was okay, I guess, and I do love a lot of DOS games, but I don't really care to use a CLI OS in 2012.)
Windows 3.11 (Again, never had in the house, but friends had. Didn't seem like much more than a way to make games not run.)
Mac System 6
Mac OS 7 (I don't really remember 6 and 7 distinctly, but they seemed fine at the time.)
Windows 95 (Our first family Windows computer was Windows 95. The games were fun!)
Windows 98 (Similarly, I don't really remember Win 95 and 98 other than that my first computer was Windows 98, and I used it for about two years until my university offered free XP.)
Windows 2000 (I didn't use this too extensively, but for my uses, it wasn't too different from XP.)
Windows XP (I used this from roughly 2001-2009,when Windows 7 hit, so it's the longest I've used a single OS. I never really had any issues with it.)
OS X 10.4 (First version of OS X I used. It was a big change from XP, and I liked it a lot.)
OS X 10.5 (A few nice features over Tiger, but nothing major.)
OS X 10.6 (Almost no new user-facing features, but seemed faster.)

[Tomlidich]

So, let's change the first post to "Admit it. You tried Linux and then instantly disliked anything Microsoft"

this is, for the most part true.


although i have noticed they do not have nearly enough support for high level video effect editors. (similar to adobe after effects, etc)

they have the basic video editors for home movies, and then the very advanced cgi rendering programs like blender. but no real in between for adding muzzle flares, doing green screen, etc.

so i guess im stuck with micro-spud for that.

[EvanED]

So, let's change the first post to "Admit it. You tried Linux and then instantly disliked anything Microsoft"

Not true for me. Well, sort of true for me. I am an equal-opportunity hater; both systems suck and I hate them. A big part of why I run Linux at work and Windows at home is that they make me mad in different ways.

(Don't suggest Apple; they mesh extremely poorly with the way I do computers.)

[Jplus]

So, let's change the first post to "Admit it. You tried Linux and then instantly disliked anything Microsoft"

Not true for me. Well, sort of true for me. I am an equal-opportunity hater; both systems suck and I hate them. A big part of why I run Linux at work and Windows at home is that they make me mad in different ways.

(Don't suggest Apple; they mesh extremely poorly with the way I do computers.)

Is there an OS that you like?

[EvanED]

Is there an OS that you like?

Nope. Though you could probably get one if you took a bunch of ideas from all around and glommed them all together.

My biggest problem with Windows is that you're basically forced to use Explorer. I use a tiling WM on Linux at work, and have come to really really like it. Meanwhile, even virtual desktops on Windows only work kind-of-okayish. (I've tried a few programs for it; the one I use currently is Dexpot.) On top of that, the command shell sucks. Even PowerShell, which has some really great concepts that I like a lot, is obnoxious to use on account of things like the really annoying, Windows-style tab completion, the completely atrocious terminal window, etc. I get a very strong vibe that MS has an extreme case of not-invented-here syndrome. (Many of Windows's APIs are also unnecessarily complicated.)

My biggest problem with Linux is that I feel that the *nix community is open enough to ideas which break far from the traditional Unix mold. The common shells like Bash are pretty bad on a couple axes, and there's not enough willingness to try something entirely different, a la Powershell. This world has been slow to adopt features that I consider basically essential, like file system ACLs. (I may still be bitter for my projects in undergrad, where security on projects was "golly gee, I hope no one guesses the name of this obviously-named directory." Owner-group-world is as entirely insufficient security mechanism in a system where users can't control groups.) It's also too resistant to some other really good though inessential features, like transactional file systems, GoboLinux-style package installations, and a couple other file systemish aspects that Windows does better. (I have a bit of a thing for file systems...) The fact that there's a standard for *nix systems (POSIX) is probably an overall benefit, because it provides a bit of unification across systems, but at the same time it has a significant drawback: some of what I call "really good ideas" are well outside of what POSIX dictates, and in some cases expressly contravenes POSIX, and so the presence of POSIX makes those ideas even less likely to be adopted.

Rob Pike (a guy who has had his hands in a lot of important stuff) has argued sorta similarish stuff to me, and in fact those slides helped solidify my own feelings. (See, in particular, PDF pages 15, 17, and 18, and now that I look at again, apparently I've invented 14 as well. The numbers actually on the page are all 1 less.) His arguments are about research, but I think that a lot of what he says affects the end user as well. Also, I should say that the situation is a lot different in the Gnome/KDE world; e.g. take a look at Ubuntu's Unity. I don't really like it, but at least they're trying to improve the status quo. (There are also some very isolated pockets of people trying to improve other aspects, e.g. GoboLinux. But how well-deployed is it? How's their package repository compared to, say, apt's?)

[RebeccaRGB]

First: System 7 (earlier version of Mac OS Classic)
Current: Mac OS X; Ubuntu

Well, my first OS is my favorite. But I don't really have an OS I downright hate. I just think all current OSes suck.

[Proginoskes]

First OS: Er ... what did the Timex/Sinclair 1000 run on?

Spoiler:

According to Wikipedia ... Sinclair BASIC

Okay, maybe that one doesn't count. Next OS: DOS 3.3 (Apple IIc)

[AvatarIII]

And you hate the last OS you tried.

I have a kind of nostalgic love of Win 3.11, but I also have no real problems with my current OS, Win 7, I only had Vista briefly, because I bought a laptop with it on just before 7 came out, and the laptop had a deal on upgrading to 7 for like £30. Before that I was on XP for a looong time, before that Win 2000 briefly, before that Win 98 for quite a long time, and before that Win 95,

The fact I still use classic grey Windows theme for Win 7 (and previously Vista and xp), kind of speaks volumes for the fact I really liked Win 98, my 3rd OS, (and I suppose 95, visually at least, although 98 was a massive improvement) and really the one I used most as a teenager, between the very important ages of 12 and 16, also the ages when I was using a PC most for gaming, and when I learnt the most about computers.

[Endless Mike]

So, let's change the first post to "Admit it. You tried Linux and then instantly disliked anything Microsoft"

No?

[Fedechiar]

So, let's change the first post to "Admit it. You tried Linux and then instantly disliked anything Microsoft"

No?

Hey, I checked and didn't see any Linux distros among your OS, don't cheat

[Endless Mike]

So, let's change the first post to "Admit it. You tried Linux and then instantly disliked anything Microsoft"

No?

Hey, I checked and didn't see any Linux distros among your OS, don't cheat

Yeah, I guess I forgot to put it in. I have Ubuntu on my netbook I rarely use, and it's *okay* in that application, but I don't dislike MS products as a whole in the least (individual ones, sure, but that hardly counts).

[Tomlidich]

So, let's change the first post to "Admit it. You tried Linux and then instantly disliked anything Microsoft"

No?

Hey, I checked and didn't see any Linux distros among your OS, don't cheat

Yeah, I guess I forgot to put it in. I have Ubuntu on my netbook I rarely use, and it's *okay* in that application, but I don't dislike MS products as a whole in the least (individual ones, sure, but that hardly counts).

i disliked ms products before i knew other OS's existed.

i also forgot to add my short stint with suse linux, which was ok, but not really user friendly.

[EvanED]

So, let's change the first post to "Admit it. You tried Linux and then instantly disliked anything Microsoft"

this is, for the most part true.


although i have noticed they do not have nearly enough support for high level video effect editors. (similar to adobe after effects, etc)

they have the basic video editors for home movies, and then the very advanced cgi rendering programs like blender. but no real in between for adding muzzle flares, doing green screen, etc.

so i guess im stuck with micro-spud for that.

I just noticed this post. Who do you mean by "they"? If you mean on Linux, have you tried kdenline? It at least seems reasonably powerful, and purports to do green screen and at least can sort of do muzzle flashes.

[Tomlidich]

So, let's change the first post to "Admit it. You tried Linux and then instantly disliked anything Microsoft"

this is, for the most part true.


although i have noticed they do not have nearly enough support for high level video effect editors. (similar to adobe after effects, etc)

they have the basic video editors for home movies, and then the very advanced cgi rendering programs like blender. but no real in between for adding muzzle flares, doing green screen, etc.

so i guess im stuck with micro-spud for that.

I just noticed this post. Who do you mean by "they"? If you mean on Linux, have you tried kdenline? It at least seems reasonably powerful, and purports to do green screen and at least can sort of do muzzle flashes.

hey that is pretty cool. i will have to check that out.

[Endless Mike]

Oh, I guess I used BeOS very, very briefly back in like 2000 or 2001 and it was a huge step up from Windows 98 except that it only had support for like one NIC and was therefore mostly worthless for my use. But it was nice to click around in and performed really well, I guess?

[Fractangle]

First OS: MS-DOS
Current OS: Win7
Favorite OS: I honestly don't give a crap as long as it doesn't get in my way more than the last one I used.

[cjmcjmcjmcjm]

6.22/3.11 4 ever!

[phlip]

In order: MSDOS 5/Win 3.1, MSDOS 6.22/Win 3.1, Win 95, Win 98, Win ME, Win 2K, Win 98 again (as I quickly discovered my computer couldn't handle 2K), Debian, WinXP, Ubuntu, Vista, Win7. Also scattered in there somewhere are Mac OS 7 and whatever the Apple IIe ran. Upcoming: Arch.

Favourite OS: Ubuntu, but I'd probably prefer Arch; Favourite Windows OS: Win7 (then XP, Vista, 98, 95, ME, 3.1) (I didn't use 2K for long enough to rank it properly).

So yeah, with a few exceptions, tried later > tried earlier. Even of the major families, I tried Linux after Windows, and prefer it. It maybe applies to OSX, which is the most recent OS I've tried, and didn't like much, but I didn't use it for very long, certainly not long enough to form a solid opinion.

[Weeks]

The OP is obviously right on every account.

(My first OS was Win 95. I would not dream of using that ever again. The last one I tried was some Linux distro, I forget which, but it wasn't bad by any means. Win 7 is just dandy for me.)

[Copper Bezel]

The first OS I used was Amiga OS, my favorite thus far is Ubuntu 11.10 / Gnome Shell, and the last one I tried was Android Honeycomb, which I quite liked but don't quite "get" yet.

There was some Windows XP in there, too. = ) I've probably hated it more and on more occasions than any other OS, but just due to the amount of time I was exposed to it.

Within Ubuntu, whenever I upgrade to the current (semiannual) release, I always encounter weird problems, hate it for two months, and get nostalgic for one of the previous four-month non-hating periods. That sort of fits the model.

[Webzter]

First OS: TI BASIC. It was truly a wonder.
Current: Windows 7 and Ubuntu dual boot. I much prefer Win7 to Vista... or, actually, to any version of Windows before.
Favorite OS: VAX/VMS

[Jplus]

Favorite OS: VAX/VMS

Wow. Please tell us why.
(I'm asking this because I know nearly nothing about it; so not meaning to suggest that it would be a strange choice.)

[EvanED]

I've never used VMS but I actually have a somewhat favorable impression of it, knowing of things like its versioning file system. And the fact that I like a lot of the design of the NT kernel, which was designed by a bunch of ex-VMS guys, aka Dave Cutler. , makes me suspect that I'd find a lot to like in that world.

[Webzter]

Favorite OS: VAX/VMS

Wow. Please tell us why.
(I'm asking this because I know nearly nothing about it; so not meaning to suggest that it would be a strange choice.)

Partially it's just because of where I was in life. I was introduced to the VAX on my first internship. It was my third 'professional' development gig and my first time living on my own.

Anyway, it's clustering ability was phenomenal (our plant ran a 13-node production cluster); it's file system layout just made sense; writing code was just as easy as anything (I did C and Informix 4GL development). I remember being particularly impressed with it's symbolic links. It's hard to pin down too much, it's way in my past now. I think part of it is just that was my first big exposure to a platform that wasn't PPC or x86... and I didn't start using linux until the year after I had been immersed in the VAX/VMS world.