I remember when I began using a computer, an old AST Laptop with Windows 3.1 Monochrome display and no sound. Floppy drives. I was three or four... I thought it was the best thing ever, then I got older.
By the time I "graduated" to Windows 3.1, I already had a color monitor.
Sadly, I think you missed out on quite a lot by having Windows 3.1 only in monochrome. It was quite a good operating system for the time. In fact, it was the first graphical OS that I'd ever used, excluding some valiant attempts on the Sinclair QL.
I finally threw out my last remaining 5¼" floppies about ten years ago, no longer having access to a computer that still used them (excluding my father's venerable QL, but that was a different operating system). I still keep some files on 3½" floppies, though. I have
far more than I'll ever need, though. On the other hand, I heard that 3½" disks are no longer being made, so maybe it's a good thing I have so many (about three dozen)... unless they disintegrate from old age before I'd ever need them!
I used Ubuntu for several months along Windows and it messed up my BIOS somehow. I had to have almost all hardware replaced as promised under warranty. Speaking of Linux, I'm running CentOS 5 on VMWare with GEMPAK. I don't like GUI Linux or Command-lined Linux... just have my reasons.
I have two laptops: one for Windows 7 and one for Ubuntu. However, my father has both on one computer, and he hasn't had any problems with having both on the same machine. He switches back and forth between the two very easily. What kinds of problems did you have that messed up your BIOS, and especially your hardware?! I've never heard of such a thing before! My first experiences with Linux were command line, and I just kept thinking that this is like DOS, only a gazillion times more complicated, and so needlessly so. I actually didn't mind using DOS back in the day, as I thought (even at my young age) that it was rather logical and easy to use. Of course, since Windows came along, I've never looked back (not like I had a choice!), but I still use the command line prompt in Windows for a couple of things. Anyway, my second experience with Linux, and the first in graphical form, was Knoppix, which I
hated. Actually, I dislike KDE in general. It's so "bulky" and awkward-looking in terms of its visual appearance. My third experience with Linux was Ubuntu, which I like very, very much. The latest version of Ubuntu (11.04) offers both Gnome and Unity operating environments. This was a very argued-about move that Ubuntu made, but at least this version offers access to both environments, and I switch between the two based on what I'm doing. It's an easy change that just requires a reboot - and Ubuntu reboots a
lot faster than Windows.
lrun_mdv1_bootThat's how to load the main program on a microdrive on the QL. Am I the only one here "fortunate" enough to have used microdrives? Granted, they were a step up from cassette tapes, and quite a step - much faster, they held more, and they loaded and saved on the first attempt. On the other hand, they were so incredibly fragile. P.S.: "lrun" stands for "load" and "run" in the same command.
