From LQWiki

Small-time GNU/Linux user since 1999, when the arrival of a new PC meant I had a spare box to mess about with. I put Linux on it as a pure experiment, and set it up as a modem sharer. Then my ISP gave me my very own cgi-bin directory. Next thing I knew, I was running an apache server, just so I could test my scripts locally before uploading them.

In 2001 I built myself another new PC and was originally planning to dual-boot Windows 98SE with Debian. Somehow I ended up single-booting Mandrake 8.2, and my life changed for the better after I had seen my last ever blue screen.

Come 2003 I purchased my first "proper" laptop (i.e. one capable of running a more sophisticated OS than DOS).

I consider myself something of a hacker, but don't pretend for one instant that I haven't still got a lot to learn.

Obligatory Outrageous Political Statement: "Closed source software is the electronic equivalent of slavery".