my Ubuntu began... well, really it started with a networking course i took in the mid 1990's. met a young man who was taking the course hoping to work in the field but he was the one that told me about Linux. ten years later i found a sister i didn't know i had who is a wizard with computers. i asked her about Linux and around 2008 she sent me a CD of Hardy Heron. that was it. except after 16.04 i switched to Debian - which may still be my go-to, not sure? i discovered Ubuntu-Mate looking for something light and small enough to run on a ten or twelve year old netbook. Puppy Linux solved that, but then when Ubuntu 18.04 just didn't seem to work well - this Macbook is six years old - and Debian is slowing down as of Buster? so here i am. retired i did years of customer service work and used computers at work all the time - to sell safety equipment. now it's just for fun, keep in touch with friends and family. but no Google, no Facebook - and no Apple. no Microsoft either. even my phone is Ubuntu - although the next time i have to buy one it will probably be Purism. moved to the west coast - wish i had done it when it was the thing to do when i was growing up! i love old treadle sewing machines and old furniture - the kind that is made of real wood