One of the first Linux distributions I tried (after the venerable Slackware) was the short-lived Corel Linux way back in 1999 or thereabouts.
I couldn't get the modem to work and the installer didn't add a boot option for the Windows 98 partition (LILO bootloader), so my family was understandably pretty pissed off. I ended up figuring out how to restore the Windows MBR, and eventually figured out how to dual boot.
To this day, when I mention Corel Linux was my first Linux distribution people tend to think I'm confused since "Corel makes graphics software, not Linux distributions!"
I doubt they ever claimed Linux driver support so it's not their fault people weren't able to get them working.
Not sure how to dig charts now.
These words don't sound right.
"Corel Linux, also called Corel LinuxOS, was a Debian-based operating system made by Corel that began beta testing on September 21, 1999[1] and was released to the public on November 15, 1999." ... "Corel later discontinued the distribution, but did not remove the former Corel Open Source Development website until March 2002."
So at least I did not just dream it. Did you live through that era? It was very similar to the blockchain hype but lasted a bit longer.
Edit: Confirming the Linux hype:
"Red Hat's initial public offering was on August 11, 1999. A total of 6,000,000 shares were priced at $14 ($7 post-split) per share."[2]
On January 10th, 2000, four months later the price peaked at $140, which would have netted you one of the fastest 10 baggers in history. By July of 2001 it was under $4
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corel_Linux [2]https://investors.redhat.com/ir-resources/investor-faqs/when...
> Geeknet, Inc. owns the online retailer ThinkGeek and is a subsidiary of GameStop. The company was formerly known as VA Research, VA Linux Systems, VA Software, and SourceForge, Inc.
> VA Research was one of the first vendors to build and sell personal computer systems installed with the Linux operating system, as an alternative to more expensive Unix workstations that were available at the time. It was the largest vendor of pre-installed Linux computers, with approximately 20% of the Linux hardware market.
> Intel and Sequoia, along with Silicon Graphics and other investors, added an additional $25 million investment in June 1999.
> In fiscal 1999, the company's sales grew to $17.7 million, up from $5.5 million in fiscal 1998. In fiscal 2000, the company's sales were $120.3 million.
> owned Slashdot from 2000 till 2012
They were also bundling/selling Wordperfect Office for Linux at that time, since the only real competitor on Linux was StarOffice which later purchased by Sun and open sourced - and later because of the acquisition by Oracle, was forked into LibreOffice. Hard to believe that was all nearly 20 years ago now.