My 5 favorite distros of Linux past - and why I'm still thinking about them

Linux's history is littered with distributions that came and went, many of which are long forgotten. There are some, however, that I actually miss, and these are they.

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• Linux's history is littered with failed projects.
• There've been several distributions that have come and gone.
• These are, by far, my favorites (some of which I still miss).

I've been using Linux for so long that I've forgotten how many of the distributions I've tried are no longer with us. At the same time, there are some distributions that have lodged in my memory and refuse to vanish. 

Some of those distributions hang about in my gray matter because of nostalgia, while at least one is a sore spot among the Linux faithful.

But what are my ...