I originally wrote and published the Indonesian version of this note on August 6, 2021, which you can find at https://hanifmu.com/posts/mengenang-shipit/.
The story began when I was decluttering my old document archives stored inside a used mineral water cardboard box. Coincidentally, tucked away among those old papers, I stumbled upon something I hadn’t laid eyes on in a very long time.
Two Ubuntu installer CDs.
The first was Ubuntu 9.10, codenamed Karmic Koala. The second was Ubuntu 10.04, or Lucid Lynx. I received both through a program called ShipIt.
It turned out I hadn’t just kept the CDs. The original sleeves and the shipping envelopes were still fully intact. Looking at the packaging, it was clear that both parcels had been shipped all the way from the United Kingdom.
CD sleeves of the Ubuntu 9.10 and 10.04 installers. MUHAMMAD HANIF/hanifmu.com
Shipping packaging. MUHAMMAD HANIF/hanifmu.com
Finding old physical items like this gives off a distinct feeling. It wasn’t about whether the CDs were still readable or not, but rather how these objects instantly transported me back to my high school years.
I received these CDs while studying Computer and Network Engineering (TKJ) at SMK Muhammadiyah 5 Babat, a vocational school located in Babat District, Lamongan Regency.
The Ubuntu 9.10 CD arrived in 2009. A year later, in 2010, the Ubuntu 10.04 CD followed.
The year 2009 marked a massive milestone in my journey of discovering Linux. Ubuntu was the very first Linux-based operating system I ever tried and manually installed on my Acer 4736z laptop.
Back then, I set it up alongside Windows Vista, the laptop’s default operating system—a setup commonly known as dual boot.
That was the exact starting point where I began exploring the wider world of Linux.
Looking back, it is quite fascinating to reflect on something that once felt entirely ordinary. A simple installer CD shipped from overseas, quietly sitting in a cardboard box for years, only to be rediscovered much later.
There is also a specific person who played a huge role in this story. I owe a lot of gratitude to Mr. Abdul Rohman, my TKJ teacher at SMK Muhammadiyah 5 Babat. He was the one who introduced Linux to his class and actively encouraged his students to start using it.
If I hadn’t been introduced to Linux back then, my path in the IT and computer world might have looked quite different today.
A Brief Look at Ubuntu ShipIt
For those who might not know, ShipIt was an initiative by Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu. Launched in 2005, the program provided Ubuntu Desktop and Server installer CDs to anyone around the world, completely free of charge.
Claiming one was remarkably simple. Users just needed to sign up and place an order on the Ubuntu ShipIt webpage.
Unfortunately, the golden era of free CDs didn’t last forever. Canonical officially discontinued ShipIt on April 5, 2011. The closure announcement can still be read here: https://ubuntu.com/blog/shipit-comes-to-an-end.
Today, those Ubuntu installer CDs I dug up might functionally be nothing more than obsolete tech relics. But to me, they hold the narrative of my very first encounter with Linux.
Sometimes, that is exactly how life works.
We store things away for years, completely unaware of when we will cross paths with them again. And when we finally do, it isn’t the physical object that makes us stop and stare, but rather the flood of memories attached to it.
A dusty old CD brought me all the way back to 2009.
To my school days.
To that Acer 4736z laptop.
And to the very beginning of my Linux journey.