My favorite part of the first configuration of x back then, you screw with the conf for ages, manage to get a viable video mode set, startx for the billionth time... gray screen, mouse cursor... Overflowingly happy... Wait, now what? No program manager, no apps, no terminal, No exit, no shutdown. What's a window manager? The least apparent thing in the world being to switch consoles , export a display variable, and start an xtern in the video console.
We worked so hard for every little thing.