On 2000 most of the linux distros were still for hardcore users only
I bought my first linux cd in 1998, Caldera linux. I didn't even have a broadband connection at that time. It wasn't as easy as the distros now if you know what I mean
I remember playing around (only a very small amount, though) with MINIX when it first came out.
Also, I remember using Xenix. Man, what a monstrosity that was to install and get running.
Compared to that, OS/2 was a breeze, and it had everything I wanted: excellent stability, protected memory, multitasking, batch language, low resource needs, and could still run DOS apps very well (like Air Warrior, which I used to run on it).