[cumbria_lug] Initial Red Hat 9 impressions... (2nd attempt)

[Schwuk]

Michael Saunders wrote:
> Anyone else tried RH 9 then? What do you make of it?

Been running since it was released. It's my favourite desktop distro (but
not the one I would recommend to people - that's Mandrake 9.1)

> # Text install defaults to runlevel 5, it seems.

Never noticed as mine's a desktop machine.

> # Smart, clean little config tools. RH have done a solid job with
> these, and good to see the ncurses alternatives still around.

They are actaully extending the ncurses alternatives - there's more in 9
than 8.0.

> # Slow bootup - should be easier for users to disable GPM, kudzu,
> xinetd etc. instead of delving into the runlevel service editor.

Yes, but the run level editor is very easy to use.

> # Every single RPM has been built with debug symbols enabled!

Never noticed any 'sluggy' performance...

> # GNOME 2.2 is polished and slick, but unfortunately, the more I use
> of it, the more it seems poorly-executed.

I still can't 'get' KDE compared to Gnome, so I'm biased on this... Also,
I change my Gnome to be more like the stock one than the Bluecurve
version.

> Anyway, all things considered it has the usual RH spit-shine and
> usability, and seems reasonably robust from a few hours of playing
> around. Very sluggish though, and the limitations and flaws in the
> default desktop will not even impress WinXP refugees - someone trying
> to convert will find an equally slow, glitchy and restricted desktop.
> Software freedom doesn't matter to a lot of people, nor do they pay a
> great deal of attention to security, so the only incentive left is
> price. Aaaaaaarck.

Red Hat 9 passed the ultimate test (in my eyes) the other day - my wife
(who is a *very* non-computer person) needed to write and print a
document. She rang me once for help - where did I keep the printer paper?
:) - apart from that, she managed to navigate everyhting without a
problem, and even said she preferred it to Windows. Result.

Cheers,
--
Schwuk