[Lancaster] Help me select a distrob

[jonath]

Hi there,

I've been following this discussion about selecting a distribution so thought 
I might put in my penny's worth or whatever the expression is.

Also, this is my first mailing to this newsgroup, so bear with me . . . 

Seems to me that the variation in distributions is one of Linux's strengths 
over other operating systems: the fact that you can install a version to fit 
your requirements, knowing full well that you will still have a working 
GNU/Linux system able to run the plethora of software available.

The distribution you would go with is down to the user and their requirements, 
but may also involve a bit of trial and error. As someone else has already 
pointed out, no distribution is perfect but this also applies to other 
operating systems in general. One day computers will be ubiquitous and will 
simply be tools and nothing more, but until such a day . . .

'HAB Boy' had drawn up a shortlist of Mandriva or Fedora Core 5. To this my 
advice would simply be to try them out, see if they fit with their 
requirements. If not, try out SuSE, Ubuntu or many of the other 
recommendations already made. I use Gentoo, having got completely hacked off 
with the package management features of other distributions, but this may 
have changed since then. Gentoo, like all others, has it's pros and cons, a 
major con being the lengthy/text-based (although very well documented) 
installation required, but this didn't bother me. A pro, of course, being the 
(almost) seamless installation/uninstallation of software. So, hey . . . each 
to their own.

Whatever you choose, be aware that the GNU/Linux community is incredibly 
helpful and supportive (in my experience) and it's rare that you'll encounter 
a problem that no-one else has ever encountered (and, hence, provided a 
solution thereof).

BYE!

jonath.

On Thursday 20 April 2006 23:29, Martyn Welch wrote:
> Personally, I prefer vi.
>
> Whoops wrong topic. :-)
>
> Martyn
>
> On Thursday 20 Apr 2006 18:31, mp wrote:
> > On Thu, 2006-04-20 at 18:04 +0100, Ken Hough wrote:
> > > mp wrote:
> > > >>I note that many of the reviewers have switched to SuSE. That must
> > > >> say something.
> > > >
> > > > Like 1000s of billions of flies eat shit, or people like to watch
> > > > Jerry Springer - what does that mean, mewonders?
> > >
> > > I won't bother commenting.
> >
> > that is a comment in itself.
> >
> > > >>SuSE WORKS and WORKS very well. If, like me, you want an easily
> > > >>installed/configured system that (contrary to comments made
> > > >> previously) is easy to reconfigure, then it's up there with the
> > > >> best. It's a very professional product.
> > > >
> > > > Yea, it is a professional product, but more importantly, for me, it
> > > > is a huge corporate project of a company that makes hundreds of
> > > > millions of dollars on it, which is my reason for NOT wanting to
> > > > choose it.
> > > >
> > > > Ubuntu helps Debian, which is a community project that intersects
> > > > with other social movement projects, such as Indymedia, and that is
> > > > why I choose to use Ubuntu: it is grass-roots connected, yet it is
> > > > very user-friendly and up-2-date with the newest drivers and
> > > > features.
> > >
> > > I think that you will find that the major distros are all pretty well
> > > up to date and can be kept that way by a visit to the relevant web
> > > site.
> >
> > I meant why I choose Ubuntu over Debian, not over the other bleeding
> > edge alternatives.
> >
> > > > I realise that these are political reasons, and that they are not the
> > > > concern for the pure, objective engineer - but I believe that to be
> > > > an illusionary position anyway: everything is political; certainly
> > > > software is.
> > >
> > > I really don't understand your arguments.
> >
> > I can see that!
> >
> > > Yes! NOVELL makes money out of
> > > applying SuSE. Red Hat makes money out of Fedora. But let's remember
> > > that they also fund development of these distros which all of us have
> > > access to.
> > >
> > > Ubuntu is funded by Mr Shuttleworth via his own money and all credit to
> > > him for that. Again we all have access to the distro.
> >
> > But Ubuntu directly helps Debian, that was one of my points.
> >
> > > There are now many businesses based on making money out of applying
> > > Linux, but unlike the above, they do not directly fund Linux.
> > >
> > > All of these activities are good for Linux as a whole and result in
> > > more and more people being exposed to Linux and to developments being
> > > pushed along. That's got to be good for all of us.
> >
> > It is, but there is still a significant conceptual difference between a
> > community project and a coporate profit margin, whether you can
> > understand that argument or not.
> >
> > > So let's not get hung up on fine words like "community project that
> > > intersects with....".
> >
> > You can get hung up whereever you like, for me -and a hell of a lot of
> > other people- these are real issues. I do want to get hung up, not on
> > "fine words", but in the reality that community projects are. These are,
> > of course, realities that mainly makes sense to someone who has
> > experienced them, worked with them, volunteered within them and someone
> > for whom social change is of greater importance then corporate greed and
> > state-of-the-art technology.
> >
> > > If all had been left only to Debian, Linux
> > > wouldn't be as far ahead WRT development as it currently is.
> >
> > Yes, there has certainly been great achievements riding on the surplus
> > of capitalism for the free software movement - but as this necessity is
> > slowly disappearing, people who care can move away from those who are in
> > it for the money. And even if this is a half-hearted solution based on
> > Shuttleworth's unfair accummulation of wealth in the first place, it is
> > nevertheless half a step towards freedom from corporate control.
> >
> > > From what I have read, until recently, the politics within Debian were
> > > killing it!
> >
> > Yes, there are always costs involved in having and maintaining
> > principles: options must be foregone and technical advance at any cost
> > rejected. However, such compromises are always there - many devices work
> > really well in Windows out of the box and some probably never will in
> > the GNU/Linux world without some extreme hacker skills. The question,
> > then, is where do you draw the line? With the arrival of Ubuntu we are
> > provided with an option that is one step closer to the the grass-roots,
> > one step further away from corporate greed.
> >
> > The choice is yours, I am happily hung up on politics.
> >
> > -mp
> >
> >
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