[Nottingham] Best distribution with apt for a newbie?

Johannes Kling jok at printk.net
Mon Feb 2 12:07:33 GMT 2004


> > > Why not use Debian? :)
> > 
> > I tried it, but it didn't detect any of my hardware and the
> > command based install is way too difficult for me (I know next
> > to nothing about Linux)
> I found Debian to be something of a disappointment and certainly 
> wouldn't recommend it to a newbie.  It failed to recognise some 
> key bits of hardware and the install process was far too much 
> hassle, even for a Unix professional with ten years' experience.

While I agree that it's not the most newbie friendly distro, I
strongly disagree with the comments about the install procedure. The
only requirement is that the user knows what he needs in terms of
drivers, everything else will be quite intuitive to anybody with some
curses interface experience. Maybe you could point out some particular
quibbles you have with it?

> I suspect that a lot of its appeal stems from the fact that it's 
> the distro equivalent of a crossword, or a jigsaw puzzle - great 
> for hobbyists with time on their hands who like a challenge.

I support several debian servers at work; they are no more hassle to
maintain or set up than equivalent RedHat, SuSE, Mandrake (shudder)
servers, so I'm afraid I can't agree with that statement either.

Regards,
  Johannes Kling

-- 
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