[Cialug] Distro choice

Daniel A. Ramaley daniel.ramaley at drake.edu
Thu Jan 29 15:48:06 CST 2009 

For what it's worth, i second this. Also for what it's worth, i used Red 
Hat for a number of years, then switched to Debian because of various 
problems i had with Red Hat itself (RPM dependency hell for one--i 
understand that's not so much an issue these days though). But for 
someone just starting out, one distribution is really as good as 
another. Once you learn one really well, then it isn't too difficult to 
learn the differences between various ones and pick up another. I'm 
quite happy with Debian both on my servers (those that don't run 
OpenBSD anyway) and on my desktops, but i wouldn't actually recommend 
it for a beginner unless they truly want to learn a lot about various 
aspects of system administration.

On Wednesday January 28 2009 22:26, Josh More wrote:
>Tom,
>
>Your confusion is understandable.  The decision you are faced with is
>one that a great many novices also face.  There is one simple question
>you have to ask yourself:  Why am I playing with Linux?
>
>* If the answer is "to learn", stick with Debian and work through any
>errors and issues and resolve them within the paradigm.  You will
> learn best that way.
>* If the answer is "to have a free easy-to-use system", burn what you
>have and install Ubuntu 8.10 or OpenSUSE 11.1.
>* If the answer is "to have a long-term stable system to slowly learn
>on", stick with Debian stable.
>* If the answer is "to have a long-term stable system that also works
> as a workstation", go with Ubuntu 8.04
>* If the answer is "to learn Linux to use in an eventual professional
>capacity", go with OpenSUSE 11.1 (matches with SLES 11), Ubuntu 8.10
>(matches with Ubuntu server) or Fedora (matches with Red Hat
>Enterprise).
>* If the answer is "to run a long-term stable server system", go with
>Ubuntu Server or CentOS.
>
>This sort of list goes on and on, and can only be answered by you. 
> I've been assuming that you primarilly want to learn, so I've been
> recommending the first option "stick with what you have and learn
> from it".  If I've guessed wrong, my answer is also wrong.
>
>Just remember that all modern distros are about the same from a
>beginner's perspective.  We all have ones that we love and ones that
> we hate.  Many of us put these biases right out in front (I love
> OpenSUSE/SLES and hate Slackware and Gentoo (and I have an
> architectural issue with Debian and Ubuntu that many do not)).  Just
> don't let these biases sway you.
>
>So, ask yourself the question and if it doesn't match one of the
> answers I provided, mention it here and you'll get LOTS of distro
>recommendations.
>
>
>
>-Josh More, RHCE, CISSP, NCLP, GIAC
> morej at alliancetechnologies.net
> 515-245-7701
>
>>>> Tom Sellers <tomsellers2001 at yahoo.com> 01/28/09 9:21 PM >>>
>
>OK
>
>Now I'm confused since I have never been able to install Ubuntu period
>and am currently running Debian 4.0 (etch) and have been basically
> since my first contact with the Cialug.
>
>--- On Wed, 1/28/09, Josh More <morej at alliancetechnologies.net> wrote:
>> From: Josh More <morej at alliancetechnologies.net>
>> Subject: Re: [Cialug] Distro choice
>> To: cialug at cialug.org, tomsellers2001 at yahoo.com
>> Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 8:27 PM
>> Tom,
>>
>> It is common for novice Linux users to jump distros and
>> versions trying
>> to fix issues when the issues are generally caused by
>> inexperience.  It
>> would be best, IMO, for you to just stick with Ubuntu 8.04
>> and get
>> everything working.  It might not be quite as user-friendly
>> as 8.10, but
>> it's very close and you'll learn more resolving
>> issues than you will
>> continuously installing different distros.
>>
>> If you get stuck with 8.04, you can ask for help here or on
>> the Ubuntu
>> help forums.  Just ignore everyone who says "upgrade
>> to
>> 8.10/OpenSUSE/Fedora/etc".  You'll be better off
>> picking something
>> (anything) and sticking with it.
>>
>>
>>
>> -Josh More, RHCE, CISSP, NCLP, GIAC
>>  morej at alliancetechnologies.net
>>  515-245-7701
>>
>> >>> Tom Sellers <tomsellers2001 at yahoo.com>
>>
>> 01/28/09 8:14 PM >>>
>> Do you think it is worth while to try to download the 8.10
>> version of
>> Ubuntu?  I'm not familiar with the Dell laptops
>> referenced below.  I am
>> using an HP Omnibook 6000.
>>
>>
>> --- On Wed, 1/28/09, Josh More
>>
>> <morej at alliancetechnologies.net> wrote:
>> > From: Josh More <morej at alliancetechnologies.net>
>> > Subject: Re: [Cialug] Distro choice
>> > To: cialug at cialug.org, wd0fia at hotmail.com
>> > Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2009, 7:03 PM
>> > Keith,
>> >
>> > More people than just Theron use Wine.  If you want,
>>
>> you
>>
>> > can just pick a
>> > meeting and ask for Wine people to show up there and
>>
>> help
>>
>> > you out.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > -Josh More, RHCE, CISSP, NCLP, GIAC
>> >  morej at alliancetechnologies.net
>> >  515-245-7701
>> >
>> > >>> "Keith Carpenter"
>> >
>> > <wd0fia at hotmail.com> 01/28/09 6:48 PM
>> >
>> > I have been running Ubuntu 8.10 on 5 Dell laptops
>>
>> without
>>
>> > ANY issues.
>> > Two
>> > are Inspiron 1501, one is a Vostro 1000 (basically a
>> > Inspiron 1501), and
>> > the
>> > last is a Dell B130.  All ran setup without any
>>
>> problems,
>>
>> > and even the
>> > wireless works without any additional hoops to jump
>> > through.
>> >
>> > Now if I can catch Theron sometime, I can switch
>>
>> strictly
>>
>> > to Linux at
>> > home.
>> > I just need his help figuring out WINE on a few
>>
>> programs I
>>
>> > cannot find
>> > open
>> > source.
>> >
>> > Keith D Carpenter
>> >
>> > Technology Analyst
>> >
>> >
>> > Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
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>> > Cialug at cialug.org
>> > http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug
>> >
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>>
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-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Ramaley                            Dial Center 118, Drake University
Network Programmer/Analyst             2407 Carpenter Ave
+1 515 271-4540                        Des Moines IA 50311 USA

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