[vox-tech] What's in RedHat 8.0
Michael Wenk
vox-tech@lists.lugod.org
Sun, 6 Oct 2002 05:33:34 -0700
Well, I have used redhat, and I have used Mandrake, and I have used debian.
Hell, if you go far back, I have used slackware, and that one used to be my
all time favorite. Had I planned my system a bit better, I would be
definitely consider LFS, but I only have one drive in there, and am too lazy
to open the case and put a second drive in to bootstrap the system. In
recent years, I used Mandrake(5.something), and then went to Debian potato,
and then back to Mandrake(8.1 maybe), and now finally, Im back to running
Debian woody. Of recent years, I must say, I prefer Mandrake, however, Im
going to stick with debian, unless I decide to do some hw changes and go
with LFS. The reason I like Mandrake better couples down with ease of
install and ease of configuration. I admit that debian's package system is
really neat if it works. One example I had on my system is configuring and
running alsa. For some reason, I get a real annoying buzz on when playing
with the basic kernel sound driver, that doesn't occur with alsa, has been
on any system I have, so this time, I did not even bother futzing with it, I
just apt-get'd alsa, and what not, and the damn thing did not work. The
modules weren't there, and even the mixer was not. I admit that using
Mandrake's rpm'd alsa didn't work either, and in both cases I had to grab,
and install it the old fashioned way(from source.) I also had problems with
the install as well. One real annoying was I installed the system, only for
it to reboot and get a no root disk panic. I even did a reinstall because I
couldn't figure out the why(my linux box is my router, without it, I have no
way of looking for help.) I even reran the install(and going thru every
package a bit more carefully.) I also did something I rarely do. I sat and
waited thru the install(normally I do something else, and just check back
periodically.) Apparently the first time thru, the message to add and
initrd line got lost(I likely either just did not read it, or something
happened to make it go away b4 I could read it.) I admit, that I didn't
really pay it much mind because I had thought it was just an informational
thing, and that the install had or would do it for me(I don't always fully
comprehend what I read at 4 am.) It came up and sure enough, got the same
damn panic, but something clicked, and I came up in rescue mode and sure
enough, no proper line in the lilo.conf, and when I put the right stuff in
it, it came up fine on its own. And no, I did not make a boot floppy, which
is kinda hard when you don't have a floppy drive(I do not like floppy
drives, and now that I have a burner in each of my systems, I see no need of
em.) Which also gives me another one of what I consider to be debian's
shortcomings. Mandrake 8.1 was the first linux system I had installed that
actually out of the box set up the IDE CDRW drive properly, ie it used SCSI
rather than IDE to access it, and even set up the /dev/sr devices(when I had
debian, I actually had 2 CD drives on this guy) properly. Debian seems to
not do such stuff. It looks like I will have to do this manually. Now
granted none of this stuff is really debian's fault per se, just now, less
than 2 weeks on this system, I am finding that Mandrake made some of this
stuff easier. It may turn out in the end that the things debian makes
easier may work out to make debian better for me. At this point I do not
know. If I ever redo the system, its likely Ill just go with LFS, if I have
two drives in the system.
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "Matt Roper" <matt@mattrope.com>
To: <vox-tech@lists.lugod.org>
Sent: Friday, October 04, 2002 1:18 PM
Subject: Re: [vox-tech] What's in RedHat 8.0
> On Fri, Oct 04, 2002 at 12:14:11PM -0700, Peter Jay Salzman wrote:
> ...
> > anyway, i didn't come from a microsoft background, but this guy is. i
> > think dropping him into deep water to begin with would just be
> > discouraging, especially if he doesn't have a skillset yet. he'll have
> > to bite, claw, scratch and spend an unbelievable amount of time for
> > every little problem.
> >
> > let him enjoy linux first. it's not as if redhat makes things brain
> > dead. after a while, he'll begin to get curious to learn more and will
> > hear people talk about debian. if he wants to move on, he will. and if
> > not, so be it.
> ...
>
> Just out of curiosity, what aspects of running a Debian system do you
> consider to be 'harder' than running a Redhat or similar system? I ask
> because I've personally had more success converting people to Linux when
> I show them Debian than when I show them distributions like Redhat or
> Mandrake. I think Debian's strict packaging policies are a big win as
> far as "easiness" goes because it only takes one or two package
> dependency problems to scare away a potential Linux user; under Debian,
> these problems are almost non-existent.
>
> I think the 'scariest' part of Debian is the installation, simply
> because it asks more questions than some of the other distributions.
> However, I don't think an installation program can ever be completely
> "easy to use" for a non-geek. Some tasks, such as deciding on how to
> partition the hard drive, can't be avoided and do require some technical
> knowledge. Even with all the questions that Debian asks at
> installation, I'm not sure that a potential Linux user will find it any
> more difficult than a Redhat or similar system...
>
>
> Matt
>
> --
>
> *************************************************
> * Matt Roper <matt@mattrope.com> *
> * http://www.mattrope.com *
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