Thus spake Paul M Foster on the 28 day of the 09 month in the year 2003:
---snip---
> The ultimate geek distro is Linux From Scratch. Like Gentoo but more so.
Well...not to pick nits, but a Linux distro (distribution) is a collection
of software. Linux From Scratch is nothing more than documentation to
create your own custom Linux distribution.
And on a related note, Gentoo has really come along. I wouldn't
consider using it on a server, but for a desktop box that's reasonably
easy to keep up to date, it rocks. My only major gripe is how it
handles it's configuration files as compared to Debian.
---snip---
> The best distro for being able to upgrade easily is Debian. Designed
> with that in mind. Very fat, with thousands of packages and many
> packages that do the same thing. An example of the "choice" in software.
Just to clarify here, Debian is fat in the sense that it offers tons of
packages. It's rather thin in the sense that while other distributions
might throw a program into two or three packages (one for development
files, another package for the software itself), Debian might divide
that software up into many more packages. An example that comes to mind are
the X-Windows packages. Since X has a client-server model, conceivably,
you might want to install only the client portions of X on a machine and
forward the display of those programs back to your desktop X-server.
The Debian maintainer for X related programs, Branden Robinson, has
split X into just shy of a bizzalion or so packages, including a
xfree86-common package so you can run X programs (and display them
elsewhere) without having to download and install an entire X server.
Essentially, you only need to install exactly what you need. The
downside to this is when you try building software from source yourself,
you often find yourself apt-geting things two or three times before you
end up getting everything installed that your software requires in order
to build correctly. The "apt-get build-dep" command greatly simplifies
this if your building something that Debian already has a package for
(in the event you need the latest bleeding edge version).
If you're a newbie, you'll probably prefer something like Xandros or
Knoppix that Paul mentions below. Prettier exterior, yet still that
good-ole' Debian wholesome chewey center. ;-)
> Built and tested by worldwide geeks, with loooong release cycles. Even
> the "testing" version is considered very stable.
*sigh*
Well...the Debian folks can always use help with bug reports and package
development in order to decrease the distribution turn around time. And
hey, it is for a noble cause.
---snip---
> Knoppix is like a "next generation" of distros. It's designed to run
> from the CD, but can be installed on the hard drive. Some of the best
> hardware detection and support in the business, with a very nice
> well-integrated desktop and broad software functionality, though less
> "choice" than you'd expect from multi-CD distros. Based on Xandros.
> Designed to be a "demo" distro to introduce users to Linux, but still
> fully-functional.
>
> Xandros is a single-CD commercial distro with many of the same
> characteristics of Knoppix (naturally). Based on Debian (all three
> versions-- stable, testing, unstable). They use some of their own
> (proprietary?) libraries for hardware detection and support, and these
> work exceptionally well. Inexpensive, but slim and not downloadable, to
> my knowledge; you gotta buy the CD.
-- Matthew MoenOutlook is as attractive to email viruses as a heap of dead and rotting cows is to a fly. So long as that maggot-filled pile of corpses is there, swatting at the flies isn't going to work. Alan Bellingham, SDM ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
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