[ale] Linux Distributions

Geoffrey Myers geof at abraxis.com
Mon Sep 29 21:38:11 EDT 1997


Vernard Martin wrote:

> Ok folks, its time to start the distribution discussions again. :-)
>
> Like most of us who have used Linux a long time, I was happy to go to
> Slackware from SLS. It was heaven sent in comparison. However, times
> changed and Slackware had a big lull and I switched to RedHat. I was
> fairly happy with it and I continue to use it even today. However, I miss the
> BSD style init of Slackware but I really like the RPM package manager of
> RedHat. I like the breadt of packages of Debian.
>
> I was wondering what the other ALE members think of various distributions.
> I feel that Slackware has fallen behind the times in my opinion. It takes a
> long time for updates to the distribution to come out and they still haven't
> adopted a package management scheme other than the antiquated but effective
> tarball method. RedHat is pretty good but for the money, you their much
> vaunted support isn't as good as the stuff you get from USENET. Debian has
> lots of packages but the installation still leaves much to be desired for a
> novice.
>

I'm pretty green to some of the others on this list when it comes to Linux, but
I cut my teeth on Slackware.  I've recently 'converted' to RedHat for a couple
of reasons.  One, I couldn't get a boot/root Slackware disk set to boot my
laptop.  RedHat got it going with pcmcia support as well.  Two, I wanted to run
the same flavor on both my laptop and my desktop.  I've been very happy thus
far.  I like the idea of the rpm's but I also like getting down and dirty with
compiling the code.

> I was wondering what other distributions ALE members use and the advantages
> and disadvantages of them.
>
> V
> --
> Vernard Martin (vernard at cc.gatech.edu) http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~vernard/
> Understanding is a three-edged sword: your side, their side and the truth.



--
Until later:
Geoffrey Myers   geof at abraxis.com






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