[ale] vFAQ: Good distributions on Dell D610 laptops

[John Mills]

Katherine, Michael, Christopher -

Thanks for your comments. I guess I'm about ready to flip a coin, 
then jump. Stay tuned (for whines, probably).

On Tue, 5 Dec 2006, Katherine Villyard wrote:

> John Mills wrote:

> > I see 'ubuntu' downloads its installer as a single CD. Is it then usual to 
> > go through a net installation to end up with a usably complete setup? If 
> > so, is the net procedure automated?

> Yes, and yes. There's also a lot of software in the repositories, which 
> you can install through synaptic (or adept, if you're using kubuntu).
 
> > I also see some DVD downloads for 'kubuntu'. What are the 'pros' and 
> > 'cons' of 'ubuntu' and 'kubuntu', and CD vs. DVD installations?
   
> Kubuntu is Ubuntu with KDE. Ubuntu itself defaults to Gnome.
 
> I usually download the alternate text-only installer CD because it's 
> faster than the GUI installer. I would only recommend the default GUI 
> installer if you have a lot of resources; it's a live CD, which is nice 
> for seeing if your hardware is supported, but I find the installer 
> itself rage-honingly slow. Scroll down to the bottom of the CD download 
> page to get the text installer; it's under "other installation options" 
> and labelled "alternate install CD." BTW, that comment about it being 
> for machines "with less than 192MB of RAM" really overestimates the 
> performance of the GUI installer, IMHO.

Sounds sensible.

> I've never used the DVD installation. I get all the software I need out
> of the repositories. If you don't see something you want, you may need
> to enable more repositories.

Likewise sensible. I did burn a kubuntu 6.06 live/install DVD. Tempting 
to a lazy person like m'self.

> I hope that helps,

Greatly. Thanks.

 - Mills