NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Linux & Other OS's › Guide: Which Distro?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Guide: Which Distro?

Poll Results: Which distro do you prefer on sager?

 
  • 13% (2)
    Debian
  • 20% (3)
    Gentoo
  • 13% (2)
    Mandrake
  • 26% (4)
    Red Hat
  • 6% (1)
    LR's Linux
  • 6% (1)
    Slackware
  • 13% (2)
    SuSe
15 Total Votes  
post #1 of 11
4/3/03 at 2:23pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, hey all.
I have seen on the forum a lot of people vouching for which distro...

What I want to strat this post for is:

1) to start a vote on your personal favourite linux distro
2) to allow people to give their opinoins on distros

(if I have missed any in the vote... please post and I'll see if I can get laclasse to change it )

------------------------------------------------------------------

So, to start the ball rolling, I am going to give my own opinion on the linux distro's I have tried:

Debian/GNU Linux -
Configuration - 9
Speed - 8
Ease of install - 4
A great distro if you want to custom build your system...
There is 8 cd's to the distro... although most of the common programs that you would be interested in are on the first 2-3.
This distro takesa a bit of reading to get used to, it is not a winXP pick up and go type distro... it's what I believe as a proper linux distro.. you configure it, and set it up, It doesn't have a nice GUI install program to do it for you.
Generally, fast, configurable, and installs only what you want.

Gentoo -
Configuration - 10
Speed - 10
Ease of install - 3
The fastest distro around I believe. You compile everything specifically for your CPU and architecture... instead of for a P2 or 486 which is the normally way things are distributted. My personal opinion on this distro, is go for it when you have worked out your favourite linux progtrams on another distro, and have a general idea how to configure it, this is the disrto for you... Bite the bullet, spend 3-4 days copmpiling everything you need and you'll have the fastest linux distro available

MDK-
Configuration - 4
Speed - 5
Ease of install - 9
mandrake is a bundle everything in, easy install distro. Not asd fast as Debain and Gentoo, but if you just want to go open source and don't want to stray to far from the easiness of windowsXP, this is your distro. Not very configurable... can be a bit of a pain to install on a Sager... only if you want to just go opensource and no more... if you want to configure the crap out of your PC (which what I think linux is really meant for) try debian or gentoo.

Redhat-
Configuration - 4
Speed - 4
Ease of install - 9
was the distro of choice for a lot of linux users for a good while... until the say they want a wee bit too much like MDK. My peronal opinion is it's another MDK... and in my own view, doesn't pull it off as well. Great distro though... one to try if again, you just want to go open source.

----------------------------------------------------

Thats my opinion on four distros I have tried in a sager... hope this helps some1 and let me know what the rest of you think


NeoCORE
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 11
4/3/03 at 4:08pm
I have to admit that I haven't tried out anything other than Debian and Mandrake. I have boycotted RedHat, because I take issue to the way the are second-stringing KDE.
I have used SuSE in the past and have liked it immensely, but not recently so I am not qualified on this point either.

I wanted to get something on the machine so that I could use it (nearly) immediately. I would still be struggling with the debian, gentoo and LR's distros.

It seems like the debian install required too much information that you may not, a priori, have. It was difficult to come to terms with.

I chose the mandrake install, because it's relative recent release date ensured that I would have plenty of support for the devices on the 8887 (acpi, XFree86, wireless, bttv) and, with the exception of the modem, this has been true.

I take some issue with the configurability comments above. However, only insofar as they do not accurately reflect that at the lowest level most distro's are equally configurable. I do agree that distro's like debian, bsd, gentoo and LSr start you at a level more suitable for configuration, but it can seem like an uphill struggle to get to the point where a user would actually use it. Some of the 'XP'-like candidate SuSe, Mandrake and RedHat start at a higher state of usability.

I am not sure I want to commit to the scoring system above and am still withholding my judgment on the best of the current list of distro's.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 11
4/3/03 at 4:26pm
Thread Starter 
The configurability does not only relate to actual method in which you configure your system (during installation and after) but also what you can install...

Let me explain. With gentoo and Debian, you can select during install and after quite easily (from their db of software) any release version of software within reason. This is good if you want a specific version of glibc etc. so wine is mroe compatabile.... also, with debain, the apt-get brings up debian conf so you can configure the software during the install... and with gentoo, you can configure globally what CPU you want the software to work for...

As I said, the reviews were my personal opinion...

I agree that every version of linux (within reason) can be configured in a "low level" way... but if you are going to, it is better to start at that level by doing a bit of reading... after all, I think this is really what linux is about... tweaking and configuring to get the best out of your hardware


NeoCORE
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 11
4/3/03 at 4:31pm
I can concur with those statements. Pardon my misunderstanding.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 11
4/4/03 at 2:51pm
But Gentoo is going to RPM format and abandoning the portage tree.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 11
4/4/03 at 3:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Portage 2.1 to adopt RPM format for LSB compliance_



In what will likely prove to be a controversial decision, Portage 2.1 will adopt the RPM format for all packages moving forward. The use of ebuilds will be deprecated in favor of the defacto RPM standard. The primary driver for this decision was to ensure compliance with the Linux Standard Base specification, which mandates RPM support for package management.


The developers have been hard at work to make this migration as easy as possible. Already a proof-of-concept ebuild2rpm script is in place and being tested by a pilot group of developers. Unfortunately, because of the architectural differences between the two formats, some features will not be supported once Gentoo moves to RPM. USE variables are one such feature; sandbox security is another. However, the added benefit brought about by full LSB compliance should far outweigh the loss of these two minor features.


Additionally, because of LSB's required library support, the xfree86 package will move to become part of the base Gentoo Linux system, rather than an optional addition. Users interested in learning more about the Linux Standard Base should read the LSB FAQ or the full LSB 1.3 specification.



Note: This is an April Fool's joke.
Guess you got caught in the joke
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 11
4/4/03 at 3:10pm

Regarding GENTOO

I am thinking of putting a distro on my 8887 and am really interested in trying out GENTOO. I started reading through the install guide posted in these forums, and thought that this is something I better tackle when I have ample time (heh, may be indefinately).

Anyway, I was wondering: I usually like to get a CD with the distro files (I've d/l'd and burned from ISO images, but I like to throw a couple bucks towards the distro creators). So what is the CD (stage1?) of choice for installing Gentoo onto a Sager (I have an 8887 w/ HT-enabled & WinXPpro). I'd do a dual-boot (via Grub or Lilo - makes little difference to me).

Reason I am asking, is my second 60GB drive is arriving today and I'd like to partition off about 10-20GB for a *nix install and thought it may be time to renew this idea of putting Gentoo on.

I'm basically a linux n00b, but have been for many years (never quite "got into it" but have tried many times and many distros).

I know the guide here says use the 1.2(?) minimal install (16MB), but I'd rather have everything on hand and install from one CD (or more) than put a version on only to rollup another kernel and setup...

-myrkat
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 11
4/4/03 at 3:18pm
Thread Starter 
I updated the guide a while ago... it does say use 1.2, but it also notes that you can use one of the live cd's (beta)of 1.4 available under experimental...


Regardless, with gentoo, unfortunately, the only way to effectively "download" all the packages like in other linux versions, is to download the whole portage tree itself!

Gentoo, is really meant for broadband users... besides, why download all thoose extra packages if you don't need them

NeoCORE
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 11
4/4/03 at 4:23pm


heh, heh, no I was just uhhhh..... testing you guys. Yeah that's it, it was a test, you passed congratulations.

I need a beer. :beer:

BTW, I'll put my vote in after if Gentoo ever finishes installing on my 166Mhz(testbed before I put it on my Sager). I've been emerging KDE for 4 days straight!!!
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 11
4/4/03 at 5:00pm
Thread Starter 
lol... that's what I would expect... 4 days though... would never wait that long, would get impatient and just install it anyway on my sager

Good luck

NeoCORE
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 11
4/6/03 at 1:23pm

Distros........

Well....

I didn't vote. Why ? Well, because it is pretty obvious to me that a distro is a distro, and we may all like one or the other for specific reasons. These are like taste and colors. You don't argue them.

As well remember that linux is just a kernel. I believe that any distro will do, and once ya familiar with bash, csh, ksh and tcsh as well as the inside linux architecture and corelation beetween files, you just want to tweak it your way.

I run debian but i don't 'install' it. What i mean by that is i never go throught tasksel or dselect or installing any apps at install. I just get a base, then upgrade that base to unstable, then apt-get what i want to run. Debian gives me that freedom.

I believe distros like gentoo and LRs/LFS should be treated differently as source distros. One cannot arguee pro efficiently saying they are better. IT DEPENDS.

I mean, if i was to run a quick workstation, and want quick install stability and reliability, i have better chances of succes with a binary classic distribution.

If i was to set up a stable production server, then i have less headaches setting up debian stable than gentoo or LFS. Less crashes, less security nightmares. ( BSD BSD BSD BSD BSD ! )

Now if i am a geek and want the absolute exploitation of my CPU/arch and hardware ability of my machine, then sure, sources distro will be better at that.

For me i took the middle choice. I run unstable Debian wich has bleeding edge versions but i compile myself X, my Window manager, my kernel etc ...and anything i need i cannot get with apt-get.
Therefore i can optimise and get speed where i need, without never loosing stability.

But that is my choice................
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Linux & Other OS's
NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Linux & Other OS's › Guide: Which Distro?