Which Distro?

[Eric Dunbar]

On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 20:43:50 +0200, Geoffrey S. Mendelson <gsm at mendels> wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 01, 2005 at 01:28:58PM -0500, Phil D. wrote:
> > I would shy away from Mandrake personally.  Distros you may want to
> > consider for PPC besides YDL are:
> >
> > Ubuntu - Debian based with a different package repository
> 
> I've tried Ubuntu and to me it's the Linux of the "great unlinuxed". It's
> a very carefully chosen set of packages to provide the most function a
> simple Windows user would want. It does not have a glitzy installer
> (as if one is needed) and it uses the lower impact, lower function GNOME
> over the super-whiz=bang KDE.

I like where YDL is going but there's one MAJOR thing that Ubuntu has
going for it that YDL/Terrasoft should really consider emulating --
simplicity. It's easy to install whatever you want in Ubuntu
after-the-fact, but when you start, you start off with the bare
essentials with apps that will cover 80% of users' needs right off the
bat (how many word processers, web browsers, network monitoring
utilities, CLUI editors & servers does a person really need). You can
get that by customising YDL but there should be a base minimalist
install a la Mac OS X that's default (I install everything in YDL
right away b/c I don't trust yum to work properly and there's no GUI
for upgrading).

> I expect that it will take off as the desktop linux of choice for many
> people. Most of them will be too poor to afford windows and MS Office
> and it will make computing affordable to them. It will also appeal to
> those people who want to use linux without the high technical level or
> resource level a fuller disitribution requires.

I won't go that far -- I've been seeing the usability of Windows vs.
Linux in operation, and, I have to admit that Windows is still hands
down the more functional OS. Yes, it's more vulnerable to malware and
viruses, BUT, when appropriately protected, people can "just work" and
expect software to "just work". This is a far cry from where Linux is
headed in the immediate future. But, for people who just need to
browse the web and write a note or two, Linux (on i86) will certainly
suffice (PPC is just a little too esoteric without someone who knows
what they're doing).

Where I see Linux making inroads is in the "early adopter" crowd and
amongst technogeeks (probably one-and-the-same ;-). It's good enough
to use, and it also offers a challenge that Windows can't offer (Mac
can since it is a Unix but not really since half the fun is NEEDING
to... on Mac you don't _need_ to compile your own version of MOL,
etc.).

> It's a nice package for what it is, but it is not YDL. IMHO you
> should download Ubuntu and give it to everyone you can, but buy YDL for
> yourself.

The major difference between the two is that YDL is a Fedora/RH
offspring and Ubuntu is a Debian off-spring.

I like both distros for different reasons -- YDL is my server box. It
works fairly well and requires virtually no setup (doesn't have
FireFox in-built though... come on Terrasoft, Mozilla SUCKS, FireFox
rocks). Ubuntu I use to play around with as a desktop OS -- it offers
a million and one packages through the dpkg/apt-get/Synaptic apps
combo and "Hoary" offers daily exitement when you do an apt-get
dist-upgrade (less so recently since they're into feature freeze).

I like playing with both since both give me a slightly different Linux
learning experience: Debian vs. Fedore/RH (different ways of doing
things).

Use your own judgement as to what you want. IMNSHO YDL and Ubuntu are
pretty much the same in terms of ease of use and ease of install
(there are people who've sworn off either Ubuntu or YDL as
unusable/unable to support their hardware and gone to/stuck with the
other distro). For me, Ubuntu wins out on the desktop because of its
philosophy (& it "just works" on my Pismo), but, my experiences with
YDL as a server have been positive as well so I'm happy with YDL as
well.

YDL offers a full kitchen sink experience with some pretty stable
packages in a fairly well integrated package (for its size).

Ubuntu Warty offers a more pared down experience to start with, with
good integration, but if you have a highspeed connection (or lots of
patience) to the web you can have yourself a kitchensink (and a whole
house... Debian's universe is *big* with lots of active and
oft-updated packages).

Ubuntu Hoary (development) offers cutting edge apps with a surprising
degree of stability but also with the excitement of breakage (now
breakage will be minimal since they're into "feature freeze").

Anyway, enjoy whatever distro(s) you pick.

Eric.