Best Route/Package for Newbies - ydl.net, manual etc

[Clinton MacDonald]

Mr. Cochrane:

Welcome aboard!

I have been meaning to try answering this for several days -- sorry for 
the delay. Though, as you will see, I don't have much actual data to 
address your specific questions. :-(

John Cochrane wrote:
> A few months back, I made my first venture into Linux,
> with YDL 3.0.1, downloading the ISOs from a mirror,
> successfully installing (reasonably painlessly) on a
> Beige G3, and dabbling enough to familiarise myself with
> the basics.

That's a good approach. Many of us started in the same manner (it was an 
older Wallstreet PowerBook for me). YDL 3.0.1 has been stable and useful 
for many on these mailing lists, though it obviously leaves newer 
software behind.

> 1) YDL.net (and it's various mutations... 'enhanced',
> 'pro') - is it worth it/recommended. The e-mail address
> and web space doesn't matter to me, nor (at the moment)
> does the advanced availability of new releases. Is there
> anything else unique (such as better errata info and
> updates) that warrants taking out a subscription?

That's a tough question. I do not have YDL.net myself, so I may be 
missing something; perhaps a YDL.net member will have something more 
positive to say. It seems you have answered the question mostly for 
yourself -- if you don't need any of the added features of YDL, there is 
no compelling reason to get it. I think Terra Soft doesn't do too good a 
job of making their case for YDL.net. The YDL.net Web site just barely 
describes what you get for the money: e-mail mostly, but no support for 
YDL, as far as I can see on the Web site.

> 2) Should I purchase a 'box set' package from TS.
> Clearly the input of some £ into the system is never
> a bad thing (for TS at least!), but at the same time,
> I have no issues (technically or otherwise) with
> downloading and burning the ISOs, as I did before.

I was happy with the boxed set of YDL 3.0, so I can recommend that 
option. The manual was useful, though not entirely up-to-date with 
details (I hope they have corrected that). Remember, you do *not* get 
support unless you purchase the US$89.95 edition (however, that is what 
this and the companion Yellow Dog General lists are for!).

<http://lists.terrasoftsolutions.com/mailman/listinfo/yellowdog-general>

As for your money supporting a good cause (i.e., Terra Soft's efforts to 
port GNU/Linux to the PowerPC platform), that is your call. *I* like to 
support them, so I purchase my CDs. To keep your conscience clear, 
however, know that most of Terra Soft's money comes from their sale of 
*hardware* (Power Mac G5s with YDL pre-installed) to large corporate 
customers.

> Further, I don't see that I have a need (at least yet)
> for the included source CDs, or the sticker ;-)

Again, you have mostly answered your own question -- how insightful you 
are! :-)

> So the remaining question is about the 'manual'. Can
> anyone enlighten me (and probably others) just how
> comprehensive and useful the manual is, and whether
> it's worth making a 'box set' purchase for.

If I recall correctly, I liked, but did not love the manual. Yellow Dog 
Linux 3.0.x is really Red Hat Linux 8.0, and Yellow Dog Linux 4.0 is 
Fedora Core FC2 (I think). Therefore, a good third party manual for 
either of those distributions may be just as useful to you as the YDL 
manual.

Let us know what you decide to do!

Best wishes,
Clint

-- 
Dr. Clinton C. MacDonald | <mailto:clint DOT macdonald AT sbcglobal DOT net>