[Smaug] UCSC Linux Install Bash!

[Peter Belew]

Hi ...

On 2/23/06, Meg McRoberts <dreidellhasa at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Whoops -- I'm actually running Mandriva -- you'd think I could
> get the name right!  ;-)
>
> Has anyone played with Linspire?  I have a friend who likes to play
> with different distros.  She tried this out soon after it first came
> out, prepared to scoff at it, and was actually quite impressed -- she
> had one piece of esoteric hardware and Linspire installed smoothly on
> it when several other distros did not...  She said it was a very stripped-
> down distro but had a very nice utility for downloading additional
> features.
>
> Anyhow, that's why I asked what the purpose of this InstallFest is.  Are
> you saying that it's only to look at non-commercial distros?

 No, not at all - though I would guess most people would
rather install something that's free, and doesn't require
registration and money to get support.

 - Peter

>
> I'd love to hear how the day goes -- I don't think I can make it, alas...
>
> meg
>
> --- Peter Belew <abcruzww at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi -
> >
> > On 2/23/06, Meg McRoberts <dreidellhasa at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > > Just passing thoughts from a lurker on the list...
> > >
> > > What is the purpose of an installfest like this?  I would think one would want
> > > to try to install as many different distros as possible for the experience and
> > > to compare and contrast.  And I might give some priority to the distros that are
> > > most widely used in business for the students who will soon be hitting the job
> > > market -- that would be RedHat (which I find fairly noxious myself), SuSE, and
> >
> >  For non-commercial use Fedora would be appropriate,
> > since it's free and based on RedHat. I was using the regular
> > Redhats on my main computer till Fedora came out.
> >
> > > Debian, I think, maybe also Mandrake.  And then definitely do
> >
> >  Mandrake has been renamed Mandriva; also they merged
> >  with the Brazilian Conectiva, which was responsible for
> >  the porting of apt-get to handle RPMs.
> >
> >  For Debian fans (and some others) Ubuntu is a variant with
> >  some more user-friendly aspects, and a more regular
> >  release cycle. You can download ISOs or request a few
> >  CDs for free! I can bring a few CDs of that. They are due
> >  for a new release in a couple of months. Since it's
> >  a Debian variant, updates are with the Debian apt-get
> >  package, though Ubuntu has its own builds of most
> >  everything, which are on their main servers on the Isle
> >  of Man. The company started in South Africa. I have
> >  Ubuntu installed on my laptop and 2 other computers.
> >  Ubuntu comes with a 'live disk' in addition to an install
> >  disk - you can run Linux off of that, even on a Windows
> >  box.
> >
> >  This is similar to Knoppix, another Debian variant,
> >  which only comes as a live CD (though you can actually
> >  install it if you want to). I recently used a live version
> >  to get files off a Windows XP system whose OS was
> >  fouled up beyond redemption. Also the live systems are
> >  useful for partitioning a system that has Windows on it
> >  before installing Linux.
> >
> >  There are a few local fans of Gentoo, for which one typically
> >  rebuilds everything in the system when installing to optimize
> >  the software for one's system. Also possibly that may give
> >  one more control of what's on the system.
> >
> >  I just updated the Linux part of this web page:
> >
> >   http://www.sonic.net/~peterbe/distros.html
> >
> >  - Peter
> >
> > >some of the more
> > > esoteric favorites and have some serious geek fun.  You'll certainly learn
> > > something that will come in handy the next time someone asks for a recommendation
> > > on a distro...
> > >
> > > Just a thought -- use or ignore as you choose ;-)
> > > meg
> > >
> > > --- cerise at armory.com wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi Shaeleya,
> > > >    I can't speak for everyone, but I can certain speak for myself when I say
> > > > that I'd love to help out in any way possible.  I used to be at UCSC and ran
> > > > the SlugLUG prior to graduating.
> > > >    We used to hold installfests by the whiteboards in the bottom level of
> > > > Baskin Engineering.  We got the good folks at CATS to leave a couple of ports
> > > > connected over there and typically set up a couple of hubs to accomodate
> > > > everyone.  I don't know if Josh (Homan, I think?) is still there, but he was
> > > > the guy I talked to.
> > > >    I used to bring along a fair amount of spare hardware for diagnostics.
> > > > That usually included a PCI net card, PCMCIA net card, spare monitor, and spare
> > > > keyboard.  Additionally, I'd bring along as much net cable as I could scrounge
> > > > up, power strips, and power cords.
> > > >    There were predictably the usual holy wars about which distro to use.  I was
> > > > always a fan of Slackware.  The less enlightened pushed Debian.  Somewhere
> > > > between installing Linux, we found time to have the usual arguments about which
> > > > distro was superior.  Y'know, good geek fun.
> > > >    I was trying to push the idea of a default distro the last year I was there.
> > > > Most people come in without a real idea of which flavor they want.  Since I was
> > > > trying to start a series of linux teaching sessions at meetings, it seemed like
> > > > a good idea to know the majority distro.
> > > >    Most people are just curious about Linux and want to keep Windows on a
> > > > partition.  This is probably less of a big deal with NTFS being more common,
> > > > but we asked people to defrag their hard disks before coming over.  That
> > > > usually made running Partition Magic or parted relatively painless.
> > > >    The real challenge, of course, is getting people to start using Linux once
> > > > they have it on their system.
> > > >    The CS professors were generally happy to have people do announcements before
> > > > their class and/or put up advertisements.  Pat Tantalo, Darrell Long, Ethan
> > > > Miller, and Scott Brandt in particular.  I never figured out who to go to about
> > > > putting up flyers, so a couple of people used to go around papering the campus
> > > > which no doubt made us real popular with the folks cleaning them up.
> > > >    The interest we managed varied in proportion to advertising.  The worst
> > > > showing had something like 3 people come in with ~15 people around to help.
> > > > The best showing had 23 people come in with 5 people helping.  That was a bit
> > > > stressful, but we managed to attract the attention of the Fish Rap that year, so
> > > > all in all, it was to the good.  8)
> > > >
> > > > -Phil/CERisE
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Feb 23, 2006 at 08:20:42AM -0800, Shaeleya Miller wrote:
> > > > > Hello-
> > > > >
> > > > > My name is Shaeleya and I am a student at UCSC who is currently enrolled in
> > > > > a hardware and Linux section with the Global Informational Internship
> > > > > Program (GIIP).
> > > > >
> > > > > We are planning a Linux Install Fest for March 16th (12-6) on campus and are
> > > > > hoping to involve other members of the Linux community.
> > > > >
> > > > > Any way in which you would like to take part would be greatly appreciated,
> > > > > whether it is
> > > > > - Brainstorming/planning with us for the event
> > > > > - Attending and troubleshooting (tech assistance)
> > > > > - Advice
> > > > > - Any other way that you would like to participate
> > > > >
> > > > > If you would like more information or would like to join us, please contact
> > > > > me at this e-mail address.
> > > > >
> > > > > Look forward to hearing from you!
> > > > >
> > > > > - Shaeleya
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
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