[svlug] Newbie Linux question

[Chris Miller]

On 2/2/07, Joe Buck <Joe.Buck at synopsys.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Feb 02, 2007 at 01:22:55PM -0800, Chris Miller wrote:
> > On 2/2/07, Joe Buck <Joe.Buck at synopsys.com> wrote:
> > >On Fri, Feb 02, 2007 at 11:39:03AM -0800, Paul Reiber wrote:
> > >> You didn't say if you'd settled on a particular version of Linux to start
> > >> from, so I'll put in a hearty recommendation for using Ubuntu linux.
> > >> I've seen it work flawlessly "from install forward" considerably more
> > >> often than any other distro.
> > >
> > >Ubuntu is a good choice for beginners.  My only caveat is that it lags
> > >on wireless support.  For wireless, you'll do better with Fedora Core 6,
> > >especially if you have to deal with WPA or a wireless chip type that
> > >was only recently added to the kernel (e.g. Broadcom).
> >
> > I contest that.  My experience has been the exact opposite.  The
> > network support you're talking about in FC6 is facilitated by the
> > network-manager-gnome (and network-manager) packages.  By installing
> > those in Ubuntu ...
>
> ... as opposed to having them just come up, installed and ready to go, by
> default?

While that is easier, the OP indicated (incorrectly) that the
capabilities were not present.

> > ...  However, that can be fixed by adding a unstable repo,
> > or you can take an easier path and just compile your own kernel from
> > sources.
>
> Sigh.  For the knowledgeable person able to install from alternative
> repositories and recompile the kernel, all distros are basically equal,
> because you can work around any missing feature in the one you choose.

Personally, I had significantly more trouble beating Fedora Kernel
Modules into submission than I ever had compiling my own kernels under
Gentoo.  Gentoo will just download the kernel sources.  It's up to you
to compile and install them.  I went from kernel 2.6.12 to 2.6.17
under Gentoo, and compiled them all without incident.  Well, there
were times I went and experiemented with menuconfig to see what I
could do...  but that was my idiocy, not a issue with local kernel
compilation.

> But we were talking about new users here.  Certainly for a new user who's
> a friend of yours, I'm sure that you could provide a good setup based on
> Ubuntu, Fedora, or anything else.

Well, assuming that the base setup is controlled by a veteran Linux
user, you could make almost any distro "user friendly."

The dirty truth is that installation is a very tricky thing to do.
The only reason recent M$ releases have been so easy to install is
that they assume everything.  Windows Vista assumes literally
everything.  You have to physically interrupt the installer to get it
to NOT wipe all drives and make them NTFS (hint: install Vista first,
Linux next - you'll save some time).  Linux doesn't compromise your
choice in that respect.  And it pays for that: usually the only people
to use Linux are those people that appreciate that choice.

So I guess we should be asking whether you're the kind of user that
would appreciate Linux enough to stick with it.  Hmm... strangely
esoteric caste of the Linux community, but it probably would save some
non-Linux compatible users the pain of trying an OS that simply isn't
prepared for that next level of user incompetence.

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