[nmglug] Linux Distributions

[Will Pearson]

On Wed, 2005-01-19 at 11:18, wdn at lanl.gov wrote:
> I have been a Red Hat user for several years but lately have been
> interested in considering the use of another Linux distribution.  Right
> now, I am using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0.  Here is what I am looking
> for:
> 
> 1.  A distribution that provides a really large number of prebuilt
>     packages so that there is a good probability of my finding anything
>     I might want already prebuilt in the distribution.

Fedora is really good here. Fedora Core 3 comes with four CD's, three of
which are just packages from spreadsheet programs to various daemons.

> 2.  A decent installation procedure.

Fedora Core is very streamlined when it comes to installation. From
servers to laptops, installation is a breeze.

> 3.  Good package management and installation.

There are several ways you can manage packages and installations. Fedora
Core has 'apt' which is popular on Debian, it also had 'yum' which is
similar in a few ways to apt. If your looking for a more graphical
method, there's 'synaptic' which makes it about as easy as it can get.
There is also 'gyum' which is a graphical version of 'yum'. Further,
package management with yum and apt as well as their graphical cousins
manage dependencies on the fly.

> 4.  Staying close to the cutting edge on the software packages.

The main aim of Fedora Core is to be as cutting edge as possible,
without sacrificing stability. Red Hat Enterprise is supposed to be as
stable as possible which reduces innovation. Kinda like how Debian
stable is VERY stable, but also ancient. Fedora Core 3 employs SELinux
as well as the latest KDE and Gnome. It supports EXT3, ReiserFS, JFS and
XFS during installation! Also, an enormous amount of software from
Sourceforge as well as other locations is already available in RPM's.
Plus, with several 'HUGE' RPM repositories around the globe make getting
almost any program for Fedora a true breeze.

http://dag.wieers.com/packages/
http://www.rpmfind.net
http://www.freshrpms.net
http://rpm.pbone.net/

> I've been trying to do some research on my own - looking at Mandrake
> and Debian.  I'm also interested in Fedora but have not been able to
> find much information on it yet.

You need to go to:
http://www.fedorafaq.org
http://www.fedoranews.org
http://www.fedoraforum.org

> I'm wondering what advice people on this list might provide given the
> above criteria for choosing a distribution.
> 
> BTW, I will be running the Linux distro that I choose on a laptop.

I run Fedora Core 1 on an old Gateway Solo 9550 PIII with a PrismI
chipset for WiFi access. It's extremely stable and very flexible in what
it can handle. When it comes to Centrino laptops there are Linux drivers
in development for it's WiFi chipsets but they aren't very good yet,
they are still experimental. Yet, even then, those drivers are released
in Fedora Core RPM's.

I recommend giving Fedora a try, you might just like it.

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