Re: Slightly OT: bad rap for Fedora, and realistic effects

Chris Mohler wrote:
[snip]
Fedora has to
compete with a one-disk install of Windows XP, that can be installed
in an hour with no babysitting. Fedora installs require one to switch
disk three or four times.

No way. Win XP comes with NOTHING. You can't even open ZIP file. FC
includes thousands(?) of programs. Not a fair comparison.

Since FC5, I only download the first two discs and do a minimal
install. I then yum groupinstall Gnome, KDE, etc. Actual time I need
to be present is about an hour - do XP and say 100 applications and
tell me how long it takes you.

Chris

I'll second that. With Fedora, you can get a complete word-processing suite (though why they disabled the Replacement list in AutoCorrect for OpenOffice Writer, no one has ever explained), compilation and linking tools for nearly every programming language of any consequence, your choice of two database managers, and a complete set of network diagnostic tools.

Whereas with Windows XP (I can't vouch for Vista) you're limited to one each rich-text and plain-text editors, a very crude and non-robust firewall, /no/ development tools (and you're lucky to get a Java Runtime Environment), and a browser whose chief or only recommendation is that Microsoft has convinced a lot of Web sites to "optimize" their content for it.

Updating can be set to automatic, but it is like walking a tightrope stretched over a bed of swords (as you can see in the Joan Crawford motion picture /Berserk/) while wearing a blindfold. Once in fact, a Windows XP update broke every applications' ability to save new documents, or alter old ones. I had to /roll back/ some updates--by /trial and error/--to correct this fault.

At least with Fedora you can use a package manager that reads repository metadata and tells you what it wants to update, what that package does, and what it requires.

Now I'd certainly like to see some programs that can help me do certain things better than I can do them today. I tried for a week to set up a decent environment for creating and burning DVD-Video disks. No joy. And right now, an awful lot of sites, many of which are very popular, are offering multimedia content in proprietary formats. Until YouTube, for example, at least allows an Ogg Theora option, you still have to go--er--elsewhere to find reverse-engineered codecs that permit you to read more on the site than its text and still images.

Nevertheless, I do the bulk of my work on a Fedora machine, including writing and development. And if RH gets ready to implement a 13-month security-update support cycle for F7 and beyond, then it will definitely become the distro of choice for building a HIPAA-compliant server of laboratory and other medical data--which is my current project.

Temlakos

--
fedora-list mailing list
fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list

Relevant Pages

  • Re: fedora-list Digest, Vol 8, Issue 362 (Out of office reply.)
    ... Subject: FC1 Users: Sample yum.conf for Fedora Legacy Updates ... However, more importantly the same problems that beset 1.0 PR1 also beset 1.0 RC1: namely, you cannot install extensions or add search engines as an ordinary user. ... I have to swap between Disk 1 and Disk 2>when I boot-up my PC. ... It is very inconvenient so I>want to setup dual-boot such that I am able to select>the OS at the boot-up time and, in the futre, I can>always switch back to single boot with Windows XP disk>only. ...
    (Fedora)
  • Re: OT: Two ways Microsoft sabotages Linux desktop adoption
    ... I tried Windows when it was v2.0 and crashed so often DOS apps were more attractive. ... I became disillusioned with Microsoft when they started bullying companies, created the registry fiasco, rushed incomplete products to market, and has produced an operating system so insecure it spawned an industry of virus / adware / spyware software companies. ... The XP Pro install took over three hours from start to finish where a typical Fedora installation took me just about an hour. ...
    (Fedora)
  • Re: Asus M2N32 sli deluxe
    ... Only downside to Fedora so far. ... lvm in windows. ... When you did the Fedora install did you do a custom partition or did you ... I'm running multiple VMs now. ...
    (comp.os.linux.hardware)
  • Re: OS Future now that Fedora Legacy defunct
    ... The lack of long-term support will hurt Fedora. ... install the latest on each and every computer as opposed to just on a ... but for my wife's computer or my development network 13 ... I hear complaints about RPM that sound like Windows DLL Hell ...
    (Fedora)
  • Re: Newby Problem
    ... > I have installed Fedora core 4 on one of my machines and all seems well ... On every package that I select I receive ... Even though they all install and work fine it is a real ... >> Yes, when I copy it on my PC, it opens properly ...
    (Fedora)