Re: Suggestion on which distro to choose...
From: Rod Smith (rodsmith_at_nessus.rodsbooks.com)
Date: 04/16/04
- Next message: Bill S.: "Re: ASCII text garbled on FTP download?"
- Previous message: Mike: "Re: Will Linux eventually take over the desktop market?"
- In reply to: Curt Godwin: "Re: Suggestion on which distro to choose..."
- Next in thread: Curt Godwin: "Re: Suggestion on which distro to choose..."
- Reply: Curt Godwin: "Re: Suggestion on which distro to choose..."
- Reply: mjt: "Re: Suggestion on which distro to choose..."
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 11:08:04 -0400
In article <BsedneZ_m-Poo-Ld4p2dnA@adelphia.com>,
"Curt Godwin" <blue_xterra@please.removefornospam.msn.com> writes:
> "mjt" <mjtobler@removethis_mail.ru> wrote in message
> news:yXGfc.12210$A_4.7022@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>>
>> ... you have to understand the *philosophy"
>> of the different distros.
...
>> Xandros: take a great distro and make it better.
>> make it as effortlessly as possible for the user.
I agree that understanding the "philosophy" of the distributions will
help you to differentiate between them and choose one. IMHO, though, your
presentation of the Xandros philosophy sounds like an ad. My own
perspective is somewhat different. There is no such thing as "better" in
Linux distributions, at least not in any broad and absolute way. What's
better for you may be worse for me. In the case of Xandros, it's clearly
designed for desktop users with limited Linux experience and limited
desire to learn about Linux's intricacies. It makes some things nearly
effortless, as you say, but in the process it ties your hands and makes
other things harder than they are in other distributions. (One example
comes later.)
Overall and IMHO, Xandros is good for Linux newbies who don't want to
learn much about the guts of the OS. It's not what I'd recommend for
somebody who wants to delve more deeply into Linux administration,
though.
> OK - so it is a difference in philosophy. What I'm getting at is that if I
> have an operational understanding of Xandros, and then I sit down at a RH,
> Mandrake, etc. machine, will I basically feel at home or will I be just as
> lost as I am right now?
Xandros is more similar to RH or Mandrake than it is to Windows, but
depending on how you've learned it and what you've learned about it, you
might have a lot to learn about RH or Mandrake should you switch to them.
Specifically, many distributions, including Xandros, now ship with GUI
tools for common system administration tasks. These tools differ
substantially from one distribution to another. Thus, if you learn how to
administer the system using the GUI tools, you'll have to learn new tools
when you switch distributions. OTOH, if you bypass the GUI tools and
learn the underlying configuration files, a switch between distributions
won't be as disruptive, as they share more similarities under the GUI
"skin." Even there, though, there are some differences, and Xandros tends
to follow the Debian model rather than the RH/Mandrake model.
> I'm not trying to be facetious - I really want to learn Linux. But I don't
> want that knowledge to be very narrow.
If you're learning Linux on *ANY* single distribution, your knowledge will
necessarily be at least somewhat narrow. Install and use half a dozen and
you'll get a much better idea of what's common and what's not. If you want
to learn a "typical" Linux, I'd have to say to try Red Hat (or Fedora),
simply because it's the most common distribution, at least in the US. If
you want to be productive in Linux, though, the answer has more to do with
your own skill level and other needs.
> Will I install software basically
> the same way on Xandros as I would on other distros?
Not if you use the GUI. Xandros provides a GUI software installation
tool. This tool is well designed for newbies, but gives you a rather
limited set of options for what to install, and although many
distributions provide tools with similar functionality, they all work
differently. OTOH, if you bypass the GUI tool and use the underlying APT
tools (mainly one called "apt-get"), you'll be installing using a common
Debian tool. You can also install APT on most RPM-based distributions,
although it's not standard with most of them.
> Is security management basically the same?
Yes in the underlying mechanisms, but again, Xandros provides its own GUI
tools. (I don't recall offhand what specific security options they
provide, though.)
> When new kernels come out...new GUI's...etc...will
> those be available to me, or do I have to wait for a Xandros-specific
> version?
Once again, if you use the stock GUI administration tools, you'll be
stuck waiting for the Xandros-specific versions. Incidentally, Xandros
provides precisely *ONE* GUI desktop environment (KDE). There's no
obvious way to select others using the Xandros GUI system administration
tools. Personally, I have managed to do it, but only by dropping down to
APT to install the alternatives and then editing some text-mode
configuration files. With some other distributions, selecting other
desktop environments is easy; they automatically appear as options at the
login screen, once installed. (This is my example of something that
Xandros' philosophy makes harder.)
FWIW, I've got a review site with information on many distributions,
including Xandros, at:
http://www.rodsbooks.com/distribs/
-- Rod Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com http://www.rodsbooks.com Author of books on Linux, FreeBSD, and networking
- Next message: Bill S.: "Re: ASCII text garbled on FTP download?"
- Previous message: Mike: "Re: Will Linux eventually take over the desktop market?"
- In reply to: Curt Godwin: "Re: Suggestion on which distro to choose..."
- Next in thread: Curt Godwin: "Re: Suggestion on which distro to choose..."
- Reply: Curt Godwin: "Re: Suggestion on which distro to choose..."
- Reply: mjt: "Re: Suggestion on which distro to choose..."
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
Relevant Pages
|
