[NBLUG/talk] Debian vs. Others

ME dugan at passwall.com
Wed Apr 2 13:53:01 PST 2003


Everyone has their own reasons for choosing and/or changing their Linux
Distro. I do not suggest that a user new to *NIX start with Debian unless
they really have some time to invest in learning about the OS.

Mandrake and RedHat have been considered by many to be some of the easiest
to install, and they permit people to get a feel for what can be done in a
Linux system without the headache of having to learn everything,
all-at-once.

Many strict Debian installs do not try to "think" for you and set things
for you. Often Debian installs insclude many questions that allow you to
have more control over what is done during the install. Many of the
choices you are offered during the installed are made with the assumption
you know the plusses and minuses for each. Certainly, most of the
"Default" choices are desired by most people, but the level of control and
questions you are asked can place an excessive burden on a new user who
has no idea about the plusses and minuses for each installation option.

With many of the easy-to-install and easy-to-use Linux distros, they force
(or strongly "request") the user to use special GUI tools to configure
options and then convert your changes into config file changes. Attempts
to edit these config files by hand with a text edit can lead to loss of
manual changes the next time the GUI tool is lost, or lead to other
unpredictable behavior.

With Debian, a majority of config files are edited with an editor by hand
(or can at least be edited by hand) witout risking loss of changes through
running another tool or application. Some of te config file options read
in the config files are not exactly intuitive for understanding the
ramifications of making a change unless you read the man pages.

Some people have shifted from RedHat to Debian because they get tired of
the forced charges in updates when RH 9.0 comes out after they just
recently paid for RH 8. (Debian is "free")

RH seems to be ahead of Debain when it comes to "X" as newer versions of X
are offered, incorportated into the Distro sooner than with Debian. (Yes,
I know about sid and availability of newer X Servers.) Also, manufacturers
tend to target RH for releases of pre-packaged modules and drivers for new
hardware not covered by present Linux kernels. Users of other distros like
Debian sometimes must download source and make it themselves.

Debian has had a history of being proactive with security, and it seems I
find more Debian users are programmers.

If you are new to Linux, starting out with RH or Mandrake is a great way
to get into the game. Many people are perfectly content with these as they
do everything they need. However, some people are not happy with what they
are offered and want to be able to customize every little detail, and then
they will often choose a distro that offers more control but also more
initial work to setup.

If you have an extra machine, you could always make an appointment for the
installfest, and try an install of another distro to see if you like it
more.

Really, it comes down to flavor and choice; do you like chocolate, vanilla
or strawberry the most?

;-)

-ME


Ron Balch said:
> I have noticed that it seems that alot of people prefer Debian over other
> distrobutions.  I am currently using Mandrake, would there be any benefit
> to me use Debian instead?
>
> Thanks
>
> Ron (the newbie)




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