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Operating Systems => Linux and UNIX => Topic started by: psyjax on 19 May 2003, 06:12
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hey folks, Im about to head on home now that I'm graduating and all. Which means that I'll also have some time to mess with my toy err.. PC ;)
Anyway, currently I'm running RedHat 8.0 on it, but I wanna try out a new distro. I have been hearing great things about Mandrake 9. RedHat 8.0 has been rather fun, but I want something new.
The comp is an Athalon XP 2100, 256MB RAM, GeForce 4 MX, 40GB HD. I want the linux I install to dual boot with win 98SE (for games, like I said this PC is my toy).
I wan't a distro that's easy to use, and, well, interesesting. I want something new. Redhat feels very clinical and generic. I want a Linux distro that will be fun as well as challenging.
I wan't to use this distro as a platfrom to port my SDL based game. What do you guys think?
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well, redhat9 is out, but if you don't like redhat, then i'd go with slackware9
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quote:
Originally posted by Siplus: *Capitalist*:
well, redhat9 is out, but if you don't like redhat, then i'd go with slackware9
Isin't slack supposed to be the MOST challanging distro?
Mandrake 9 is looking very apealing. It has anto-aliased fonts! *gasp*
I'm a sucker for eye candy.
No, realy, how hard is slack?
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Slack isn't too hard, you just have to like a text install - not too hard. If you don't have any problems with difficult install processes I would recomend Debian - aside from the difficulties of configuration, difficulties of installation and the "ease of use / pretty graphics, what are they?" parts Debian rules. But Mandrake would probably be my second favorite - it seems to be a very refined and elegant distro - it gives you a very painless environment to work in, but if you want more power it lets you get to the difficult stuff very quickly - not that you need to. (http://smile.gif) Mandrake rules, it's a pity they went bankrupt. :(
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9.1 has the anti aliased fonts I think, not 9.0.
quote:
I'm a sucker for eye candy.
^ Just noticed that. If you really love eye candy go with Mandrake not Debian. (http://smile.gif)
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Hmmm... I have been hearing that the download version of Mandrake 9.1 comes with fewer drivers and applications. Is this true?
Does it have KDevelop! :D
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quote:
Originally posted by psyjax: plain 'ol psyjax:
Hmmm... I have been hearing that the download version of Mandrake 9.1 comes with fewer drivers and applications. Is this true?
Does it have KDevelop! :D
Who knows, but it's on the cover of this months Linux Format, along with the contrib packages.
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quote:
Originally posted by Tux:
Who knows, but it's on the cover of this months Linux Format, along with the contrib packages.
Hmmm... I think my local alternative record store actually carries that rag :D , maybe I'll pick it up.
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SuSE 8.2, SuSE 8.2, SuSE 8.2.
Did I mention SuSE
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Um i would go with Slackware 9 personally. I switched from Red Hat 9 to slack and i loved it. There are some things that were challenging but nothin i could not overcome. Except maybe my vid card problem but that isnt nething wron with Slack just my mobo/vid card dont like. Also i herd Suse 8.2 is nice. Havent used it yet but from my experience with previos ones i have loved it and it has lots of eye candy.
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well folks, I have downloaded both Mandrake 9.1 and RedHat 9.
I have been running RedHat 8 for a while. The problem I find with it, is that it's just not inviting enugh. Remember I'm a MacOS nerd (http://smile.gif) .
I wan't a linux that feels like a comfy warm blanket :D hheeheheheh... errr... yea.
So umm... I hear Slackware is a big pain in the butt to set up... but hey, I'm gonna have alot of spare time lookin fora job and all ( :( ) may as well learn a thing or two.
So ummm.... how do you folks weigh in on Slackware?
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I am clueless without a GUI and I found Slack9 was actually easy to set up its really very straight forward(as long as you know what programs do what when you're choosing them).
I just found that it holds true to its description as being the most unix like Distro. Not a bad thing just thought I would point that out.
Try Debian or Gentoo as well if your good withe command line
Im not so I stick with SuSE, Red hat, Mandrake
I hate to say it but I prefer Red hat 7.3 to 8 or 9
Another deciding factor in your choice of Distro is which you prefer Gnome or KDE
Redhat likes Gnome Mandrake, SuSE like KDE
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Mandrake 9.1 is my favorite of the new distros, but I havent tried Suse yet. Ive also fallen in love with Blackbox, its a super lightweight window manager that is simple and effective.
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OK Kids! I got Redhat 9 and Mandrake 9.1!
Im only gonna install one cuz I don't wanna go thrugh all the truble twice in a row. (at least for a little while)
Weigh in on the vote! Which one should I go for? Depending on the tally by May 23, it will determine which I will install. (write in votes are also conisdered (i.e. other linux distros) but please also vote for one of the two above).
Thanks folks!
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never used mandrake but i use Red Hat 9 now, real easy to install and use, so i vote Red Hat 9
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I found a cool different linux... Simply GNUStep. I can't actually get XFree86 to work , but they have a demo boot disk, it boots off of the cd and it looks really cool. Very different from standard linux. Its a lot like NeXT and OSX. No Eye candy except good photo realistic icons.
http://simplygnustep.sourceforge.net (http://simplygnustep.sourceforge.net)
P.S. if you get XFree86 to work could you tell me how.
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I would have to say Red hat.
easy to use, easy to install (most newer distros are), and really easy to find software.
Many Linux Programs found in RPM format are designed for Red hat first then tweaked for other RPM based Systems. MDK SuSE etc (I said MANY not all apps)
Looks very very clean and professional.
I think bluecurve is headed in the right direction
for attracting new users to Linux.
being that it is the most popular of distros its very easy to find answers to the most impossible of questions.
I will say Nay to Mandrake only because If they really are Bankrupt you won't know if you can get MDK specific RPMs (not that it really matters to most users with a LITTLE experience)
Other than that I understand your dilema, you've got to choose between two of the best.
Frankly I would install MDK first then put Red hat on and boot both in GRUB with Redhat.
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quote:
I will say Nay to Mandrake only because If they really are Bankrupt you won't know if you can get MDK specific RPMs
That's not going to be a problem at all. It's so easy to download "tarballs" and use them to roll your own RPMs that 'Drake RPMs will remain available even if MandrakeSoft goes bye-bye.
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Live Free or Die: Linux
(http://www.otakupc.com/etsig/dolphin.gif)
"There: now you'll never have to look at those dirty Windows anymore"
--Daffy Duck
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Psyjax, Slackware is easy. If you really want an adventure, and a change from Linux, get a BSD. FreeBSD 4.8 has just come out so you're timing's good.
Oh and many Lycoris 3.0 rpms are compatible with Mandrake and vice versa, in case you are interested.
[ May 21, 2003: Message edited by: The Realist ]
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If you're a speed phreak and you're up to the challenge try one of these:
Gentoo (http://www.gentoo.org/)
Sorcerer (http://sorcerer.wox.org/) or
Linux From Scratch (http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/).
If you're not interested in compiling everything from scratch, and just want to learn much about the system, try Slackware (http://www.slackware.org/), it's actually the easiest distro to use if you want to learn the processes in your GNU/Linux box.
But if you just wanna try out a debian-based distro, try Morphix (http://morphix.sourceforge.net/modules/news/).
Most of all, since you've got time, i recommend trying the BSD's, specifically, FreeBSD (http://www.freebsd.org/). Also, OpenBSD (http://www.openbsd.org/), or NetBSD (http://www.netbsd.org/).
I didn't know FreeBSD already released 4.8. - i'll try it. I have here their 4.7-RELEASE and 5.0-CURRENT, but i still can't get it to run X.
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i'd say redhat9, but that's cause it's what i use. i don't know if you want to count my very biased vote cause i've never really used mandrake (i tried 8.2, but you can't use that to compare rh and md when ur using the newest releases)
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Psyjax, ignore these porple and take my advice. :D I have been using Red Hat 8.0 almost since its release. Over the months I've fucked it up by adding so many apps built for other versions of redhat or other distros, along with numerous alpha and beta packages, that it could be mistaken for Windows ME with a facelift! After accepting the fact that my redhat was lost I decided to try somthing new. I downloaded 4 distros to try so I could make a dual boot with the two I liked best. I just had to check out Evil Entity just to see what its like and let me tell you: it ROCKS!
Its fast, lightweight, stable, and very interesting. If you're looking for somthing fun, new, interesting, and different from other the standard distros, nothing will beat Evil Entity. Its a few rungs up from Red Hat in the challenge department, but much easier to install and use than Slackware, Debian or Gentoo (which I'm still fighting with). Installation takes just over a half hour. The desktop is Enlightenment which is quite different from KDE or Gnome and might take a bit of getting used to; but looks really cool esp. if you're into gothic. I wasn't expecting it to function very well, but I was wrong. Actually it is very stable and, so far at least, seems to run much more efficiently than Red Hat ever did.
Give it a try at least, version 0.25 is out, and be sure to jot down you monitors specs before installing.
Good Luck and Have Fun
;) V ;)
edit: I really am a bad speller.
[ May 22, 2003: Message edited by: Doctor V ]
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Of all the newest distros I've tried so far, I'm really fond of RH 8.0 as well as Mandrake 9.0. I haven't tried RH 9.0 or Mandrake 9.1 just yet, but if I had to choose between these two, I'd take RH. (http://smile.gif)
I also have to say that SuSE was my distro of choice, until versions 8.0 and 8.1, which were really disappointing. However, I've read many positive reviews about 8.2.
As for Slack, I still haven't given it a try, but I'll take the others' word for it that it rocks. (http://smile.gif)
Anyway, it's a tough choice psyjax, but my final suggestion would be RH 9.0. ;)
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Hmmm... this evil entety intrigues me :D
What kind of Package Management does it use? And how can I be sure that most linux apps will work on it without annoying compile times and gcc errors?
I do want to use this as a dev. platform to get used to programming on X86. I am familiar with KDevelop wich I realy enjoyed for teh brief time I used it... can you install KDE easely on EvilE? Or will I be stuck programming with emacs :D
hhehe.... well ya see what I mean.
Anyway, the linux seems quirky, speedy, and kinda fun. What do you know about the answers to my questions?
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It is slackware based, so it uses tgz slackpacks. (EvilEntity)
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Evil Entitys own package management system, the Masoleum, is still being developed. But yes, any linux app should work with no trouble . That being said, you might be able to get RPM or portage to run, who knows. Then again, there's nothing wrong with tgz files. You can install KDE on it like any other app, but EvilE has Enlightenment set up so well that you might not want to. I'm sure there are plenty of other dev tools that can be put on there that work in Enlightenment. It does come with dev tools, I'll take a look at them again and report back.
If you do install it, when it brings up a option on a green screen where you can choose (Y)es or (N)o you have to enter a small 'y' for yes.
V
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I should be getting Mandrake 9.1 in the mail soon, so when I do, I'll let everyone know how it is! :D [got it for one cent on ebay]
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Did Mandrake go bankrupt? I heard that they have finanacial difficulties, but I was not aware of their demise. I don't see any mention on their website.
I would recommend FreeBSD over Slackware or Debian. It is much easier to set up, and just as customisable. Even recompiling the kernel is a simpler process (I think). The disadvantage is the limited number of applications available (although you can run Linux programs just as well as natively). I don't think you can do that for kernel modules or drivers, though (such as support for filesystems).
I have tried many Linux distributions, but I never found anything suitable to my liking. Even FreeBSD is not quite what I need. I am constantly changing between distros and OSes.
Maybe I'll check Evil Entity. Anyone has a link?
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quote:
Originally posted by psyjax: plain 'ol psyjax:
Isin't slack supposed to be the MOST challanging distro?
Mandrake 9 is looking very apealing. It has anto-aliased fonts! *gasp*
I'm a sucker for eye candy.
No, realy, how hard is slack?
Not hard at all really, it is pretty fucking easy actually.
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For evil entity go to:
undeadlinux.com (http://undeadlinux.com/)
Psyjax:
As far as development tools, it comes with VIM (ugh), jedit which is a text editor like nedit or kedit, Qt Designer which I think is like kdevelope, Glade - a visual basic like development thingy for linux, and GCVS which I don't know a hell of alot about. I think you should be more than all set for programming using Evil Entity.
V
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well folks I d-loaded EvilE, RedHat 9, and Mandrake 9.1.
I just threw the cds into a bag and drew one. It was Mandrake 9.1. It's real nice! Kinda like I wanted. It's very inviting and easy to settle into. I also like the fact that it comes with many different Wndow Managers pre-installed. I finaly get to try iceWM and Enlightenment which are very nice! I love how diferently the desktop metaphore is aproached in those environments.
So ya, Mandrake is nice. Im gonna use it till I get board then probably install EvilE.
But please folks, keep posting suggestions, I like to hear about peoples experience with all the diferent distros.
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Been suggested already, but Slack is fun.