[wplug] Install session May 21st

[Brandon Kuczenski]

On Wed, 11 May 2005, Michael A. Smith wrote:

> Andy Johnson wrote:
>
>> I am interested in getting Slackware Linux(I think).  I'm new to
>> Linux.  I tinkered with Red Hat 9 before, but didn't get into the
>> command line at all or really learn much of anything.  If there is a
>> better distro for beginners, I'm interested.  My boss at work has been
>> trying to set me up on gentoo, though I think it is a bit out of my
>> league since I can't install it myself.
>>
>>
> Why not? I had more trouble with Slackware than with Gentoo, myself.
> Honestly, though, I think your request for "getting to the command line"
> is at odds with your request for "distro for beginners".  Usually those
> markets are diametrically opposed.
>

I disagree.  There's nothing that says you can't use a UI-geared distro 
with a focus on command-line usage.  I started with Redhat 9 (which caused 
problems because sometimes the ui tools over-wrote the config file 
changes) but then moved on to Debian.  I think, if you are willing to do 
the extra research necessary to use CLI tools when you need to tinker, 
there's no reason to abstain from the niceties of a novice-oriented 
distro.

More important than choosing a 'hands-dirty' distro, I think, is using 
Linux exclusively for day to day computing, for at least awhile, and 
setting a high standard of functionality, optimality, and efficiency. 
Don't "make do" when a better solution is available, even if it requires 
some digging to implement the better solution.

>From what I hear, Gentoo can be good for that but I have no firsthand 
experience.  Debian's quite good but I started with it after using Redhat 
for several months.  I'm currently having bad luck with ubuntu 
(debian-based), but I'll let you know how I feel once I get my kinks 
worked out.

I would recommend avoiding rpm-based distros (Fedora, Mandrake) since 
my experience suggests they don't handle dependency problems as well as 
APT/Deb does.


> Anyway, the installfests are there to help you install stuff. If you
> want help with Slackware, no doubt someone can help you. If you decide
> to kiss up to/one-up the boss, someone will be able to help you with
> Gentoo, no doubt.
>
> Besides Slack and Gentoo, Debian is also a fairly educational distro for
> the beginner, I think. One of the BSDs, (Net, Open, Free) although not
> linux, might also be a good choice to learn to use the command-line.

I strongly recommend FreeBSD, but only once you have experience with CLI 
stuff ALREADY, and once you know you have both a high demand for control 
over your system and a high tolerance/desire for the "pedantic aesthetics" 
of system operation.  It is NOT a beginner's system and MANY of the 
default settings are (IMHO) somewhat antiquated (csh by default, for 
example).

I made the mistake of recommending FreeBSD to a OSS-novice friend and when 
he called on me to help, I remembered the two or three days I had spent 
wrangling with the system before I considered it "usable" when I first 
installed FreeBSD.  Now I could never part with it but the initial 
learning curve is formidable.

-Brandon