That's it....I'm going Debian

PostCode

PostCode

Perverted Penguin
Staff member
If AOL buys RedHat then it's goodbye to that OS. I will not use any product owned by that company. I'll go to Debian rather than go with RedHat. They are gonna lose a lot of devoted customers if this deal goes through. RedHat wouldn't mind...I mean, they get bought by AOL, then they're set. No need to worry about any financial issues for them. I also think AOL will twist the code into some damn proprietary crap that can't see didly squat and won't run on anything you have...oh and yes, you'll probably have to use AOL to get on the friggin Net! BAH!
 
fury

fury

Administrator
Staff member
Whether you like the company or not, you can't deny this will most likely get Linux as a whole the exposure it deserves, not just Redhat. True, Redhat will be in the center stage for a while due to the hype surrounding being bought by AOLTW (which is no doubt to come, them owning half the news sites on the internet etc), but once the smoke clears, the dust settles, and the blaring buzz has toned down to a calm hum, people will start actually recognizing other Linux distros for their potential in being a worthy desktop OS.
 
dnar

dnar

Psycho Penguin
Fear not. AOL will not aquire RedHat.

But then again, I may be wrong. I have been meaning to try Debian for a month now, maybe now is the time to try. RedHat are only just recently making profits no? Why sell now? And damn, with 7.2 they are really getting it together, at last.
 
danleff

danleff

New Member
Hi;

OK, I'll toss myself in. I have Redhat 7.1 installed with the 2.4.16 kernel XFS patch. In my quest for knowledge and the best system that I can have, can I go with 7.2 or Debian without too much of a hassle? I know that 7.2 has ext3 built in, but can I retain my XFS filesystem with either distro, or do I need to rebuild from scratch once 7.2 or Debian is installed?

For those who know me, (hey PostCode and dnar), will either distros allow me to upgrade over the XFS partitions (will 7.2 or Debian recognize/be able to use my XFS partitions to install? I'm looking to enhance packages such as KDE and still only have a dial-up connection (no DSL here) to work with.

Last question, if it seems reasonable to upgrade, it looks like Linux Central has RedHat in two flavors, install and source. Which one do I get?
 
dnar

dnar

Psycho Penguin
danleff said:
Hi;

OK, I'll toss myself in. I have Redhat 7.1 installed with the 2.4.16 kernel XFS patch. In my quest for knowledge and the best system that I can have, can I go with 7.2 or Debian without too much of a hassle? I know that 7.2 has ext3 built in, but can I retain my XFS filesystem with either distro, or do I need to rebuild from scratch once 7.2 or Debian is installed?

For those who know me, (hey PostCode and dnar), will either distros allow me to upgrade over the XFS partitions (will 7.2 or Debian recognize/be able to use my XFS partitions to install? I'm looking to enhance packages such as KDE and still only have a dial-up connection (no DSL here) to work with.

Last question, if it seems reasonable to upgrade, it looks like Linux Central has RedHat in two flavors, install and source. Which one do I get?
Click to expand...
Good question(s).

All my systems are RedHat 7.0 with manual upgrades to:-
kernel 2.2.19
XFree86 4.0.3
glibc 2.2.4
gcc 2.96-98
+ most user apps are bleeding edge/most current. I still run Gnome 1.2.

I have just built a pile of RH7.2 rigs for a client/friend and I am very impressed. With the exception of the kernel, XFree and only a few other apps, my hand upgraded systems are more current!

In fact, RedHat 7.2 is well behind in the app dept. but in front in system packages (Gnome, KDE, XFree86 etc).

I have no reason to upgrade my systems to 7.2 and I am very reluctant to do so. I stand to gain little from the exercise.

That said, I am still itching to try Debian. I am thinking of installing Debian on my oldest Linux box just for fun. From what I have seen in my probings around debian.org, I should install potato and then apt-get my way to "unstable". Bottom line, potato (stable) is well behind what i am used to in terms of package/app release versions.

My advise to you, would be build/upgrade from your existing base. If you dont have need to fully start again.
 
danleff

danleff

New Member
Hi;

Interesting that you mention trying out Debian on your old system. I downloaded and installed Debian base to fool around with it on my old faithful laptop. Can't get the PCMCIA stuff to work, so that I can use apt-get, but the commands feel very comfortable to me. I especially like dselect to install packages. Given the vintage of my Laptop, I'm also having some trouble getting my ol' Neomagic video up to par with the the stock (stable) x-window apps that were available (xfree 86 and Winmaker). Also, the touchpad does not work properly - can't figure this one out at all, although I think that I installed all the correct packages. DaMasta was kind enough to mail me a copy of Libranet, which has not come in the mail yet, but which should give me the full install to customize from. Given how comfortable I am with the base install and commands, I'm interested in trying this out. Debian should be kinder to my old laptop system, according to DaMasta. Mandrake 8.0 bogged it down with KDE, though it configured and ran without a hitch. Trying to get my wife to let me replace this ol' workhorse.

I'm anxious to try out apt-get, once I get it up and going. Have been through the RPM route with Mandake.

Once I got by the learning curve with RedHat 7.1 on my desktop, I really like it (very stable on my via chipset), but, as I said, would like to upgrade KDE (which is very easy to use and has good features). I understand the new update is even better, but with my dial-up connection....

Let me know how you like Debian. PostCode got me going on Linux. What's really interesting is the Lindows distro, though they want $99 to get in the front door. This would be the cat's meow, since I need Windows apps to do stuff from work.
 
fury

fury

Administrator
Staff member
$99 is a small price to pay (incidentally you only have to pay it ONCE and you can use it on all your computers!) to be able to run Linux and Windows programs on the same OS without having to use an emulator.
 
danleff

danleff

New Member
Hi;

Talk about incredible luck!

It's been confirmed... I am getting an IBM Thinkpad R30 for my personal use! 1gig processor, 15 gig HD and 128 memory. I don't ask questions!

Just as my ol' CTX seems to be craping out! The screen is fading out, comes back, then goes again.

Only probem is, that it comes pre-loaded with Win XP. This concerns me, given all the recent posts on BiosCentral regarding XP.

First order of business, install Libranet/Debian.

I've read the threads in the other forums here. Any thoughts on a dual boot with XP (some good news)?

My systems have been rock solid with Linux/WIN ME or Linux/WIN SE dual-boot systems.

Stay with XP dual-boot, or can I clean the HD and start from scratch? I can't recall if IBM is one of folks that the bios stores data on the hard drive.
 
danleff

danleff

New Member
Hi;

Come on folks, I'm trying to straddle the middle road here! Maybe I'll just take the plunge...the weekend is here!:smash:
 
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