The Importance of Being Debian

Linux Magazine ^ | March, 2K2 | Robert McMillan

[rdb3]

I'm not gonna go there. But here are two links that you may find interesting:
Darwin x86
The x86 OS X Success Strategy

They both open in new windows.

[dheretic]

Nope. x86 is a dead-end processor architecture anyway. I've started making the switch to Macs now. The hardware is a lot nicer and the software is a lot sleeker than anything for PCs.

[decimon]

Here's version 3.0.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,391079,00.asp

[rdb3]

Now why'd I do that? I spent two hours last night building the new Linux kernel into the old Debian, finally got it to work with tons of dependency changes, now this new distro with the new kernel was already out.

What did I get out of that? Practice. That's it. Never can have too much practice.
Walking away grumbling...

[decimon]

You have far more patience for this stuff than I do.

[rdb3]

You have far more patience for this stuff than I do.

Ha! I'm far from an expert, but I do take pride in being called a "geek's geek." ;-)

[tsomer]

Thanks for the link. The Linux idea is appealing, and a sure antidote to escalating software maintenance costs and increasingly invasive techniques by the big developers.

It's a quandary: though I believe property rights are the foundation of privacy rights, intellectual property rights seem to be metastasizing into something pernicious. I haven't thought this out systematically, but what better proof do you need than to here of some schnook getting hauled in by 40 government agents and getting 4 years?

I grew up around farms; my uncle fixed most of the problems around his place, tractors and trucks. That's another cornerstone, and the black box approach of most developers is undermining it. The linux user is the current analogy to the shade tree mechanic, and that embodies quintessential American ideal.

Even so, I confess that Linux scares the hell out of me. Do you think a total "end user" boob can ever get a handle on it, without it becoming his exclusive hobby?

[rdb3]

Even so, I confess that Linux scares the hell out of me. Do you think a total "end user" boob can ever get a handle on it, without it becoming his exclusive hobby?

Yes!

That fear you have is what the big developers depended on: FUD. But you weren't an expert at Windows 95 when it first came out were you? How about NT 3.x or 4.0? 2000? XP?

You can learn this platform easily, and you don't have to worry about the command-line which geeks like me love. In fact, I'd be even willing to help teach you online.

Start here with a distro of your choice at LinuxISO.org. I'd recommend a distro like Mandrake, but whatever you do, stay away from Slackware at this time. That's an expert's Linux.

Choose an office suite, such as OpenOffice and you're good to go. Any questions you have just ask, and I'll be more than happy to help. Consultation is a part of my new business, you know. ;-)

[TechJunkYard]

Only problem with Debian is it is a couple of kernel builds behind.

Flash! Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 released... ("Woody" is current stable..) kernel 2.4 support.. KDE 2.2 .. FHS 2.2 .. XFree86 4.1 ...