[AuckLUG] Installing Linux

[Chilling_Silence]

Liz wrote:
> On Wed, 2007-04-25 at 22:03 +1200, Denise Bates wrote:
>
>   
>> What rubbish! linuxpackages has a huge repository of slackware-specific 
>> applications. Despite (or perhaps because of) the relatively simple .tgz 
>> based slackware packages, dependency-related problems hardly ever arise.
>>     
> Whilst this may be true, I think the meaning was more along the lines of not having to go hunting and searching for everything. Just click something in the menu and presto its a pretty gui style thing.
>
> Otherwise you could say that LFS (Linux From Scratch) was better because
> you can find the tarballs and compile them easily enough too :)
>
> Liz
Also, same can be said for Gentoo.

Seriously though, the Slackware installer for many new people is simply 
off-putting. Same said for a multitude of others, and realistically its 
nowhere near as breezy as the Ubuntu one.

Im a confessed Gentoo addict, but having tried Ubuntu 7.04 to see what 
the fuss was about, Im happy with the install!
Booted from the LiveCD, selected some free space, and it installed. Easy!
Im not gonna bother getting into any debate or argument about Slackware 
or Gentoo, Ive used both for considerable periods of time, but that ease 
of installation can rarely be beaten, and certainly not by either of 
those two distros.
Also, the migration abilities of Ubuntu looked cool (I didnt want any 
doze stuff brought across, so didnt try it) and the installation of 
codecs & nVidia drivers amongst other things are very cool!

I used Slackware for quite a considerable period of time because it was 
so easy to compile updated versions of things when they came out, like 
Gaim's previously frequent release cycle. But seriously, many people 
dont give a rats ass about compiling and just want a Desktop (As Richard 
asked for).
The question is always being asked "Has it matured enough for the 
average Joe's (Richards) desktop use?". For some, yes! But for many, 
no.. and its because of the debates about "I like Slackware (Or XYZ, Im 
not just picking on Slackware), everythings on the CD, if not then 
compile it". Realistically... People dont want to compile.
Im a gentoo user, Im a fanatic, but Gentoo's not worth recommending in 
this instance! If people want a distro that requires compiling, then as 
Liz mentioned they can go with LFS! Or better yet, try the likes of 
Ubuntu, Knoppix, SimplyMEPIS, whatever and THEN move to something like 
Slackware. Compiling an application on occasion was not requested. 
Slackware just isnt ready for the 'new linux user' prime-time, by any 
stretch of the imagination!
The user had an issue with mounting a drive, let alone compiling 
software (and theres nothing wrong with that, we've all been there).

Two thumbs up for Ubuntu 7.04 from me, even though Ive already killed 
the graphical service-management software on my install.

Also, for the record, if you sudo anything in Ubuntu (tried in 7.04), 
the password is that of the user you created during install ;-) Took me 
a bit to figure that one out too!

Cheers


Chill.


P.S. If you want to disagree with me about Distro XYZ, do so off-list so 
as not to spam the rest of the people who arent interested either.