[ale] linux recommendations

[Geoffrey]

James Sumners wrote:
> If you read the welcome message at the boot prompt it tells you that
> you can press F1 through F5(?) for additional options. That is where
> it tells you about the other boot images on the CD. All you need to
> install Debian is the first CD; the other six CDs are just extra
> software that you might use some day.
> 
> You really have to decide what the machine is to be used for before
> calling it stale.

I would say that when your stable kernel is two series behind everyone 
else's it's stale.  We'll just have to agree to disagree.

> Debian is a different beast than the hand holding distros like SuSE
> or Red Hat. I think that if you give it time and really learn how the
> Debian system works you won't turn back. You do have to read though.

I don't see SuSE or Red Hat as hand holding.  That would be Linspire, 
Xandros and such.  SuSE, Mandrake and Red Hat are a lot more polished 
than Debian. But you can get to the more geeky stuff.  I kinda like the 
fact that it figures out my network card driver.

There is a reason the kernel is at 2.6 right now.  I just can't see 
running one or two kernel series back.  For example, you have support 
for prism54 wireless cards in the 2.6 kernel.  There are a number of 
efficiencies built into the newer kernels.  I just don't see going that 
route.  I wouldn't be able to run GIMP 2.0, much less 2.2.  There's all 
kinds of things that I use now, that would either be painful to get 
working (prism54) or not work at all (GIMP 2.0).

-- 
Until later, Geoffrey