GeneralThis forum is for non-technical general discussion which can include both Linux and non-Linux topics. Have fun!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
to graphical Linux and going strictly to command line.
I figure it's either now or never...besides I can fool with it being a graphical desktop anytime I want anyways (which is what I mainly did). I talk about how much I wanna learn command line but having graphical there is like added temptation so that I really never apply myself. Best way to stick with it is to take it away. Plus it'll give me an opportunity to restore my network to what is was before (running samba, ftp, Apache, MySQL, etc) and do it all from command line. Sort of like my goals at the end of the tunnel. Yeah it may take longer but oh well...I'll manage.
With this in mind, I am kinda wondering if I should change distributions. Using Fedora Core 3 now....my buddy is more into Slackware and says I should give it a try....he's got the disks so if I need it he's got it.
Hey, congrats! I really only use the GUI for photo editing and surfing the internet.
As to moving to a different distro, I would personally stay. Sure, slackware is awesome (it's what I'm running now), but I would stay in a familiar environment until I'm confident in the command line. Then, you can do whatever.
Gentoo takes hours to install ... took me like 2 hours to install Firefox, I would stay away from there. You can try Slackware but it's kind of the same as Fedora in a way (it is a distro of linux right?)
I would stay and play and then when you get good at command line, then give it a try!
Slackware is much easier to get used to 'by command line'.
Most other distributions have config files that are cluttered up by different GUI tools. Slackware's config files are very well commented and tell you what your available options are where, and when to use them.
It's much easier than you think.
Plus, it lets you learn VI better, which you'll find under any distirbution.
One of the first things I do under a fresh Slack installation is set up the basic .vimrc --
cp /usr/share/vim/vim63/vimrc_example .vimrc
from my home directory to get nice context-based highlighting and color editing. :-D
I thought, until I actually opened the trhead, that this was one of those "goodbye LQ" type of threads. Excellent choice, moving to Slackware, I (and this is my opinion only) find myself to limited and "enclosed" using gui only distros. Slack will definitely get you thinking.
Originally posted by XavierP I thought, until I actually opened the trhead, that this was one of those "goodbye LQ" type of threads. Excellent choice, moving to Slackware, I (and this is my opinion only) find myself to limited and "enclosed" using gui only distros. Slack will definitely get you thinking.
Somehow Slackware has not worked for me. Gentoo definitely would make a good "minimalist" distro.
It actually doesn't take hours to install if you want only a basic command line with a few utilities.
Also it has excellent documentation. Anyway, that's my choice because it works for me. I probably could have got Slackware to work for me too, but anyway...
I'm a Slack-addict as any of my friends could tell you - I love Slackware and have to reccomend it.
It removes a lot of junk, and comes with a huge development library so nearly anything can be compiled from source.
Slackware is a lot lot simpler if you are trying to learn the command line from the GUI, than if your using Gentoo.
I was using slack on my slacktop (IBM T22) and i thought i'd give gentoo a try as gentoo apps are optimised for my laptop's PIII. No doubt gentoo is way harder to install (i had to read the handbook in links while i was installing it) than Slack, but it runs way faster.
Personally myself, for a first-time CLI distro, slackware all the way.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.