LinuxQuestions.org - Bare-Bones Install

Hello,

Newbie here, downloaded RH8 and M9 and have a very basic question:

How do I perform a bare-bones install? I don't want anything but the basics. I want to install my own version of OpenOffice, I want to install my own version of Mozilla, I want to install my own version of FTP software. I want to install Samba myself. I don't want to use Ximian, I don't want to use Evolution, I don't want KOffice installed.

I like Mozilla for mail and Browsing, have a Palm calendars and such, and thus don't need all that extra stuff.

I realize some distros. install OpenOffice and Mozilla by default, which is OK, but what do I need to update or bugfix? Can I do that with the downloaded RPM's? Are they located in the same folders on RH and Mandrake as the distro RPM from the websites as is installed during setup (from the CD's)?

I prefer using RPM's (since I'm just starting out), but at least I know where it places the files and I know (reasonably) that I can remove it using RPM as well.

As a newbie, I learn much better going through the instructions and process of installing the software myself. I'm not a newbie to computers, networking, etc. (18+ years in the industry) but very new to installing and maintaining a Linux environment.

As the versions differ (sometimes quite a bit) from where they place certain files and/or what folders actually exist, I find it "extremely" confusing to try and hunt through the folders for files that should be there, only to find them someplace else.

I realize this sound more like a soapbox, but my frustration doesn't come from the seemingly "complexity" of Linux, but how to get a base-line install that I can build upon.