true win2k and xp are a lot better than 98, Me and yuk 95 but...

they still leave much to be desired

- perry

Linux: Telling Microsoft where to go today since 1991!


ROTFL

I used WinXP a few times but never saw its installation process, maybe that's why I didn't think of it, but I do know that Win2K has a non trivial installation! I was a little bit scared first time I needed to install it at work when I saw that huge number of services and network stuff to install or not. I lost quite a time to check all of them and understand what they do before just clicking next-next-next...(There's already too much security holes to just let some more get me installing unneeded modules...) Windows is not as easy as everybody thinks. Maybe easy to do simple stuff but very hard to manage more complicated processes. Linux instead, can be quite simple, i.e.: we prepared an Install-fest/Big Linux Class at the University and used Mandrake as the distribution. Most of the installation process was made just by clicking Next. We had some troublesome machines but only one or two. Everybody that was there went home very happy having their boxes with Linux and Windows. Many of them are now going from Mandrake to Debian and Slackware or even Gentoo. Some use Mandrake or RedHat 9.0... but most are really satisfied with linux. They use linux to listen to music, surf on the web, some gaming... they're just newbies who want to enjoy they're machines but have the mind open for new possibilities.

i hear interesting things about slackware

currently, using system commander, i have win98, win2k and mandrake all on my dell inspiron 7500 laptop sharing 12.5 gig. and all working reasonably well, i'm just wondering how much trouble it would be to be able to boot up under another linux distribution

i don't need to do that and i probably won't as i know when to say when, but i am wondering just what would be required

cheers

- perry

Slackware suits me very well, 'cause I want a good customization but still some help utilities while configuring hardware and stuff. It's very fast when talking about startup and X. Many of my Debian friends switched to Slackware because they could stand how Debian was slow for them (Not even talking about the lack of a new official release) But let's not start the old Slack vs. Debian Holy War. I like it's pkgtool way of installing stuff (Even though LinuxPackages.net has always tried to supply us with the lastest stuff some applications we have to install on our on). I think that what Slackware can give you is the freedom and flexibility from Debian but always providing you with the lastest stuff but always taking care about security.

<< i have win98, win2k and mandrake all on my dell inspiron 7500 laptop sharing 12.5 gig. >>

If you have all of that sharing a 12.5 gig hdd I don't thiink that you would have room for another distro. However, if you can squeeze another one in there, yes, you can have more than 1 linux distro on your hdd. You will at least have to edit lilo.conf if other distro doesn't pick up Win98, Win2k and Mandrake on its own.

Let's do!

Nah. But I do have Debian and Slack installed and I only ever boot Debian when I fsck up Slack and need it to fix stuff. I don't really like Debian and love/hate Slack. I went through a distro-hoping phase and landed firmly in Slack.

But I agree with ricdave - might be pushing some space limits there. But I have Debian on hda and Slack on hdb and Slack uses - well, not uses, but has the ability to use - Debian's swap since Debian's not doing anything with it. I just threw Debian's 2.4.18 kernel *rolleyes* in /boot and added it to lilo.conf. *shrug*

typed sorry, tried pretty pls, i think it's about to fill my screen with dirty words, ried to install be_nice-1.2-27.1.i386.rpm but it just laughed at me. i really need some help on this one, it's not in any manual (not that I read any) i think i'll switch back to winblow at least that os likes me for being ignorant.

But I do have to admit: Debian is very simple to maintain. Even newbies, if they can get someone to make the system ready for them it would be really simple with that apt-get stuff. Even RedHat copied it! Although sometimes all that dependency stuff can get really annoying.

The way to go for rookies--Mandrake! I got it in very easily, and it works better than Windows XP has proven to for me. I have lost XP TWICE and the System Recovery both times forced me to low-level format the disk BOTH TIMES! That proves, once again, that Windows still sucks to this day (at least to me anyway).

I think the ultimate holy war is actually Linux vs. Windows. ...and I'll side with Linux.

If you get a chance to try Elx Linux do so. Near zero learning curve for Windows users and everything is configured out of the box including browser plugins. Plus all the CLI goodies are available, too.

there always have to be nono's around to make the "smart" look "smart" I hate 0 IQ programs, take your time and learn to handle google, just finding the site doesn't solve your problem, took me 2 reinstalls to just get the vfat mount to work, but i've managed and if i can do it almost anyone can. Just bang your mindless head against the monitor to get that lazy brain to work.

Yeah, that's the key - getting Debian *on* the computer and configured's the hard part. The rest is easy but that's just the thing - Debian gives me a Windows vibe of wanting to do things on its own - it has an idea of How Things Should Be. I'm not saying this is so - just my personal feeling I get, however misplaced. Ultimately, you can bend almost any distro into any other distro. So there's no hard and fast 'distro X sucks' or 'distro Y rules'. So it's mostly just the initial setups and presentations and the 'vibe' they give off that people are talking about when they're comparing distros.

Have to agree with lectraplayer in one respect - Mandrake's the easiest install I've ever done. Installing Mandrake's as easy as installing any app in Windows, even including repartitioning an NTFS hard drive in the process.

Is that really a good thing--emulating Windows and everything?

It does sound good though.

I would like to try some other flavors though. I've tried RedHat and had more problems out of it than Windows (which is ironic, since Mandrake is based on RedHat, and Mandrake works ). My list includes Debian, Slackware, SUse, and quite a few others. ...too bad Chainsaw Linux really isn't a complete Linux I was wanting that one until I found out it was a kernel development program.

<< Is that really a good thing--emulating Windows and everything? >>

If you are interested in zero learning curve...immediately productive...learn the rest as you desire or as circumstances compel you. Elx and Libranet are my distros of choice...particularly libranet. I rebuild a lot of boxes for local schools out of discards due to upgrades and other reasons...mostly donated. Libranet runs well on older machines, takes very little config after install. All I need to show them is how to save docs etc in Office format and a little about mtools and they are set for school. Several good dialup services available at $10.00 a month. They start out owning both the box and the software...all of it. It they want to get adventurous, II assist where I can. Truth is, most of the kids end up knowing more than I do, and I learn as much or more as I teach. Alt Linux is another very good one for older machines.