no more redhat? what to do?

jasonmcneil0 · 11-16-2003, 07:22 PM

ok, i am sure this topic will be useful to many.

I am a current red hat 9 user and i have just found out about redhat not supporting desktops anymore, well i guess Fedora would be another possibility, but i have heard rumours that they will be supporting this in the same way they have for redhat (stuipid idea i think). so i figure i might as well just switch distros.

So after doing alot of reading about different distros i have a couple of questions. Well first of all i think i have it narrowed down to either switching to Mandrake 9.2 or SuSE 9.

Now the thing i don't like about SuSE is that i can only download the boot disk and install via network. But i have a PPPoE connection and something tells me that that boot disk won't support that protocol. So the first quick question is if anyone who uses a PPPoE connection has been able to install from their with that type of connection.

Now i have a question about Mandrake 9.2. It says it is capable of partitioning NTFS drives. Now does this mean it can also write to them now ?

and last, i would appreciate if anyone could give me their advice on which to switch to. I am a very new user also, so i guess more user friendly would be the way for me to go.

Thanks in advance
/Jason

fancypiper · 11-16-2003, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jasonmcneil0
Now i have a question about Mandrake 9.2. It says it is capable of partitioning NTFS drives. Now does this mean it can also write to them now ?

No, it can resize NTFS only.

Quote:

and last, i would appreciate if anyone could give me their advice on which to switch to. I am a very new user also, so i guess more user friendly would be the way for me to go.

# Linux Distribution links:
A Beginner's Guide to Choosing a Linux Distribution
LWN distro list
elinux Linux Distributions

If you choose Mandrake, here are links
# Mandrake links
Mandrake home page
Mandrake Users website
Easy urpmi config for Mandrake
urpmi mini-HOWTO
Easy software management: Red Carpet
Maximum RPM
rpmfind
You didn't install the developmental packages? As root, command:
urpmi gcc
An Introduction to the Midnight Commander. You can install it by commanding:
urpmi mc
Midnight Commander home page

jasonmcneil0 · 11-16-2003, 07:47 PM

ok thanks, i am leaning towards mandrake, so these sites will help ALOT. Thanks

Don't suppose u know if the SuSE supports a PPPoE connection from the bootdisk?

fancypiper · 11-16-2003, 07:59 PM

Never used SuSE

jasonmcneil0 · 11-16-2003, 08:07 PM

ok, thanks a mill.

trickykid · 11-16-2003, 08:17 PM

Moved: More suitable in the Distribution forum as we have had many threads just like this posted here and in the Redhat forum. Regards.

moeminhtun · 11-16-2003, 08:33 PM

Ah.. same as me. I'm using Redhat9 on my main PC and now I'm thinking about whether I should go for Fedora or change distro. I'm quite disapointed with the Redhat9's stability sometimes and I'm afraid that the Fedora will be even worse because these are their front-end distros and testing ground for their enterprise edition.

If I change distro, my candidate is SUSE 9.0 professional. The price is quite OK. It's $79. I won't go for Mandrake coz I don't like its stability. I feel that SUSE is quite rock-solid.

I don't want to install Slackware, Debian or Gentoo like distros on the main PC because these distros are better on the secondary PC to play around. Main PC should be easy to be used, easy and fast to be configured and installed hardware, and productive.

Well, if I don't want to spend any money, I'd have no choice but to go for Fedora. Not for Mandrake because even if the Fedora has some glitches, it couldn't be worse than Mandrake. I haven't really try out the Mandrake 9.2 though.

jackpal · 11-16-2003, 08:36 PM

You should give Fedora a shot before you switch. I've been a RedHat user for years as well and I can understand the confusion out there now. So far I've seen alot of improvements with Fedora. Even better than RedHat Enterprise which we are now starting to run where I work. I've only been running Fedora for a little over a 24hrs now and I really like it. Fedora is now my new Desktop at home and at work.

B McHack · 11-16-2003, 09:46 PM

I have both Mandrake 9.2 and suse 9 installed on my box and you cant miss with either one, I like Mandrake just a little more but suse configured my sound card right out of the box.
One suggestion is get yourself a router/firewall theyve really come down in price, dirt cheap if you pick one that doesnt offer wireless probably $20.00 after rebates. I picked up my wireless D-Link for $30.00 after rebates. A hardware firewall is much more secure that a software, something you should consider with an allways on connection.
The router/firewall once set (which is very easy) uses DHCP which is a supported protocal by suse disk 1.
Surfing under a hardware firewall ontop of a software firewall and privoxy (available on the mandrake cd's) with snort ( an intrution detection software) is a great and alot of peice of mind.
All very easy to put together believe me Im a big time newbie.
Hope this helps