[CALUG] Linux choices

[Rajiv Gunja]

Russ,
Welcome to the Linux community. If you are considering to have Linux for
home and business, here are some of the distributions I had to go through
myself over the last 6 years. I have been using Linux since 1995, but only
in the last few years has the Linux OS gotten friendlier and usable/stable.
There is still a lot of room to improve for all distributions of Linux just
like any other man made software or hardware.

If you have become a RedHat fan, then its alternative is a very good place
to start with.
CentOS is 1:1 compile of RH OS. So CentOS 5.0 is a compiled version of RH
5.0 and its free and has a very good support structure on the web (forums)
and IRC (#centos)

Here are some of the Linux distributions I have used over the years and how
I feel about them:

1. Mandriva / Mandrake Linux: It is a good distribution for developers and
users alike with a very polished interface and has a lot of software to
chose from. It is an RPM based system. Their interface (menus) is very
structured, but sometimes can be annoying, but that where we can use Menu
editor to get in a personal menu entry. Their OS is almost cutting edge with
respect to their packages available, so sometimes it might not be wise for
Production. They have a professional version out recently, but I have not
used it to comment on it.

2. SuSE Linux : As you already know, this distribution similar to Mandriva
has its own proprietory stuff built into the system. This distribution is
also RPM based and is cutting edge when it comes to packages. Since they
have multiple versions to choose from, there are certain versions which are
meant for Production and some for development. I have used the production
version in my office and it is quite stable, but their company lacks in
marketing and meeting client's goals, so we got rid of them and went with
RHEL.

3. DSL : Damn small Linux is minimal OS, so it is useful while debugging a
server or PC when you do not have the luxury of loading a big hunky OS.
Example: Obviously, I live in Maryland. So when my server in Sacramento or
Fort Wayne goes down due to some grub error or boot disk failure, I do not
have direct access to its CDROM drive, so I can use the DSL iso image and
mount it to the Server using its virtual CDROM drive ( most server class
machines have an web interface which gives us a lot of tools to its console)
and boot up the system to debug the faulty disk. I also carry around DSL for
USB drive so if I am working remotely, I do not have to use the OS on that
PC.

Note: Mandriva is the only distribution which sells its OS pre-installed on
an USB stick. Yes you could install other distros on an USB, but not many
people know how to do it or some of the distributions does not provide an
in-built feature to use the USB stick for booting. Of course DSL too has a
version for USB and has a method to do it too.

4. Ubuntu Linux : This is the latest craze for all newbies, but it has
failed to woo me. If you have used the latest versions Mandriva or OpenSuSE
or Sabayon or Mint or PCLinuxOS they are seem to do almost the same thing.
Yes different people prefer different things due to their own tastes. I did
not see anything very special with its versions.

5. Xandros Linux : Not many people know about this Linux. Many people still
associate this distribution with its previous name Corel Linux. Xandors has
4 different versions to offer. (1.) Xandros Desktop for home users (2.)
Xandros Professional for Office use (3.) Xandros Open Circulation Edition,
free and devoid of some software which requires commercial license. (4.)
Xandros Server Edition.
This distribution is my favourite, so I will talk more about it and from
what I saw at the CALUG, none I met knew about it when I brought it for
demonstration.
Pros: Very Stable. Made for home users and professionals alike. A very large
source of software repository. Installation size is very small, Approx 2 GB.
No bloatware, only 1 application per class, example OpenOffice only, no
Koffice. Very good integration of ndiswrapper to facilitate good recognition
of new hardware. Very good Samba, NFS, SSH and other basic facility
integration. Samba works out of the box, no need to configure or touch any
files. CD/DVD burning utility integrated into the File Manager, no need to
have special software like K3B or Nero, however I do have Nero on my PC.
Encrypted DVD playback out of the box (only in paid versions) Good number of
camera plugins built-in to provide good integration to Photo  Manager. Out
of the box support for iPOD via Amarok. Paid version has a built-in
CrossOver Linux for installing Windows applications. Has a built-in Firewall
/ Anti-virus / File protector.

Cons : KDE only, no way to install Gnome, unless you want an unstable
system. It is not cutting edge, it is at least 2 years behind most
distributions, but compensates it by making its OS very stable for day to
day use. Lacks Some Commercial software support, which I really miss.
Example : Lotus Notes, SameTime, Nortel's VPN client. It has its own VPN
software, but it does not support Cisco VPN.

I was beta testing Xandros Server for Xandros and I should say, it is not
targeted to compete with RH or SuSE, but is a very good replacement for
Windows Server. With the new deal between Xandros and Oracle, It is making
entry into the datacenter to replace RH and SuSE in SMB market only.

Whichever Linux distro you chose, please use at least 4 distribution before
you settle on 1 which you like. Please do not chose a distribution just for
its popularity or because someone (like me) puts a distro on a pedestal,
please chose a distro as it fits your needs and your needs alone.

Good luck.

-GGR

Rajiv G Gunja
Ph : 44 33 55 44 96



On Dec 24, 2007 11:12 AM, Russ <rmain at polaris.umuc.edu> wrote:

>
>
> Hello,
>
> Happy Holidays to all!
>
> I appreciate all the input, and I enjoyed reading all the comments.
> It appears that the choice has a lot to do with personal preference.
> My experience with Linux is minimal, so I wanted something stable with
> good support.  I'm not sure what kind of support I can expect for free.
> I have some experience installing  Slackware, and RH9 on some older
> machines, but I had trouble getting things to work.  Based on the
> responses I saw I'll probaly try Ubuntu.  I hear people say that Ubuntu is
> not as challenging as other versions of Linux, so I'll continue to try
> other distros on other machines as a learning tool.
>
> FWIW,
> In my original question, I wasnt specifically singling out RHEL, but I
> took an intensive beginners week long sysadmin class and I became a little
> partial to RHEL.  I should have also mentioned SUSE vs. openSUSE. The
> cheapest support I saw for RHEL was 349.00 per year which is definitely
> not in my budget for a home computer.  Most of my programming experience
> is educational not professional.  Also, most of the programming that I
> have done was using plain text editors and command line compiling.  I have
> used IDE's that came with compilers, but I am accustomed to the command
> line.  I find working woth Linux to be a good learning tool, and call
> me crazy but Linux seems a little more intuitive than windows.
>
> Comments are welcomed. I'm just a beginner.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Russ Main
>
>
>
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>
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