[ILUG] Linux Frustration

[Tiarnan O'Corrain]

> This is where my experience of Linux gets frustrating.  The Etherape
> program is tiny, but it's dependencies are a different issue. 
>  Etherape
> would not install as it needs libpcap, which I downloaded and 
> attempted to
> install.  That would not work because it needed libptool.  I 
> got that and
> attempted to install.  That would not work because it needed 
> libxml, or
> vice versa, I can't remember.

Try Debian. Apt-get install <package> will install the package and
its dependencies automatically. You can start by installing a base
system and then put in exactly what you need fairly painlessly.

Debian lacks some of the geegaws and doohickeys of other distros,
but it is extremely solid, reliable, and painless to install/upgrade.

http://www.debian.org

> When installing Linux, should you just have heaps of disk 
> space and choose
> to install everything (just in case) or am I totally off the 
> mark, and is
> there a much easier way.  

You certainly should not install everything. You'll end up with a 
huge system running servers you don't need, and possibly introduce
security holes.



Tiarnan