[ILUG] Debian or Fedora?

[Rick Moen]

Quoting raoul duke (dr_gonzo at redbrick.dcu.ie):

> debian is cool for loads of things, apt-get being the most significant...

No.  That is an extremely frequent fallacy outsiders tend to believe.
Consistent application of a coherent policy _is_ significant; apt-get is
not.  Please see: "Policy" and "All in the Packaging" on
http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Debian .

> but if you want a desktop system that's easy enough to install...

Easy installers are the first category covered on link "Installers" on
http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Debian .  (Q.v.)

> where you don't have to build your own kernel if you want it to be
> newer than 2.4.18

Apt-gettable and official counter-examples:
http://http.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/k/kernel-image-2.6.0-test9-i386/kernel-image-2.6.0-test9-1-386_2.6.0-test9-1_i386.deb 
http://http.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/k/kernel-image-2.4.23-i386/kernel-image-2.4.23-1-686_2.4.23-1_i386.deb  

Well-known apt-gettable unofficial counter-example by a leading Debian
developer, which you would be referred to if you asked on the
debian-user mailing list or the #debian IRC channel:

http://people.debian.org/~rmh/debian/kernel-linux-experimental-2.6_2.6.0-1_i386.deb  
http://people.debian.org/~rmh/debian/kernel-linux-experimental-2.4_2.4.24-1_i386.deb

> and you don't want to have to set up X windows yourself....

Any of the installers listed on the "Installers" link will set up X11
(see "man 7 X" for why "X Windows" is not a correct name) automatically.

I don't blame you for the above misconceptions, by the way; they're
frequently repeated by people who simply don't know better.

> then my advice would be to go for fedora.

Fedora works fine, too.  Though, sometimes you have to use floppy boot
media for the installer on even fairly common hardware, and the new
threading support creates some application compatibility problems.

-- 
Cheers,             "Don't use Outlook.  Outlook is really just a security
Rick Moen            hole with a small e-mail client attached to it."
rick at linuxmafia.com                        -- Brian Trosko in r.a.sf.w.r-j