[techtalk] Re: rpms r not-so-good and Linux-Mandrake

[Raven, corporate courtesan]

Heya --

> I've found mandrake-update works incredibly well, and is almost
> always up. It too, makes things very, very simple.

     I haven't used it myself, but have also heard many pleased
murmurings about it from friends.

> You know, I have to chuckle at the folks who are calling Mandrake a
> "newbie distro".  All the Linux geeks here at work (some of whom have

> been around since Yggdrasil or even 0.x kernels) either run Mandrake,

> KRUD, or both.

     I think there's a significant difference between "friendly to
newbies" and "only for newbies".  I don't think anyone here would argue
that any Linux distro is only for newbies.  [grin]  When I got started
with Linux, I tried Debian.  It completely defeated me.  Then I went
for Red Hat, which was touted as the friendliest to newbies at the
time.  Being user-friendly is a distinct perk for an OS.  It only takes
a back seat to customizability and effectiveness, and they're certainly
not mutually exclusive goals.

> Methinks there is a significant amount of Debian snobbishness
> floating around, not too unlike the Gnome vs. KDE desktop wars.  Why
a 
> distro has to be un-user friendly to be cool is beyond me, and that 
> certainly is Debian's reputation.

     Much like actual religious wars, I completely fail to see the
point of people getting up in arms about what is basically an
individual choice.  It's just silly.  (Comments on that off-list,
please.  It would be off-topic.)  I like Debian for its package manager
and easy security patching.  Bob likes Mandrake for its excellent
hardware detection and easy install.  Sue likes Red Hat for its
extensive online resources and accessibility options.  Who cares? 
Everyone's happy.  It's what's best for the user and the situation.

     That said, there are folks who get all nose-in-the-air about their
preferred flavor.  "Oh, you use *Caldera*?  Tsk.  I wouldn't be caught
dead in anything less than TurboLinux."  They need a life.

> Ditto Slackware, which I have run and like pretty well.

     I think what makes Slackware "cool" in the eyes of the
nose-in-the-air people is that until recently (IIRC) it didn't have a
package manager.  Everything had to be downloaded and installed from
source.  But I haven't used Slackware in years, so I'm probably really
out of date on that.

Cheers,
Raven

=====
"Passion, hunger, will, and ice cream create their own world
 in which the word 'after' simply doesn't make any sense.
 Ice cream is now."
 -- Starhawk, "The Twelve Wild Swans"

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices
http://auctions.yahoo.com/