[PLUG] Linux Desktop - Time to make the change

M. Edward (Ed) Borasky znmeb at cesmail.net
Mon Oct 31 16:43:30 UTC 2005



David Tod Sigafoos wrote:

>For myself (and a couple other guys i know that hare trying or have
>tried) the real problem is that SW doesn't come complete.  It may be a
>thrill and a hoot to have to go out an look for bits and pieces that
>come up as missing when you try to install something.  But for me it
>is a waste of time.  I have just loaded Fedora 4 on my laptop (it is
>my main workstation.  If i can't get it to work with all hw on it then
>i can't use it).  I loaded FULL as i really didn't want to see any of
>those 'can't do that cause of missing bits' messages.  But I needed a
>DVD player so I did a search on google and found one and downloaded
>and tried to install.  Opps .. this library isn't there .. that bit
>isn't there.  Did another search for some of the bits and there was no
>clear information about the packages I needed.
>  
>
You're absolutely right ... a Linux desktop is more work than a Windows 
desktop in the current state of things. However:

1. I recommend against Fedora Core for desktops. Debian-based systems 
have a better package management system and lots more packages 
available. Gentoo is close, but you might find having to recompile 
things too much trouble, and the Gentoo installer is definitely a 
hindrance for folks used to Windows. Of course, I also recommend against 
Fedora Core for servers; Debian Sarge and CentOS are my choices there.

2. Media players and digital media are an area littered with 
intellectual property issues. Some very rich folks want to keep you from 
ripping them off, so don't expect a lot of help in this area.

-- 
M. Edward (Ed) Borasky

http://linuxcapacityplanning.com




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