[PLUG] Reinstall, yet save everything

[John Jason Jordan]

On Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:56:32 -0700 (PDT)
Rich Shepard <rshepard at appl-ecosys.com> dijo:

> On Sat, 24 Oct 2009, Rogan Creswick wrote:
> 
> > I endorse this approach :).  I've gone back to Debian after four years of
> > Ubuntu, and I am much happier running Debian testing than I was with
> > Ubuntu.
> >
> > Keep in mind, though, that Debian comes in three distinct releases.
> > Stable is very, very, stable--and it's also way behind the Ubuntu tech
> > curve.  You will probably want the middle release ("testing", if I'm
> > remembering correctly).  The bleeding-edge version ("unstable", also
> > called "sid") ranges from very usable to extremely broken, all
> > depending on the point of the release cycle.
> 
>    There are other distributions that avoid being at the bleeding edge. It's
> one of the reasons I like Slackware. Security upgrades come out when
> necessary, individual applications can be upgraded easily, yet there are
> still a lot of servers and workstations running older versions quite
> securely and happily.
> 
>    I think it depends on what each of us does with the computer and the
> distribution. I'm not in the computer business so for me it's a tool; a means
> to a end rather than an end in itself. I'll upgrade the tool when there's a
> solid reason to do so, otherwise I want to minimize administration time and
> focus on what makes money for me. Those who need to know the idiosyncrasies
> of various distributions on a professional level, or those who just enjoy
> futzing with them for fun, have a different need.

I've been researching new hard drives for my Thinkpad. I very much like
Paul's suggestion to get a new drive and put the old one in a USB case.
In fact, I even have a USB case I could use.

When I said I was considering giving straight Debian a week's trial I
suspected that I would get many suggestions of other distros. Well, I
am aware of the existence of all the other major distros, and Debian is
at the top of my list. 

Whatever distro I use next (and no guarantees that I will not end up
going back to Ubuntu), it must be Debian based. I have tried RPM based
distros and I can't get my head around package management. It would
take a great deal to get me to give up Synaptic.

Also, whatever I use must be pretty user friendly. I have no desire to
spend hours googling and searching e-lists for answers to problems. If
I want to play a DVD I want it to just work. And if the codecs are not
installed by default, then I want the application to announce that fact
and offer to install them without having to do hours of research to
figure out which ones I need.

Furthermore, I want a major distro with tons of users. Ubuntu has a
huge advantage in its forums. Responses to questions often come within
minutes. I'm willing to give that up, but I'm not willing to use a
distro where I have to wait all day for an answer.

I am a bit concerned about what Rogan said about Debian. I do want
something reasonably up to date on the tech curve, but the name
"testing" is a turn-off. But then, it is just going to be a one-week
experiment. 

I should add that in the several times that I have tried Fedora live
CDs I have been favorably impressed. But then I try to install
something and run into the darn RPM stuff.

And finally, one of my main motivations for trying a different distro
is Scribus. I spend a lot of time in Scribus. While it works OK in
Ubuntu, the Scribus developers are not shy when it comes to bitching
about Ubuntu. Scribus uses QT, and apparently the Ubuntu devs did
something to the QT that comes with Ubuntu. The result is a mess of
bugs that happen only to Ubuntu users. They openly recommend Debian,
Fedora, or OpenSuse.

All of the above are personal preference issues. Please feel free to
disagree with me as much and as loudly as you want. It won't change my
mind, but still, feel free. :)