Re: [tlug] newbie notebook question

[Scott Robbins <scottro@example.com>]

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On Tue, Dec 28, 2004 at 02:00:21PM +0900, Wayne wrote:
> On Tue, 2004-12-28 at 13:51 +0900, Patrick wrote:
> > This may start a flame war (bring it on), but i want to be the first
> > to
> > advise you to stay well away from rpm based distros, they are a
> > nightmare imho, .... you can always tell an rpm based distro because
> > you
> > have to download at least 3 disks to install one, and they are
> > impossible to upgrade.  
> 
> No flame war :-) but Mandrake's 'urpmi' command makes installing
> RPMs as easy as picking a bogey! :-) Once you have set up a few
> software sources just issue the command:
> 
> urpmi filename
> 
> it gets installed and all dependencies are taken care of.

- From what I understand, all the rpm distros are doing much better than
they used to--RH and/or Fedora now has yum? or something similar which
is supposedly much better at handling this.  

Lately I've been recommending Mepis to folks who want a JustWorks(TM)
distribution.  (I also recommended Ubuntu to a friend without trying
it--he's a guru but wanted a JustWorks--I don't mind bloat if it Just
Works(TM), he wrote--distro).  

Having now tried it, I felt Mepis required a little less research to get
everything working.  

As for Ubuntu and a root password, that's correct--they work in the same
way as Mac OS X, doing everything with sudo.  I haven't looked into it
thoroughly, however, I'm sure there's a way to set and use a root
account if you wish.


Also, John, welcome to the list.  One small point of netiquette, we
prefer that you don't top post--that is, rather than writing your answer
above the email to which you are replying, reply in line--that is,
answer point A below point A, point B below point B, as if it were a
conversation.  Otherwise, the effect is often like,


Yes please.

With cream and sugar.

Would you like coffee? 
How would you like it?

Most distributions have a live CD nowadays, meaning you can, before
installing, get an idea of what hardware will work and not work. 


As for the network, this will depend upon what type of network and
internet connection you have.  If you have broadband, it's usually a
matter of getting the O/S to recognize your NIC card, which has become
simple with most distributions.  



- -- 

Scott Robbins

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Spike (watching, from a distance, a conversation between
Angel and a woman he just rescued):How can I thank you, you
mysterious black-clad-hunk-of-a-knight-thing?
No need little lady. Your tears of gratitude are enough for me. You
see, I was once a bad-ass vampire. But love, and a pesky curse,
defanged me. And now, I'm just a *big* fluffy puppy with bad teeth.
No! Not the hair! Never the hair. 
But there must be some way I can show my appreciation. 
No, helping those in need's my job. And working up a load of sexual
tension and prancing away like a magnificent poof is truly thanks
enough. 
I understand. I have a nephew who's gay, so... 
Say no more. Evil's still afoot. And I'm almost out of that Nancy-boy
hair gel I like so much. Quickly! To the Angel-mobile! Away!
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