Re: Debian too difficult, Red Hat?
KTB wrote:
>
> Hi, thanks to all the people who have offered advice with configuring
> X-windows. I have not been successful and am brain dead at this point.
> I also tried hooking up to the internet with the same result. I chose
> the debian release because I wanted to learn more about computers (I
> have only used a pc off and on for the past year) and I like the
> philosophy behind Debian. I am wondering if Debian is just too
> difficult for me at this point. I am wondering if maybe I should try
> Red Hat, I have heard it is easier to install, and then come back to
> Debian. Does this sound like a logical progression to anyone? I don't
> have experience with either one so I just don't know the best course to
> take.
> Thanks,
> Kent
Debian, to a newcomer with no prior experience with Unix, is hard to
setup. However, so is RedHat, SuSe and the others. Unix began life as
a multi-user OS running on mainframes at universities where there was an
expert person, the System Administrator, who would take care of
installing and configuring the system's software. You, and many others
in the past, are trying to learn, in effect, how to be a SysAdmin from
the very beginning, cold turkey. When I started out, it took me almost
2 weeks of tinkering just to figure out how to get the $#%#&!?$
Backspace key to work! 8-) That has been solved I belive since then,
but you understand my point.
About ppp: PPP setup is easier than it was, now that we have the
pppconfig package. When I installed Deb 2.0, pppconfig worked as
advertised, but for all sorts of reasons it doesn't work for everybody,
as apparently in your case.
X11 is a beast, pure and simple. It usually comes down to your video
card. If you a 'good' video card, i.e. its one that X11 fully supports,
then getting X11 up and running is not too hard, although it will take
some Read-The-Fine-Manuals in any case. With a 'bad' card you can
easily end up pulling your hair out. My last video card was one of
these. It wouldn't even run under the VGA16 server. I had to get a
better card, one which I knew was supported by X11. BTW, RedHat's
install procedure uses the VGA16 server to quickly get to a GUI
installation, but if your card can't be run by VGA16, then your in real
trouble with RedHat. RH has a pretty looking install procedure, but I,
like the other respondent, don't equate 'pretty' with 'easy'.
You end up needing to invest quite a bit of time in the beginning to
get used to Linux (or any other Unix for that matter), but for most of
us the investment is worth it, and yes, this is an excellent way to
learn about computers and the different OSs available, and the different
philosophies of OS design.
If you get frustrated, dual boot back to Win, play a game, kill a few
demons in Quake, and then take a swing at Linux again. :-)
When you post questions to this list, be sure to include all the info
you have on the problem, especialy exact error messages. The more info
you give, the more likely someone will be able to help.
Be sure to check out the documentation in /usr/doc/. There are also
HOWTOs that are probably on one of the CDs (assuming you ordered Debian
on CDs), if not, search for the "Linux Documentation Project" on the
net. The /usr/doc/ppp and /usr/doc/xbase include FAQs and READMEs that
might help.
I'll shut-up now. :-)
--
Ed C.
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