Re: Linux

[Nico Meijer <nico.meijer@zonnet.nl>]

Hi,

So here's my humble opinion...

> Debian is great, but if you have no Unix/Linux experience, you're in
> for a very steep learning curve.

Very true, indeed! That's the fun part, the learning curve. Debian
GNU/Linux is well suited for that. Plus, OP's wish is to learn.

> Better spend a year or two playing with SuSE, 
> RedHat or Mandrake - it's a bit easier to install for a Windows/Mac
> convert. 

Yes, and learn nothing along the way. Just last week, I installed a RH9
workstation to try it out and see what the RedHat people have been up
to. If I had wanted to, it would have been click-click-reboot-go. Nice,
sure, but I learned nothing. I had a nice looking, running workstation,
but no clue as to why, how and what.

Might I suggest Xandros, then? Still no 'clue', but at least
Debian-based. ;-)

Installing Debian is way more fun, education-wise. You get/have to make
the decisions and actually get to see what the installer does. My
personal favorite so far is the OpenBSD installer, but that's not for
this list.

> If you know how to administrate a Linux box, come back to Debian and
> enjoy the freedom.

Why not start with the freedom in the first place?

> Of course, if you're highly motivated, or if you have a collegue who
> will guide you through the initial installation and configuration,
> Debian is good. 

Of all the Linux distros I have tried (which is not many), I find Debian
is one of the better documented ones, which is very important. apt is
wonderful, of course. Plus, this list rocks.

I'd recommend any of these three personal favorites (Trustix Secure
Linux [nice server distro, small footprint], Debian GNU/Linux [which can
be anything and everything], OpenBSD [simply amazing OS]) depending on
what OP would want to get out of his 'education'.

Not even worth $0.02, but still... Nico