Re: Help with mixed versions, please
Hello Everybody,
On Fri, 2003-05-30 at 01:12, Paul Johnson wrote:
> Try using the update option in the menu. dselect's also pretty
> cumbersome to deal with in general, I strongly reccommend aptitude
> now.
I installed aptitude, and ran it. It mentioned a few packages that had
updates waiting. A sampling of known installed packages suggested it
knew they were there (unlike dselect, which had many of them flagged for
removal). I gambled and let it do the update, and all appears well for
now.
> > I haven't figured out how it all fits together.
>
> That just takes time, we were all there once. This isn't specific to
> packaging, just being in a new OS in general, and especially something
> as flexible as unix...
Actually, I've been using SuSE and Red Hat for several years recently,
and I used early (1.x versions) of Linux in the 90s. I didn't get into
it more because nobody pays me to use Linux, and I've had other
(non-computer) priorities too.
I'm wanting to switch to Debian because too much of the information I
read on how to work with Linux fails because of other distros
proprietary changes. Debian seems to be the most "Linux-like" of the
distributions, and the community support, and the package handling
promise add to the perceived luster... (the ethics seem pretty good,
too.)
I followed the discussion you provided the link to below to some depth.
Opinions are diverging in that discussion, rather than converging. It's
useful, and has already added to my understanding.
I'm in a catch-22 situation. I HAVE to have my computer and components
working. I'm looking for work, planning a move from the US to
Australia, coordinating on issues with friends.
So, the support (in this case, for that scanner which doesn't have
support in stable, but does in testing: sane 1.0.11+) has to be there,
or I can't settle on the distribution of Linux.
But if I re-install Red Hat, that's what I'll learn about. I don't want
to wait, as I support my Dad using Linux too. I've got about two more
months here in the US with him, and I want it solid before I go overseas
(I've done a lot of long distance support over the years, and I'd rather
nail it now before I go).
I want Debian, stable enough to rely on, and with support for that
scanner, so I can get into studying Debian, instead of studying
something else.
For the next two months or so, I'm behind a gateway/router on a cable
modem connection. grc.com says my security is excellent. I have a book
on Linux security, and when I stop experimenting with installs I can get
to reading and trying it.
The gnomemeeting requirement is met by the Woody backport of Gnome 2.
According to the page (http://people.debian.org/~walters/gnome2.html),
there is no Gnome 2 for Sarge.
The only packages I need Sarge for (far as I know now) are the scanner
packages - sane, xsane.
I'll also be compiling a custom kernel (2.4.21+ for Sony Clie support),
and that appears to be handled by kernel-package.
I have the thought of keeping stable in sources.list, along with the
sources for the Woody Gnome 2 backport (see link above), and not
worrying about the Sarge sane stuff for a while. I've read about using
"-t testing" for specific packages - that's how I installed the later
sane stuff.
What would be useful here would be messages back that say "That's
probably ok", or "No! You're headed for a train wreck and here's
why...", or "Ok, but watch out for this...". I need to buy the time to
get into Debian, while not losing use of my system in the meantime.
Don't let me stop you from telling me what you think I should know,
though. "By definition, when you are exploring the unknown, you do not
know what you will find."
Cheers,
Bret
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