Ryan D'Baisse wrote:
I am looking to move from FC2 to Debian, but have questions... 1. I am still a Linux newbie. Most of the install issues, both with the OS and with applications, have been taken care of for me with the slick install wizard and the RPM-based installations. How much of a learning curve would one be faced with from Fedora to Debian?
This installation of Debian is text menu based, but isn't so bad. The biggest difference is that Fedora automatically setup X on my HP laptop. Debian requires more finesse in getting X working on an LCD. It took me a couple tries to get X working in Debian Woody on a Dell Inspiron laptop.
To a large extent, those books will apply to any distribution. The biggest difference between Red Hat and Debian is the package system. Everything else is pretty much the same.2. I have been reading two books, "Linux Pocket Guide," by O'Reilly, and "Beginning Linux Programming," by Wrox. Both tend to stress Red Hat and Fedora. Will these books still be of use to me on Debian?
3. My primary machine is a laptop (Toshiba 5005-S507). Most of the info I can find on Google, pertaining to laptops, is for Fedora or Mandrake. How well does Debian handle laptops? Any URLs would be GREATLY appreciated.
I've had good luck with both Debian and Fedora on laptops.
4. My second biggest problem on Fedora was/is wireless support. I am currently using FC2 with Linuxant's DriverLoader software on my Linksys WPC54G PCMCIA NIC. Be honest; am I going to be crying if I try to set this up?
I used KDE to setup wireless in both OSs. KDE's network configuration made it a breeze.
If you use the v2.6 kernel, the module comes with it, so no effort at all. I have no experience with Toshiba laptops, but I had no problems getting the 2.6 modules loaded on the HP and Dell laptops.5. And, finally, my biggest problem, and one of the reasons I am looking to leave Fedora, is ACPI. I have to bypass it with later versions of the FC2 kernel and with the base install of FC3. And, unfortunately, there are problems with my NIC if I bypass it. How tightly integrated is ACPI with Debian? Any chance I can get away from these issues by switching from Fedora to Debian.
-- -- Skylar Thompson (skylar@cs.earlham.edu) -- http://www.cs.earlham.edu/~skylar/
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