Re: Is Squeeze right for me?
On 20091121_094447, John Jason Jordan wrote:
> I have several years of experience with Ubuntu, but I have never looked
> inside. I'm just a pointy-clicky desktop user. How things work has
> never been of interest to me except when they don't work. Even then I
> just learn enough to fix the problem and go back to living.
>
> However, several Linux friends have suggested it's time for me to move
> on. According to the advice I receive I no longer need the Ubuntu
> training wheels and I would be better served by going to a less
> newbie-oriented distro. Perhaps they are right, but I grew up with
> Synaptic and .deb files, and I really don't want to leave the Debian
> world. Therefore, this morning I installed testing on a new hard disk,
> leaving my old Ubuntu hard disk untouched so I can always go back to it.
>
> Having spent just a day in testing I am not happy with the quantity of
> bugs. Yes, I know it is called "testing" for a reason. And I am happy
> to do my part to help fix problems. Yet I need a computer that I can
> use for real work. But at the same time I want the latest and greatest.
> I need OOo 3.1 and Scribus 1.3.5.1 and the most recent versions of
> several other apps that I live in all day long. The stable versions of
> Debian are not sufficiently cutting edge for me. Or have I
> misunderstood that?
>
> The local Linux friends who thought I should move on from Ubuntu
> suggested testing as the closest in the Debian world to the Ubuntu way
> of doing things. After today I am thinking they were wrong.
>
> I need advice.
A few questions for you to think about. The tone may seem confrontational
but it's really up to you, so there is no need to answer them publically,
just think about what your answers really are, and then act accordingly.
Where was the Ubuntu disk when you installed Squeeze on the new disk?
If you had left it in the computer, you should have had a opportunity
to make your computer dual-boot trivially by simply answering yes to
a question from the Debian installer.
What kind of computer work is 'real work' for you? Can it be done on a
dual boot set up?
If you make your computer dual boot would you expect to have separate
/home directories for the two components of the dual? Or would you
require some sort of shared /home?
How can you be sure you are seeing bugs in Squeeze? Maybe the defaults
of Debian are just different from what you expect from what you
learned to expect in Ubuntu.
Why really do you want 'latest and greatest'? Or do you just think you
need L&G because you use OO and Scribus and think that versions in
Debian are 'too old' without having actually testing them for the
features that you actually use?
Are your friends tiring of giving you help on making Ubuntu do things
that are not properly part of the Ubuntu User Experience?
I only know Ubuntu from hearsay. You confirm my impression that it is
targeted for newbies and/or casual users. I think you will have great
difficulty becoming a adept 'power user' if you stick with Ubuntu. To
become a power user of Ubuntu, first switch to Debian, become a power
user, and then switch back to Ubuntu (if you wish).
If you did not have the Ubuntu disk in your computer when you installed
Squeeze, and want to make your system dual-boot, you probably don't need
to do a re-install. Instead, re-install the physical HD that has Ubuntu
on it. And ask for help on this list about re-configuring grub to see it
and offer it as a boot option.
I'm not a power user, I got started with Debian before Ubuntu existed
and have never felt a need to change. Or even investigate any other
distribution.
You might be completely satisfied with Lenny. As a user I am very skeptical
of L&G. But you have to test it for your actual work. And Lenny will soon
be replaced by Squeeze so maybe wait for Squeeze to be released and revisit
this issue then.
HTH
--
Paul E Condon
pecondon@mesanetworks.net
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