Re: New to Linux
--- On Fri, 4/15/11, Krzysztof Bieniasz <krzysztof.t.bieniasz@gmail.com> wrote:
> > FWIW: O'Reilly published a
> Special Edition book LEARNING DEBIAN
> > GNU/LINUX (c. 1999). It was a very good
> introduction and step-by-step
> > guide to installing and using Debian. I got it
> for free from the Debian
> > booth at Las Vegas COMDEX 1999. This was the
> first year Linux had a
> > major presence at COMDEX. Having the Linux
> people all in one exhibit
> > hall greatly simplified my investigations of making
> the switch from the
> > Amiga. I still have the book. However,
> ultimately, I chose Mandrake 7
> > as my first distro. Debian was not a distro for
> the noobie, either then
> > or now.
>
> I wouldn't agree. I started with Debian being a complete
> noob and I
> manage somehow.
A lot has changed in 12 years. Very few Linux distros back then were noob-friendly. (Mandrake was one that was.) They were put together by computer techies for computer techies.
> Actually some of my first experiences were
> with compiling
> the kernel because the one bundled with stable (Lenny)
> didn't have the
> module for my wireless interface :). And I managed to get
Your average Linux noob doesn't know about compiling kernels. They mostly come from Windows where such a thing isn't done.
> it to work then
> although I suppose the process must've looked funny. I
> wouldn't try that
> today though... Nowadays just about any distro is
> noob-friendly enough,
> perhaps excluding Gentoo and Slackware.
Like I said, "A Lot has changed in 12 years". Debian is more friendly today than yesterday as are most distros, but there are others that are friendlier, a lot friendlier.
So, I stand by my initial statement that Debian is not suitable for the Linux firsttimer. I would never recommend it to a noobie. With Debian, you need to know, at least somewhat, what you're doing.
B
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