Re: Choosing a distribution (was: Just a simple query)
On Thu, Oct 27, 2011 at 7:03 AM, Camaleón <noelamac@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:41:16 -0400, Burhan Hanoglu wrote:
>
>> On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 4:58 PM, Camaleón <noelamac@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> (...)
>
>>>> Debian is (at least) one of the best GNU/Linux distributions to use if
>>>> you want to experience the excitement of discovering the real Linux
>>>> /Unix stuff behind the GUI. Otherwise; Debian again is one of the best
>>>> distros considering stability and freedom.
>>>
>>> I'm not sure that "stability" and "freedom" were inside the "novice"
>>> part
>
>> I'm not sure what you mean here...
>
> Okay, I'll explain.
>
> I wanted to say that when you are a linux newbie (we all have been there)
> your main concern is not focused in "freedom" or "stability" but
> understanding how all that stuff works and how can do what you need with
> the less problems, if possible. As times goes by, you start putting
> attention in other things, like the package manager, upgrading procedures
> and/or what the community of your chosen distribution provides :-)
>
Both freedom and stability are still good things to have while going
thru the "newbie" stage. Ending up learning a "good" distro at the end
of the stage mentioned is also an important thing.
> And to be sincere, having used openSUSE during 6 years (in both, servers
> and desktop/workstation computers) I find openSUSE to be the perfect
> distribution for linux beginners and newcomers.
>
OpenSuse can be as stable as well, but the main perfection with Suse
is being able to get almost everything done in the GUI mainly using
YAST, which is a good thing. However....
>>> but anyway, openSUSE is also stable (rock solid) and cares about your
>>> freedom ;-)
>
>> I have no objection to any other distribution in this matter; that's why
>> I said "...(at least) one of the best GNU/Linux distributions...". But
>> don't forget that OpenSuse is a testing environment for SLES, same way
>> Fedora is for RHEL. Well; this doesn't mean they are bad distros, but a
>> fact is still a fact....:)
>
> And you are right: openSUSE is the base (testing "lab") for the paid SuSE
> Linux flavours (SLED and SLES). And this (being the testing lab) has
> "pros" and "cons":
>
> As "cons" I'd say that more than often decisions affecting the system are
> taken based on the upstream needing (SLED and SLES). This happened with
> ZENworks/libzipp, which had to be finally retired completely from the
> openSUSE distribution (the community based distro) while is still being
> used on the SLED/SLES side. It was a total disaster and we had to
> supported for a long time :-/
>
> As "pros" I'd say that openSUSE is an enterpise-grade focused
> distribution, solid as a rock, very well polished in many aspects (and
> not only visually but technically, their YaST tool is unique among its
> species), and you have a set of tools that are not available for any
> other distribution in the same convenient way it is there: you can manage
> LDAP, Samba, iSCSI, AppArmor, Cyrus+Postfix combo, Bind9, almost all your
> hardware, tweaking kernel parameters... and all that run from easy GUI
> based wizards, with a pair of clicks, perfect for novices.
>
However; "perfection" for a novice is not just to find another OS or
GNU/Linux distribution using which they can do everything on a stable
GUI. What eventually is more important is the scene behind the GUI. I
have to admit that GUI helps a novice get things configured and work
rather quickly and easily, but by achieving the same result the hard
way, which takes more time; a novice can end up with real-world
experiments. This is when the "objective accomplished" when the matter
is "learning Linux"; even for a regular user...
Sincerely,
Burhan
Reply to: