Re: Choosing a distribution (was: Just a simple query)
On Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:58:51 +0000 (UTC)
Camaleón <noelamac@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:59:38 -0400, Burhan Hanoglu wrote:
>
> > On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 1:43 PM, Camaleón <noelamac@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >> On Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:55:40 +0530, Linux Tyro wrote:
> >>
> >>> I am beginner in Linux and do another job. But I use computer very
> >>> less. Just a simple doubts regarding the selection. Please
> >>> suggest me regarding the following:
> >>>
> >>> "Debian vs openSUSE for a novice"
> >>
> >> Well, being this a Debian mailing list, my bet is that most people
> >> here will blindly point you to Debian ;-P
> >
> > Not really;
>
> "Not really" what? "Blindly"? There was an emoticon placed there,
> dude :-)
>
> > 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 but anyway, openSUSE is also stable (rock solid) and cares about
> your freedom ;-)
>
Beyond just stability and freedom, I also didn't like the openSUSE way
of doing things. I find that debian's package management and system
administration tools are very robust. I haven't yet had a good
experience with YaST. For me it's always been slow, slightly clunky,
and annoying, like when YaST settings override settings in
configuration files. I always thought that if a user changed a config
file, that meant they wanted it changed.
Debian also has a much more centralized repository system (i.e. not
having to add a new repo every time you want to install something).
I view it as a convenience advantage - I can always add an extra repo
if I want to, but for standard packages I shouldn't have to mess with
that.
Choose aptitude and dpkg and you can't go wrong.
So yes, I'm one to blindly point to debian :D
--
rbmj
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