Tanguy,
> ...
> Which version of Linux do you think is more appropriate to novices ?
> What about the others ? ...
I've tried Debian, Red Hat, and Slackware.
Debian RedHat Slackware
1st installation easiest easier easy
live replacement hardest harder easy
packageset smallest smaller largest
package addition risky easiest most secure
Note that though Debian is the easiest to install and configure
(~30min), its package manager (deity) does not tolerate non-debianized
packages, so adding packages is virtually restricted to those that have
been debianized, and is risky since untested scripts must be executed as
superuser.
Slackware is more difficult to install (~4hr) and the included
pkgtool is a bare-bones package manager that should be quickly replaced
with a better one such as opt_depot-2.0. Its advantage is reliability and
ease of upgrade. (I have now upgraded my entire kernel 4 times and
recompiled it with different static and module configurations ~20 times.)
I can experiment with new packages without significant risk, because
I build and test them in clean directories, without altering the
existing configuration, and can cleanly remove them without remnant if
they are unsatisfactory.
I recommend that you give them a machine with RedHat loaded, and tell
them know about Slackware, Debian, et al. They can learn on RedHadt, and when
they find its limitations more difficult than its easy administration, they
can replace it with Slackware.
Reporting,
--
Robert Meier
"A good pun is its own reword."
-- unknown
FANUC Robotics North America, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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