At 07:02 AM 9/15/99 -0500, Involuntary wrote:
>I'm thinking about going to RedHat 6.0, probably installing Linux on a
>2.1 gigabyte hard drive and Win98 on a much larger hard drive. I chose
>RedHat because all I ever read is how much simpler it is to install and
>set up than other distributions.
Then you must be mainly reading Red Hat advertising and PR. Don't get me
wrong; RH is a perfectly good distribution. But its ease of installation
isn't particularly better than the other "big names" in Linux distribution
(Caldera, Debian, Slackware, SuSE). If you really want ease of installation,
you might want to go to second-tier distributions. There are about a half
dozen, all currently in beta, designed with a focus on ease of installation.
Check out these, for example:
Corel Linux (www.corel.com)
easyLinux (http://www.eit.de/c/easylinux.html)
wholeLinux (www.wholeLinux.com)
Project Independence (http://independence.seul.org/)
Open Classroom (www.openclassroom.org)
Or you might want to check out this program (I haven't tried it myself) that
is said to simplify Red Hat installs:
http://www.fezbox.com
Now, as to equipment ... you won't have any real problem with CPU, memory,
floppy drive, hard disk, keyboard, monitor, mouse. The places to be careful are:
video card -- check that you are using one supported by XFree86.
Do this at URL http://www.xfree86.org/ Also note that
RH 6.0 doesn't include the latest version of XFree86.
modem -- be sure you get a real modem (one with a UART and a
serial port), not a "Winmodem". Check specific brands
and models at URL http://www.o2.net/~gromitkc/winmodem.html
NOTE: USR makes both kinds.
sound card -- some work, some don't, but I don't know the
details.
CD and CD-R -- any ATAPI CD-ROM drive will work as a player.
SOme writers work, and again I don't know the details.
NIC -- most ethernet cards work, though some are said to be
more reliable than others. I ususlly use an NE2000
or a 3Com card. Check URL
http://cesdis1.gsfc.nasa.gov/linux/diag/
for info on specific cards and drivers.
printer -- Linux printing tools support most standard laser
and inkjet printers. The main issue is the availability
of a Postscript filter for non-PS printers. For info
on specific printers and their filters, go to URL
http://www.picante.com/~gtaylor/pht/printer_list.cgi
scanners -- this is a big gap in Linux. It currently has no
suport for TWAIN scanners.
cases/power supplies -- I'm not sure what Linux's current
support of power management is.
>Here's my situation:
>
>I'm about to build a new computer in about a month using spare parts
>from my current one:
[description deleted]
>Out of what is above, I plan to use the Banshee, WinTV 404 video capture
>card, Mustek Scanner, PiXie monitor 2.1 GB hard drive, floppy drive,
>CD-ROM drive and an Epson Stylus 800 color printer in the new setup.
>
>I want to add to that a SoundBlaster Live, CD-R drive (finally), V.90
>modem (USRobotics, probably since I have had good luck with those),
>hopefully 128 megabytes of RAM (since Windows98 chokes on 32MB) and I
>hope to get at least a Pentium III 450.
[rest deleted]
------------------------------------"Never tell me the odds!"---
Ray Olszewski -- Han Solo
Palo Alto, CA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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