On Monday 20 January 2003 02:38 pm, Stephen Kuhn wrote: <Broad axe editing enabled ;-)>
> > That's OK I question it constantly myself. > > (What, you're a married man, too, eh?) Sadly (or happily depending on the cognates) I'm divorced. Twice. lol > > I think the consensus is (still) Stephen that Mandrake has done more to > > make GNU/Linux "Windows easy, user friendly" than any other distribution. > > This may be true from *your* perspective - but having been using both > "in parallel", I have to assert that it's a matter of preference. You > like Molson Golden, and Fred likes Labatt's. This can lead to both going > on and on in an incessant loop forever - as I've seen before - but it > really doesn't matter in the long run - the matter IS, though, that both > are using the same basic operating system - the matter of how it is > tailored and packaged is of no real importance. Linux (the kernel) + tailoring and packaging (RH, Lycoris, Mandrake, Debian, etc) = a distribution. Correct? Tailoring and packaging are IMHO *all important* for someone that's terrified of the name GNU/Linux. I have two friends that ran Mandrake for almost a year before I admitted that it was actually a GNU/Linux distribution. The only reason I did so was a conversation in a social setting about how expensive Windows is getting; and the suggestion of another party present (World's Greatest Authority type) was something like "Why don't you try Linux." Pronounced incorrectly of course. The response was "OH no, that's too hard." When I told them what they had actually been using all that time I had another good laugh. E-mail, surfing, tunes, that's about the extent of their use. One was suspicious since she hadn't rebooted in, well, forever. > > I have seen both distros installed by complete neophytes. I have seen > the exact same trends from that point forward. For as much as you might > say that RH is difficult to get drivers for, it can be countered with > the same statement about Mandrake - hence, both have their > idiosyncrasies - as does each and every other distro. Being part of both > lists (Newbies for RH and Newbies for Mandrake) I see and each the exact > same things over and over again - but in different contexts - just the > name changes with the list. I've noticed the same Stephen. In fact as a neophyte I've actually installed both. Idiosyncrasies are what one either loves or hates in a distribution, aren't they? Drivers aren't generally as much of a problem with either RH or Mandrake as they are with Windows and that's the comparison I didn't make clearly. Sorry about that. RH difficult? No, not really any more Stephen. Just different. Around here "Linux" and Red Hat are offered (incorrectly and unfairly IMO) as synonyms; with implications of any evil one might want to imagine. For some reason Mandrake hasn't been branded that way as a name. Once people see how sweet things can be when led from the darkness, the other distros have a chance. In order to teach someone about choice you first have to break them out of their preconceived notions. Anything that I can do to keep the "grass roots" explosion expanding is what I'll do. Installing different distributions for different end users for different purposes is just a part of that. I'm not exactly too shy to evangelize GNU/Linux generically or as a specific distribution. Whatever works. OK? > > I can go one better with a client of mine - very very recent; the client > was having more than usual troubles in setting up the MDK 9 distro - and > all help, all information, all the "try this try that" didn't work at > all - he could not get a working system up that was viable. After a 35 > minute installation of RH 8.0, the customer was unbelievably ecstatic > seeing at seeing FINALLY what the result of the installation was - a > beautiful desktop, working programs, network connectivity. > > This can be turned around the other way switching Mandrake for RH as > well - same basic circumstances - RH install failed miserably, but MDK > went flawlessly. Yep. > > Flogging RH because you like Mandrake is really a "nether" issue - > Mandrake spawned from RH - so some respect should be given - and RH has > done more than any distribution for bring it not only further out to the > public in a nice package, but has come up with wonderful utilities and > standards (RPM) that make the Mandrake distribution so nice. RH made > huge inroads into the corporate sector - and you should respect that as > well - as it opens the doors for other distributions to be used > likewise. I've never really flogged the distributions individually or severally Stephen. I ask questions (too many perhaps) and give advice when asked based on what I know about an acquaintance's or friend's hardware and my own experience with a specific distribution. But I truly *don't like RED.* <g> The colour, not the OS under the hat. > > > Most of us won't ever forget where Mandrake originated. I think the trick > > is for Red Hat-ians (is that a word? <g>) to remember _why_ the branch > > happened. > > I don't forget why the branch happend - because I have to sit in the > seat of a sysadmin as well as sit in the seat of an end-user - I know - > and I don't object to using Mandrake nor do I object to using RedHat. > Overall, in MY personal world, Mandrake and RedHat are literally the > only two distributions I shall offer my customers - but until I am shown > otherwise, I WILL recommend Redhat for servers, and not Mandrake. > Desktops are a completely different issue, though. For desktops, I > rather to choose which one works best on that particular bit of > hardware. If Mandrake flies on the machine, then no RH. If RH flies on > that particular machine, then no MDK. My loyalty lies in what works for > that particular situation. Total agreement and kudos for all the help that I've seen come from you Stephen. When I finally do build a new box for myself sometime this year I may just switch to Red Hat or another distribution because it "just works," but I'll still be a subscriber and supporter here for as long as they'll have me. > > > I do owe everyone an apology even so. I forgot to put OT in the subject > > line. > > I did, hence I covered yer butt! A Gentleman and a Scholar and a damned fine human being. > > > Abject apologies and it won't happen again. > > Why apologise? I was born in Oklahoma and being polite was something I had no choice in. My mother was bigger than I am. ;-) Regards; -- Charlie Edmonton,AB,Canada Registered user 244963 http://counter.li.org Mankind is poised midway between the gods and the beasts. -- Plotinus
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