Re: Debian Progeny Debian?
The only significant difference I noticed with Progeny was the installer, though this may have been due to the fact that I simply upgraded my Progeny install to Woody almost right after, and then happily upgraded that to Sid... Speaking of the installer, it's not very good (IMO), especially the disk partitioning tool in the GUI, you are probably better off just walking her through a standard Debian install so she can get a grip on what's going. On September 9, 2001 01:56, Paolo Alexis Falcone wrote: I'm scouting for a Linux distro for a complete newbie who I think will be interested in Linux. RedHat or Mandrake might be easy to install, but the mere fact that they ship with a broken compiler that breaks almost anything is not too comforting (I started with RedHat, and I can't forget the first time I tried to compile a program - it failed and I almost didn't get my machine problem done had I not checked RedHat's fixes). I would prefer my newbie friend and classmate in computer science to try out Debian, but it might intimidate her initially (she's currently a Windows user). Would anyone recommend Progeny Debian instead? I looked at their web site and it looked good - the matter in question would be - would it be as good for a beginner? Can anyone give a qualitative analysis on Progeny? Thanks! Paolo Falcone __ www.edsamail.com
Re: Debian Progeny Debian?
Can anyone give a qualitative analysis on Progeny? It seems a mixed bag to me. I have had it install ok sometimes and then not install other times on same hardware. The package manager is not even close to Stormpkg, and the desktop is quirky at times. In other respects it seems quite nice so it is not all negative by any means. Ed Lawson
Re: Debian Progeny Debian?
On Sun, Sep 09, 2001 at 04:56:14PM +0800, Paolo Alexis Falcone ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) said something like: Would anyone recommend Progeny Debian instead? I looked at their web site and it looked good - the matter in question would be - would it be as good for a beginner? Can anyone give a qualitative analysis on Progeny? I'd recommend Progeny. I installed it a few months ago and it's been a dream. It was my first real experience with Debian. The install went smoothly and it set everything up quickly and correctly. I can't really give you an objective analysis between the two since I've only used Debian potato for a very short period but I've never had a problem using a deb package from woody if I couldn't find it in the Progeny archives. My only advice is to read the install notes (forgot where they were) because there is some information on where to place the kernel and on using Grub that I didn't find anywhere else.
Debian Progeny Debian?
I'm scouting for a Linux distro for a complete newbie who I think will be interested in Linux. RedHat or Mandrake might be easy to install, but the mere fact that they ship with a broken compiler that breaks almost anything is not too comforting (I started with RedHat, and I can't forget the first time I tried to compile a program - it failed and I almost didn't get my machine problem done had I not checked RedHat's fixes). I would prefer my newbie friend and classmate in computer science to try out Debian, but it might intimidate her initially (she's currently a Windows user). Would anyone recommend Progeny Debian instead? I looked at their web site and it looked good - the matter in question would be - would it be as good for a beginner? Can anyone give a qualitative analysis on Progeny? Thanks! Paolo Falcone __ www.edsamail.com
Re: Debian Progeny Debian?
[ wrap you text at around 72 characters, please ] On Sun, Sep 09, 2001 at 04:56:14PM +0800, Paolo Alexis Falcone wrote: | I'm scouting for a Linux distro for a complete newbie who I think | will be interested in Linux. RedHat or Mandrake might be easy to | install, but the mere fact that they ship with a broken compiler | that breaks almost anything is not too comforting (I started with | RedHat, and I can't forget the first time I tried to compile a | program - it failed and I almost didn't get my machine problem done | had I not checked RedHat's fixes). I would prefer my newbie friend | and classmate in computer science to try out Debian, but it might | intimidate her initially (she's currently a Windows user). Would | anyone recommend Progeny Debian instead? I looked at their web site | and it looked good - the matter in question would be - would it be | as good for a beginner? Can anyone give a qualitative analysis on | Progeny? I personally know nothing of Progeny. I too was an RH user until sometime during my use of 7.0 when I switched to Debian. I think that the best thing would be to give her Debian. You are there to assist with the install and initial configuration. That is the main hurdle. Once you have the system initially installed and configured the rest isn't bad. I have a friend to is a computer geek. He recently got his own computer (had been using his dad's before). He's used Redhat, and more recently he tried Debian. (Those were on his dad's machine) He saw someone else install Mandrake on an old non-descript box and was impressed with the way it autodetected all the hardware properly. He now has Mandrake on his machine (I don't know if he is dual-booting windows or not). He was telling me that their upgrade tool was much worse than apt-get. It couldn't handle the availability of more than one version of a package. He also doesn't like how their X config tool destroys any changes he makes to the XF86Config file by hand. He wants to get into the config files and learn how it all works. He is thinking of installing Debian on it now, his only hesitation is if it isn't perfectly smooth and the computer is not usable when he needs it for class. So my recomendation is to help her install and configure Debian, then slowly let her learn how to do it on her own as she develops more interest. Be sure, too, to install the things she will want to find the OS useful. This may include a somewhat familiar editor, word processor, etc. You can make sure she starts out right :-). Also, don't forget to introduce her to this list if there's any difficulty. -D
Re: Debian Progeny Debian?
On Sun, Sep 09, 2001 at 04:56:14PM +0800, Paolo Alexis Falcone wrote: I'm scouting for a Linux distro for a complete newbie who I think will be interested in Linux. RedHat or Mandrake might be easy to install, but the mere fact that they ship with a broken compiler that breaks almost anything is not too comforting (I started with RedHat, and I can't forget the first time I tried to compile a program - it failed and I almost didn't get my machine problem done had I not checked RedHat's fixes). I would prefer my newbie friend and classmate in computer science to try out Debian, but it might intimidate her initially (she's currently a Windows user). Would anyone recommend Progeny Debian instead? I looked at their web site and it looked good - the matter in question would be - would it be as good for a beginner? Can anyone give a qualitative analysis on Progeny? If your friend doesn't mind some help with the install from you, I would just install debian. If she wants to do it all her self no harm in letting her try a debian install and if she simply can't make it though suggest progeny. Basically the two distros are the same except progeny has an easier install and some more recent software such as XFree 4. hth, kent -- The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. --Albert Einstein
