On Fri, Mar 19, 2004 at 05:02:06PM -0600, Kent West wrote: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >It seems with SuSE and redhat (which I played with for a week or two), > >my major issues are ALWAYS hardware. Which I doubt is earth > >shattering. > > > >2. Boot loader --> I am pretty sure I read on their website > >Debian uses Lilo. How come? I like GRUB. Can I use GRUB? > > lilo is the traditional boot loader. I understand that the next version > of Debian will use GRUB.
Yeah, the most recent beta of the "debian-installer" system for Debian sarge defaults to grub: although, just as you could use grub beforehand, you can still use lilo. > And even now, and even with earlier versions, you can use either. I don't think woody's installer supports grub, but you can certainly install it later. > >3. How easy is apt-get really? > > See my answer to question 5 below. I think you're right to be sceptical of the people saying that you should use Debian because apt-get rocks. I find that some of the reviews here can get a little ... overzealous; apt-get started out as a debugging tool for a package management library, and despite many improvements since then its user interface still sometimes leaves something to be desired when things don't go according to plan. (Then again, I still use the venerable and occasionally cantankerous dselect, so what do I know?) For me, the benefit of Debian is not any particular package manager. It's more that we have a set of standards that make package management tools feasible to use on a very large scale, so that I can have a very high expectation of success and lack of hassle from installing a set of packages. I'd encourage you to play around with the available tools rather than assuming that apt-get is the be-all and end-all. > >5. Does any edition come with OpenOffice, which obviates my need for > >M$? > > I know it's in Sid (the playland of the developers, cutting edge, and > all that), and I'm confident it's in stable. It's not, actually, but it is in testing. > >6. For the record, I am more than happy to pay for these > >releases/donate, so unless the costs associated approach micro$oft's > >office, price doesn't matter. > > Debian is pre-eminent among distros in adhering to the principles of > Free Software (as in "libre", and as in "no cost"). If you stick with > the official Debian repositories, you'll never have to wonder "Has my > trial license expired?". Of course, Debian has expenses, so donations > (http://www.debian.org/devel/join/) are always welcome. While this is true, I'd just like to say that you have no more moral obligation to donate than you have legal obligation. Share and enjoy. I was about to say that often we appreciate donations of time far more than money, only to realize that Kent had already pointed you to a page on contributing development effort. :-) -- Colin Watson [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
