> RedHat 6.0 will be out only on May 10th, so it seems we won't have RH6.0
> CDs in time. I think the right way to handle this is to start with clean
> RH5.2 installations, and then do RPM upgrades to all installed packages.
>
> The question is which RPMs to upgrade and to what version. Some packages
> are already released by RedHat as "RedHat 6.0", which I guess means
> they're stable and safe. Others are available only at "RawHide" level.
> Would you consider it prudent to use RawHide-level stuff for newbie
> installations? I'm currently running a mixed RH5.0/RawHide/RH6.0
> configuration with no problems, but of course this is not necessarily
> representative.
RedHat 6.0 was already released on April 26. The "May 10" is only
the date of the SHIPPING of the official packages of RedHat. It
doesn't mean that the current release is not the final; It only
means that the factory which burns the CDs for RedHat need a few
days to burn 100,000 or more CDs, the printing press needs a few
days to print the same number of books, somebody else needs a few
days to manufacture the same number of carton packages, etc.
Of course, there are also some minor differences between the
"official" release and the un-official: The official includes a CD
with a lot of demo applications and office suites, and the
official has extra packages in addition to the standard packages
(like the previous releases of RedHat, in which there were two or
three packages, like backup and Real-Audio, in addition to the
hundreds standard packages).
Contrary to RedHat, there are some faster companies, which already
burnt CDs of 6.0. Since RedHat publishes its distribution in its
FTP site and many mirrors, you can make your own 6.0 CD too, and
IMHO it is the best option for the installation party.
Since most of the packages are new or have new major versions
after years of staying with old major versions, installing 5.2 is
like reading a newspaper from 1998, or buying a computer from 1998
(in the price of 1998).
P.S.
Assuming that nobody is going to sell official CDs for hundreds of
Sheqels in the installation party, even if the official 6.0 was
already available, CDs of "un-official" RH6.0 are alreay available
from the following sources:
Cheap*Bytes:
http://cart.cheapbytes.com/cgi-bin/cart/scan/se=0070010368?ckozNT9R;;94
LSL:
http://www.mailordercentral.com/lsl/prodinfo.asp?number=RHGPL-01
Linux Support Services:
http://www.linux-support.net/cdoffer.shtml
And zillion of others.
--
Eli Marmor
