On Saturday 07 August 2004 09:33 am, robin fell wrote: > > Last Friday 06 August 2004 03:01, Russell Hanaghan was like: > > > I need to stretch my wings a little and try something outside of > > > Mandrake 10.0... > > > > > > Can I get some basic pros and cons of the different distro's you're > > > using? And especially from previous Mandrake users. > > I gave up with Mandrake at 8.0. It was OK(ish), but I have a nasty > habit of breaking _anything_ based on RPM. > > Tried Planet, but based on RH meant endless RPM database woes for me :( > > Ended up on Gentoo, but I can't really recommend it for general use by > others; > > cons > 1. easy to select configurations (via USE flags) that break your system > 2. easy to select (via USE flags) configurations that _nearly_ work :( > 3. takes ages to compile things from source, with little real benefit > 4. fills your HD with source code (minor niggle really) > > pros > 1. i've not managed to break portage yet. this is numero-uno for me > because i killed MDK and RH several times - requiring a reinstall [note: > yes i do know about rpm dB locks and dB repair tools, but they failed to > fix my dB] > 2. you choose how much cruft you want to install > 3. 'portage' and dependency managment :) > 4. package list is up-to-date > 5. 'feels' more amenable to source installation of 'other' things - > probably because it hasn't been 'customised' to suit the whims of a > particular distro. I daresay distros may have standardised a little > more now. > > I'm currently considering a change of distro too - I spend too long on > admin issues, and not enough time hacking/recording. Debian looks > interesting, but i need to find out how robust the underlying dB is > first... I don't recall ever hearing anybody wedging the package management system. I've seen rpm break on RH, not on SuSE. Debian cons: 1) Packages are split up way too finely, but I don't build embedded systems. 2) RH experience doesn't translate well (really a RH con) 3) All those little "they really need a utility for this" utilities actually exist, but you have to look in the policy manual to find out. Pros: 1) Package management is superb 2) A smooth upgrade path is high priority 3) After armageddon, the Dodge Dart driving cockroaches will still be running Debian > > good luck > R
