Well, after about 2 months or so of not using Linux at all (due to me being a moron, which I posted about around that time), I''m about ready to finally reinstall it. I''ve heard a bit about College Linux (which is based on Slackware) and have decided to give it a try. But before I do, has anyone here used it? If so, what do you think of it compared to, say, Gentoo? The Artist Formerly Known as CmndrM http://chaos.webhop.org

Okay, I haven''t tried college linux, but seeing as you see to have some kinds of similiar preferences as I do in distributions...

I liked slackware, sort of. I got pissed off about not being able to do anything for slackware, so I started looking around for something else.

At one point I used FreeBSD for awhile. The only thing I liked about it was ports.

Gentoo I was turned off from because of the flaming idiots that seemed to "switch" to gentoo and then run around screaming at redhat and slackware people about how they should be using gentoo instead. Sorry, but the crowd a distro attracts DOES matter to me.

Then I used debian. Initially because I wanted to actually code some back then, and I thought I''d be able to with debian (as in FOR debian). and although that doesn''t seem possible now (NM takes years), I still use it. because I like it.

Nobody ever seems to admit it, but compiling shit sucks. debian takes that nice big "every bit of software" thing and precompiles it for you.

Only complaint is lack of releases (out of date for some software), but it seems that they''re hoping to release a new version by december! (hope hope hope hope) which would solve that problem.

have you looked at it?

Well, you say the only thing you like about freebsd was ports. Was there anything negative about it?

Yeah, I''ve used all the big distros before, at least a bit: RedHat, Mandrake, Slackware (which I used primarily until version 9.0 came out, which just sucks, but that''s another story), SuSE, Debian, and Gentoo (which I used as a replacement for Slackware and liked it, sans the compiling times for stuff like KDE)... All in no particular order

The out-of-date thing is also the one thing about Debian that I really don''t like, and in the off chance that I decide to use it, I''d probably be running the "unstable" version.

Basically the reason that College Linux looks attractive to me is because it''s based on Slackware (which I like, pre-9.0), but, unlike Slack 9, it actually COMES WITH SOFTWARE. Or so it seems, anyway. I personally don''t mind having to compile things, provided that I don''t have to compile the huge packages like XFree, KDE, GNOME, etc. Yeah, theoretically you can get performance boosters, but if they''re not too noticeable, then it''s not worth the extra time spent compiling.

The Artist Formerly Known as CmndrM

http://chaos.webhop.org

I never got around to trying it, but I was about to just make a DVD of Red Hat''s RPMs and SRPMs and just use those with rpm2tbg(?) on Slack. I figured if it wasn''t a system daemon with unique RHat startup scripts, wouldn''t be a hassel.

But never got to try.

I''ve heard of College Linux, but never seen it in use. I also don''t work for a Linux oriented company being one of the more educated Linux users in the company (got a bunch of interest, but they stick to Red Hat for the most part).

Int.

quote: Original post by C-Junkie
Sorry, but the crowd a distro attracts DOES matter to me.

Then I used debian...I still use it. because I like it.

That''s interesting. Debian is known for many things, a friendly user base is not one of them. Some things that get posted on the Debian mailing lists just make my jaw drop, literally. I stopped using Debian primarily because of that.

Try Knoppix. Its based on redhat, so it has kudzu and other nice redhat things, but without Evolution which is good or bad depending on you. Though knoppix is a Live CD distribution, meaning its meant to be used off of a bootable CD, its easy and quick to install to HD and comes with one or two of every type of program you need, including my favorite, KDevelop. The only things you might need to download would be GIMP/Blender for game development.

-Steven Rokiski

quote: Original post by SteevR
Try Knoppix. Its based on redhat, so it has kudzu and other nice redhat things, but without Evolution which is good or bad depending on you. Though knoppix is a Live CD distribution, meaning its meant to be used off of a bootable CD, its easy and quick to install to HD and comes with one or two of every type of program you need, including my favorite, KDevelop. The only things you might need to download would be GIMP/Blender for game development.

-Steven Rokiski

Knoppix is based on Debian unstable. Kudzu is free software and therefore redistributable. It''s in Debian''s packages for instance.


Hope this helps.

quote: Original post by tortoise

quote: Original post by C-Junkie
Sorry, but the crowd a distro attracts DOES matter to me.

Then I used debian...I still use it. because I like it.

That''s interesting. Debian is known for many things, a friendly user base is not one of them. Some things that get posted on the Debian mailing lists just make my jaw drop, literally. I stopped using Debian primarily because of that.

Aye, debian users can be rude to newbies (a) because many of them have used linux for SO long and find that answering the same questions for EVERY @!#% NEW LINUX USER is the most tedious thing in the world and also because (b) some are, in fact, assholes.

Doesn''t bother me, I''m not a linux newbie. And as for flamewars, they happen EVERYWHERE. ever looked at ANY mailing list? recent linux-kernel ones come to mind. you learn to kinda ignore them.

What does bother me is dumbass "advocacy." Yes, everyone promotes the distro they like. (see all the "just apt-get install apache oh wait you''re using slackware" posts) What does bother me, however... my first experience with gentoo was some dipshit screaming alt.os.linux.slackware about how gentoo was way better and everyone who used slackware was a fucking idiot. He didn''t stop until after a month or two. My second experience with a gentoo user was similiar...

(and to whoever asked whether I _disliked_ other parts of freebsd, not really. I just liked the way some linux distros did things more. and I especially prefered the linux kernel.)

It''s not Linux, but they have jumped on the GNU bandwagon, QNX 6.2.1.