Ubuntu uses the same package management system as Debian, and is pretty decent (like you said, almost a Fisher Price thing), but I was not satisfied with the default options for a lot of things, including partitioning (by default, it just makes one big gestalt partition and dumps everything in there, which sucks if you ever want to reformat/reinstall without wiping your /home directory).

I personally prefer Debian, though it too has it's quirks. The package repositories are awesome, and if you so desire you can configure some tools to allow you to use RPMs as well. Use with caution, since it's easy to step on the main package system's toes this way.

Quote: Original post by gumpy macdrunken
as far as installing and configuration i prefer 100% control. i like software that does everything for me ONLY if it does it the way i'd do it myself. i get the idea this "installer" is something i might not like, but thanks for pointing it out for me to look at.

Well, the installer is designed to allow you to take as much control as you want. At some point in the Debian install it will ask you what level of control you want over the package configuration. The installer itself keeps what it does nice and minimal -- a simple basic install. The other important point is that you'll have a lot of trouble installing Debian without an installer of some sort.

There seems to have been a lot of effort going into getting the defaults right in Debian so I don't think you'll have too much to worry about. That said, Gentoo is really amazing for customization (or if you want to go for overkill: Linux From Scratch).

Quote: Original post by lemurion
You can use precompiled packages with Gentoo, they are called GRP iirc, just look at the Gentoo handbook they tell about it. Read about "Stage 3"

With the caveat that this applies only to installation. While some big packages are available in precompiled form (for example Firefox, Thunderbird, and OpenOffice.org, which is a horror to compile), most of your updates and programs installed after the initial setup will be source based. I love my Gentoo, but if you don't have the time and hardware to compile your programs, it's not a good idea.

I was in your shoes not too long ago with the exact same slackware issue, Arch was Nirvana(I'm still using it). No reason though not to try the other distros people suggested in this thread.

You should try Mepis, it's a Debian based distro, but it's very, very user friendly, and just nice to use.

I would like to defend Ubuntu. It's not the "Fisher Price" of Debian-based distros. Yes, it's easier to get up and running than any other Debian, but it's still good old Debian. Just because something is designed for ease of use does not make it automatically inferior.

Because it's based on Debian, that means that anything you can do with Debian, you can do with Ubuntu. Plus it has the advantage of ACTUALLY using XOrg.

That said, I too am a Linux snob. I'm actually running pure Debian. But I also ordered a laptop that should be coming in tomorrow, and I'm going to put Ubuntu on it because my laptop is supposed to be for productivity, not having to mess around with editing text files all the time to get things working.

Really, it all depends on what you want your machine to do.

Just another note on ubuntu. I have tried most of the mainstream distros and found ubuntu to be one of the better ones. I started with slackware but also got annoyed by the lack of package management. Gentoo is a really good learning distro. Their forums are one of the best that i've seen. They always help out and never flame anyone (unless you don't do a forum search first. ;)) I eventually switched because I got tired of compiling packages and just didnt want to bother with tweaking ebuilds and such.

Ubuntu provides a really good base install. Having all your usb drives automount along with all the hardware detection working out of the box is a major plus. I find I can easily install the packages without any hassles. Plus being debian based *most* packages are compatible with ubuntu.

I'm extremely happy with Debian Sarge; I've never encountered bugs that weren't in stable as well, and the selection of packages is amazing. I'd go with either Debian or Ubuntu for any new installations.

Quote: Original post by Strife
That said, I too am a Linux snob. I'm actually running pure Debian. But I also ordered a laptop that should be coming in tomorrow, and I'm going to put Ubuntu on it because my laptop is supposed to be for productivity, not having to mess around with editing text files all the time to get things working.

That's exactly what I do, as well; Debian Sid on the desktop, Ubuntu on the laptop.

Quote: Original post by bytecoder
I can't recommend ubuntu enough; ubuntu is definitely not "fisher price: my first linux," nor is it a hardcore dyi distro. If you're like me and you like having your computer work for you, but still want the power and customizability of linux, then ubuntu is right for you.

I agree. While Ubuntu isn't a developers dream out of the box, the package installer is super-slick, so it's pretty easy to set up a full-blown dev environment. And it's _so_ pretty :)