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SlashNET Forum with Marcel Gagne

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the getting-to-know dept.

weebl writes "SlashNET is pleased to announce an upcoming forum with Marcel Gagne. He writes the 'Cooking with Linux' column every month for Linux Journal magazine. His first book was the acclaimed Linux System Administration: A User's Guide. Recently he wrote a book called Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye!, which is intended for consumer desktop users who are curious about Linux and want to give it a test run. The forum will be held on Monday February 23, 2004 at 8PM US Eastern Standard Time (-0500). As usual, the forum will be held in #forum. You will be able to submit questions both before and during the forum which will be used to guide the discussion."

10 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. Distributions by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm fairly new to regular Linux use, and as such am probably one of those readers for whom his work is intended.

    Lately, I've been trying to get moved over to Linux (from WinXP). But damn near every distribution I've tried to install gives me problems. From SuSE to Knoppix (installed, not live) I cannot get it working. One of the attractions is that it doesn't cost me anything to try out.

    How do you handle the recurring debates over distributions? What would you recommend to someone who wants to try moving to Linux but can't afford to spend countless hours getting it to install - installing Windows XP only takes me 30 minutes and everything works.

    Perhaps some other ./ers could offer their suggestions as well. Sorry if this isn't quite on topic.

    1. Re:Distributions by adamshelley · · Score: 0, Interesting

      Windows XP only takes 30 minutes to install if you never plan on connecting it to a network. Try two-three hours after patching, installing AV, office, firewall etc.

      Typically, when you install a linux distribution, given a typical desktop installtion, you've installed your os, all your apps you need and you can be securely connected to the internet - assuming u've used the latest release of your favorite distribution. This should take an hour roughguesstimate?

      As for your problems getting linux working, what hardware are you using? I can see ye' olde hardware being tough to get going but linux pretty much works out of the box now-a-days. Maybe you need to find a 2.6 distro?

    2. Re:Distributions by chazwurth · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Without knowing what kind of problems you're experiencing, the best advice I can offer is that you should find someone in your area who knows what they're doing. If you're even somewhat close to a medium-sized city, there is probably a local Linux user group; try googling for them, they may have a web page. If you have any friends who use Linux, ask them for help I've found that many Linux users are happy to help someone else who's just starting out.

      If that doesn't work out for you, try the IRC channel for whichever distribution you're trying to install and having problems with.

      --
      The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'. --Dan Kaminsky
    3. Re:Distributions by Vancorps · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Sorry, but its damned near impossible to have both ease of installation and flexibility. That said Linux has come a long way. Just to get linux to boot I have to add mmap=640k mmap = 512m mmap = 1023 mmap = 2047

      That just gets me booted, then I have to add more kernel load options to get the network cards to use tcp/ip properly

      Granted my situation is unique, the machine is a quad processor proliant but the situations are real and the person isn't necessarily doing anything wrong. One of the strengths of the linux kernel is that you can pretty well run it on everything. Windows particularly XP has the luxary of being able to install on the latest machines or at least machines that that were made in the last six years. Its really hard to beat the installer for it simply because it does all the hard work for you.

      I've had times when I had to configure every little detail (Gentoo custom compiled goodness) I've also had times where I installed and everything just worked. (Mandrake 8.2 RH 6.0 to 9.0) Linux is far from being easy to install but then again, if you are installing an OS you would do well to know the OS you are installing.

      From a usability standpoint KDE and Gnome desktops are quite easy to use, mark Firefox icon Internet and most people can get on to check their email or read slashdot just fine.
    4. Re:Distributions by rsklnkv · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "...installing Windows XP only takes me 30 minutes and everything works..."
      EVERYTHING? You mean all of notepad and sound recorder and the other three apps that come packaged with XP?

      On a serious note, I haven't had a linux install take me countless hours in years. That's not to say there is no post-install tweaking to be performed, but even windows needs that after an install (new latest-and-greatest drivers, codecs, etc).
      I just installed the latest Suse and had no serious problems. In fact, I was quite surprised to see a little network icon on the desktop with my workgroup autodetected. Pretty sweet. Also pulled up my USB thumdrive, and digital camera without a hitch. I've been using linux for eight years or so, and I think this is the first time I've had every bit of my hardware show up with zero probs, even an external usb hd...

      --
      _____ "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." -- Orwell
    5. Re:Distributions by NtroP · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Although I use RedHat/Fedora almost exclusively my primary desktop OS at work (as a Systems Administrator of a large Windows/Linux/Mac network), I'd recommend ARK Linux for drop-dead simple installation and good beginner experience. I have to admit, the one-click install is pretty impressive. As you get more familiar with Linux you will probably look forward to "tweaking" the install and compiling your own kernels, etc. and may want to look at some of the "better known"/"mature" distros, but the pollished install and interface of Ark Linux is something I'd feel comfortable recommending to my Mom.

      This is the most solid "Alpha" version of any OS I've seen. As always, YMMV depending on the type of hardware you run, but I've seen it install flawlessly on both Dells (Optiplex) and IBMs (300pls, etc). If you are installing it on a laptop you may run into some problems, as laptop hardware can be a bit odd at the best of times and finding Linux drivers for newer laptop hardware can be a challenge with ANY distro.

      The debate over which flavor or distro to use depends heavily on what you're used to IMO. Although there are sure to be plenty of people out there who will point out specific instances where "Dist A is better because FOO", I've rarely seen one distibution NOT be able to do something another can with a little tweaking and perhaps some re-compiling. People tend to stick with what they know and will argue vehemently for it, to the exclusion of all else. I "know" RedHat Linux and as such, if I'm going to set up a workstation or server to do something I've already done, I'll tend use and recommend it. That doesn't mean that Mandrake, SuSe, Debian, or even OS X can't do it just as well. Each has their strengths and weaknesses based on many factors including choice of installer software, package manager, default driver-selection, default desktop/window-manager, etc. but just because the choices for the default install may be best for a given situation doesn't mean that another distro can't be made to work just as well.

      Unfortunately, at this point in the game, running Linux as a primary desktop entails some extra learning and frustration. However, as someone who has moved completely off Windows, I can say that the discomfort is well worth it in the long run and the knowledge gained in the process will serve you well.

      --
      "terrorism" and "pedophilia" are the root passwords to the Constitution
  2. Re:Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goobye... by Jotaigna · · Score: 1, Interesting

    and to his close friend, the "compiling a module for the xxxx hardware" README file.

    Seriously, i tried to install a linux distribution just to get a glimpse on the state of the art on desktop usability. In my uninformed decision i downloaded Fedora and instantly missed the multimedia support.
    Eyecandy and the like, and ready to use software are needed for the (painful if ur not a geek) transition to a Linux Destop.

    --
    "The quality of life is inversely proportional to the number of keys on your keyring."
  3. Not just for the desktop anymore... by ArmenTanzarian · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I recently upgraded some servers to Win Server 2003 and it's very quick, but I'm pretty sure it flashes the BSoD every other time I reboot. I'm going to hook it up to a VCR to check it out, because it's too short to notice anything but the color of the screen and writing. It's just eery...

  4. Re:Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goobye... by kfg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Fedora is a bleeding edge development distro.

    Give a try to Mandrake, you'll find that it generally installs on out of the box boxen, quicker, easier and with less intelligent input than Windows.

    And of course there's always Knoppix for those who are curious, but want to take minimal risks with either their system or intellignce.

    KFG

  5. Slackware by turgid · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Contrary to popular belief slackware is quite simple to install and get working as long as you don't mind using text-mode menus to install. However, with Linux, you only install once. If yo know what a disk partition is, then that's about as technical as you need to get these days to install Slackware. It's also comprehensive without being bloated, very unfussy about hardware, very up-to-date and un-"dumbed down" unlike Fedora (previously Red Hat).

    I am biased. I've been using Slackware since 1995. I've tried Debian, SuSE, Red Hat and certain commercial UNIXes. When it comes to my own personal machine, Slackware is never beaten.

    --
    Stick Men