[CLUE-Tech] debian versus fedora

[James LaRue]

I did a Knoppix install, and found it easy, powerful, and a snap to 
upgrade. I was very impressed that after running apt-get update & 
apt-get upgrade, just one more command -- apt-get install gnome -- was 
enough to bring in the whole gnome environment.

But despite the fact that I myself had gotten another Knoppix system to 
sync my Palm via a USB port, I never did manage to do that in Knoppix on 
my new Dell 450, so found myself going back to Fedora. Where, of course, 
I now find myself unable to sync via USB. (Maybe this is hardware related?)

Three comments about the differences between Debian and Red Hat. First, 
I'm finding that yum is just about as good as apt-get -- you can do 
whole distribution upgrades with one command (although it's smart to 
update the yum.conf file to make things faster -- see 
fedora.artoo.net/faq/samples/yum.conf). Second, wander through a 
bookstore and marvel at all the books on ..... Red Hat. And virtually 
nothing else, other than the occasional FreeBSD tome. There's a wealth 
of print support for Fedora, much less so for any other distribution. 
Third, there are odd little idiosyncracies or weirdnesses in every 
distribution. The Debian gnome wouldn't lock the screen; Fedora seems to 
require being root at a terminal to unmount a floppy (which does rather 
limit Fedora's likelihood of use in a public computing environment).

-- 
Jamie LaRue, Director
Douglas County Libraries
Voice: 303-688-7656
Email: jlarue @ jlarue.com

"If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank.” -- Woody Allen