RE: Sunday's The Day
C. K. Lester wrote:
> Which Linux distribution should I get?!
For general purpose use, just about any Linux distro will do. Mandrake
and RedHat are the most popular, so if you find yourself trying to fix a
problem, you've got a slightly better chance of finding someone 'in the
same boat' although in most cases I've found very little usable help
since most Linux users these days don't really know much about the nuts
and bolts. Those who do know a lot don't use the most popular distros.
> Debian looks to be a top-contender.
If stability is a top priority for you or you're a Free Software purist,
Debian is the way to go. It's also cheap. There's a guy in Manitoba who
will sell you the entire distro (8 CDs) for about $40 Canadian.
If you want to do video capture/editing, RedHat 7.2 or later is the
distro of choice at this juncture in time (Debian is working on
something in this area, but as far as I know it's still some distance
from being ready for primetime). Check the list of out-of-box supported
capture cards first, though.
But if you want the absolutely most stable OS _and_ simplicity of
configuration/maintenance, go with FreeBSD. One of the big advantages of
FreeBSD is that there is only one 'flavour.' That means that when you
read about how to do something in the FreeBSD handbook (which comes with
every install CD) you can apply that information to the distribution at
hand. With Linux, there are so many distributions and so much
information out there on the 'net that is applicable only to one or a
few distros, it's easy to get confused, especially if you're a
roll-up-the-sleeves kind of person or have a sticky problem to solve.
To answer another question I saw in this thread (forgive me for not
backtracking to that message so I can quote it):
Linux is referred to as "UNIX-like" because it didn't start from the
same code base as UNIX. Linus Torvalds, while still at university, wrote
the Linux kernel based on Minix, itself a UNIX-like OS used to teach OS
design. Minux was (if memory serves) written from scratch and so it too
is not a derivative of UNIX. Once the Linux kernel was developed, UNIX
tools were then ported, giving Linux a UNIX 'feel.'
As for the complete history of FreeBSD and how it came about, go to the
FreeBSD site (just add .org to freebsd) and read the introduction in the
handbook.
The bottom line for me was stability and security so I went with FreeBSD
for all the LAN servers I've ever set up. Stability was, of course, my
main concern. Once a FreeBSD server is configured and running, you
rarely have to do any maintenance. I set one up for a local non-profit
organization here in Bancroft a year and a half ago and they've only
called me once with a problem. The administrator had forgotten his
password (gives you an idea how often administration is necessary, eh?).
We also have to deal with sporadic power outages here in Bancroft and
with FreeBSD this isn't much of a problem. I've seen FreeBSD recover
from situations where Windows or Linux would choke, namely a power
outage while the OS was reading/writing to the hard drive. FreeBSD's
file system has a built-in redundancy that allows this. You might lose a
few log files, but nothing serious.
As for security, Linux has become plagued of late with WORMs and
virsuses (viri?). FreeBSD hasn't. And firewalling with Linux can be an
expensive on-going battle. With FreeBSD you use tunnelling which
by-passes firewalling altogether and makes your server pretty much
invisible while connected to the Internet.
And then there is also the Macintosh connection. FreeBSD was used as a
base for OSX. In effect, OSX is FreeBSD with the Mac GUI built on top.
For my money, that's the ultimate in stability and convenience of use.
The only drawback with OSX is that Euphoria isn't officially supported
(or even ported to my knowledge) yet.
> However, my purpose is to find one that runs EUPHORIA goodly-like
> because I want to dev apps.
Euphoria runs well on Mandrake 8.1 and FreeBSD 4.2 (these are the only
ones I have personal experience with so I'm not going to say anything
about the others). Installation is relatively straightforward on both;
just follow the README files. I'd also recommend EuGTK as a GUI
development tool.
I've been using Linux off and on since 1994 and FreeBSD solidly since
1996. If I had my druthers, I wouldn't have any Windows or Linux boxen
in my studio at all. Unfortunately, reality must be faced square on.
-Ron T.
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