maemo.org - Talk - Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

maemo.org - Talk (https://talk.maemo.org/index.php)

- General (https://talk.maemo.org/forumdisplay.php?f=7)

- - Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner (https://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=84221)

Re: Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

Quote:

Originally Posted by geneven (Post 1205775)

I suspect that most newbies try a series of distros till they find their favorite. I hung out at DistroWatch for a long time and tested whatever seemed interesting

hehe as did i, it was fun to see/try the various dist's at the time, first i used zorin for a long time, after that i used ubuntu and still do, i was prepaired to abandon ubuntu after the MASSIVE ignorence that was the 11' series, but now 12.04 is working good and im slowly moving my computers from 10.10 to 12.04.

Re: Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

Quote:

Originally Posted by zimon (Post 1205750)

I use daily both Fedora and Ubuntu.
For security reasons and for Linux defragmentation-agenda-reasons, I recommend Fedora and also use it in my home computer.

Ubuntu and Debian should transfer to rpm package format and overall should more closely follow LSB-standards and -recommendations. There is well argumented technical and political reasons why.

It would be beneficial for the whole Linux ecosystem to have more compatibility between distros, at least on the lower level. Microsoft is happy Linux ecosystem is so scattered and fragmented.

why? i prefer debs as they are a standard archive(rpm's warent last time i checked) and im used to it

plus some benefits like asking questions and showing installed size and couple of more reasons

Re: Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrimyHR (Post 1205997)

why?

because rpm is technically superior over deb.
There is many features missing in deb, which are in rpm and used by default. (for example deb's way of embedded signatures is not really used anywhere)

rpm has differential packages (.drpm) which leads to savings in data transfers both for end users and operators, and it saves time when updating and upgrading.

For example, I did a "yum -y update" to my Fedora 16 machine today:

Code:

....

Upgrade  8 Packages

....

Total download size: 5.7 M

Downloading Packages:

Setting up and reading Presto delta metadata

updates/prestodelta                                      | 1.1 MB     00:00

Processing delta metadata

Download delta size: 553 k

....

Finishing rebuild of rpms, from deltarpms

<locally rebuilding deltarpms>                           | 3.5 MB     00:03

Presto reduced the update size by 85% (from 3.5 M to 553 k).

....

Also rpm has transactions support, so if device looses battery power between installing packages, the device can itself backroll after reboot. (in fact, if battery power is lost in middle of transaction, nothing needs to be backrolled, only transaction continued and finished or transaction cancelled)

Additionally, rpm-systems has well built and tested support for SELinux. SElinux is quite difficult to build afterwards to the system, if software packages doesn't support it already.

And rpm packages have GPG-signatures embedded, so we won't have security vulnerabilities like in talk.maemo.org we see often: there is a MITM attack possible every time someone does wget+dpks_-i.

Re: Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

This discussion is fruitless and as old as shipping pre-compiled binaries in any form! We do not need to reproduce it here again and again.

Re: Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaaa62 (Post 1206047)

This discussion is fruitless and as old as shipping pre-compiled binaries in any form! We do not need to reproduce it here again and again.

Many deb-users don't just know what they are lagging. They believe the FUD the oldtimers tell them on forums.

And more importantly, that MITM-security-vulnerability seems to be totally ignored time and time again in all deb-based systems. Many Linux fans takes security seriously, except when it comes to deb, they just overlook it totally and refuse to see the huge flaw in the practical security policy of deb-systems.

There is good technical reasons deb-systems to transfer to a rpm-system. But it would be foolish rpm-systems to change to inferior deb-system. Most everyone still agree, using only one common distribution software packaging format would benefit the whole Linux ecosystem.

Re: Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

It's not exactly fruitless, but it's not really helped me progress much either.

Too many replies are obviously not targeted at a beginner, as the thread title requested...

Re: Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

Quote:

Originally Posted by dumpystig (Post 1206052)

It's not exactly fruitless, but it's not really helped me progress much either.

Too many replies are obviously not targeted at a beginner, as the thread title requested...

Well, have you started to try different systems? It is the best way to get a hang of it. Trying with Live-USB-stick or with Live-CD:s is a good way to try them out. And then there is active and good user help forums at least with the most used distributions; Ubuntu and Fedora, if you need help using the Live-Linux system or installing additional features and such.

Re: Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

I've tried to install LiLi/Ubuntu but am having some problems with my 8GB USB drive and also my CPU's apparently not supporting PAE (although I'm almost certain they do).

Not had much time to sort this yet, got my son for the weekend so we been very busy with other stuff, but I'll be back on it tonight.

Re: Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

Quote:

Originally Posted by zimon (Post 1206041)

because rpm is technically superior over deb.

bla...bla...rpm has some advantages over deb as well as deb has some advantages over rpm...your point is mute as one is not overall better then the other and claiming it is would be simply a bulls.h.i.t
this comes purely to personal choice and needs

Re: Can you recommend a Linux version for beginner

Quote:

Originally Posted by dumpystig (Post 1206064)

I've tried to install LiLi/Ubuntu but am having some problems with my 8GB USB drive and also my CPU's apparently not supporting PAE (although I'm almost certain they do).

What kind of problems with 8 GB USB? With LiLi?

And are you trying (wanting) to use 32 bit OS in a 64 bit system with more than 4 GB RAM memory? If, I would recommend to try 64-bit OS instead, also in LiveUSB-system.