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Home / Win2Lin MIGRATION STORIES / discussion Why so many distros? Why are there so many distros to linux?

Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) Runelord Why? Just to confuse people? :( 08-23-2004 11:48:02

RE:Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) Runelord Also, can someone recommend a distro to me with these specs? 2 gig HD, 64 MB RAM, 133 megahertz processer.... I am not going to upgrade this comp, btw 08-23-2004 12:27:07

RE:Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) kevin Profile Why? Just to confuse people? :( It's all part of an elaborate worldwide plot to disorient unsuspecting computer users. Also, can someone recommend a distro to me with these specs? 2 gig HD, 64 MB RAM, 133 megahertz processer.... Let me guess, this is your first crack at linux and you thought that you'd give it a shot on your oldest, crappiest hardware because you read somewhere that linux can "bring new life to old hardware". Am I warm at all? We see this a little too often, and if this is your story you have the wrong idea. In linux land, we have multiple distributions because they all cater to different markets. Within the world of linux, we actually have competition. Part of what drives the competition is that the majority of linux users are informed consumers, and understand what they are getting into. Most linux users know why they would prefer debian over gentoo, or vice versa. You will never be happy using linux unless you spend time learning about it. That has been true for years, and it will be true for a few more. Usually, when people ask which linux distibution to try first I send them to this page: http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major However, with hardware as old as yours, these will not be good choices. I have to ask for what purpose do you intend to use this machine? If you want a replacement for windows, a linux desktop, this computer will not be sufficient. If you intend to use this computer as a simple network router, dhcp server, and firewall, this computer will be a fine choice. If you are determined to try linux on the desktop using this machine, there is one distro I know of that does cater to your particular requirements: http://delilinux.berlios.de/ This will provide you with a very basic desktop that can browse the web, handle email, allow you to do wordprocessing and spreadsheets (not MSoffice compatible like modern linux distributions). If you merely intend to create a server, consider a very minimal installation (no Xwindows) of vector linux, debian/woody, slackware, or freebsd. -kev 08-23-2004 12:56:44

RE:Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) Runelord Actually, I just wanted to try it out on that old computer, before converting my main computer. :-/ All you linuxians got to make like one STANDARD version of linux, with all the mods other people made as the different distrubutions... it would make it SO much easier... *sigh* 08-23-2004 13:53:36

RE:Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) kevin Profile All you linuxians got to make like one STANDARD version of linux, with all the mods other people made as the different distrubutions... it would make it SO much easier... "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." -- Albert Einstein Perhaps having one version of linux would make things easier for people to migrate from windows. But that's not a good solution for the rest of us. Linux is, in many ways, a cure for the horrible state we are in with windows. It's not that linux is perfect; but it is a different set of tradeoffs. If you want to pay your money and use a WYGIWYD interface (What you get is what you deserve) then stick with microsoft. That is their place in the world; to provide people with software that they don't have to think about. There are versions of linux that fill that niche (most notably Xandros). But it requires current hardware. Linux isn't suited to tire kicking, as pointed out by many others. Here are a couple of essays that may help you understand why linux users as a whole think differently than you: The classic: http://www.linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/index.php?page=kicking A more recent version, written by one of the usual posters at desktoplinux.com: http://www.thebluesmokeband.com/test.drive.php -kev 08-23-2004 14:49:28

RE:Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) kevin Profile with all the mods other people made as the different distrubutions.. Sorry, I missed this part the first time I read it. At least you have a different idea than the usual teeming masses who show up late to the party and already know all about how to "fix" the entire linux development model to get past whatever is giving them trouble at the moment. Do I sound cynical? I've been using linux for 10 years. It's not like I haven't heard this idea before. On the other hand, in one sense linux is already laid out this way: Most distros are based on RedHat or Debian. If you want a standard distro in the sense that you are speaking, choose one of those. Here's a link that shows the lineage of most linux distribution: http://distrowatch.com/stats.php?section=independence As you can see, debian is far and away the basis for most linux distributions. Coming in second is Redhat, and third is knoppix (except that knoppix is itself derived from debian ). Also, there is the "linux standards base" which is an attempt to consolidate redundant ideas amongst the various linux distributions. It is a specification to which a linux distribution can choose to adhere. You can read the specs online: http://www.linuxbase.org/ However, you have special requirements. You want to install linux on really old hardware. Answer this for me: If you were evaluating windows for the first time, having never heard of microsoft (this is a hypothetical situation), would you install Windows XP professional on a 64MB RAM/ 133Mhz processor system? Would you end up with a fair evaluation? After all, Windows XP is the current standard offering from Microsoft. It's true, there is more choice in linux land. But out of hundreds of linux distributions, there are only a small handful that get used by most linux users. I did post that link for you, it's the distrowatch.com 'major linux distributions' page. True, there are 10 of them. But it takes takes perhaps 10 minutes to read that page and make a decision. It's not that critical which one you choose unless you have special requirements (which you most certainly do). -kev 08-23-2004 15:34:37

RE:Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) noob How would that distro compare with Windows95 though? I too have an old comp that's only a shade faster. I was going to set it up for my sister to use for word prossessing and stuff. Since I was considering putting linux in this comp (much much newer) I thought it might be productive to try it on the other one first (since I was going to be messing with it anyway). 09-29-2004 18:50:59

RE:Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) kevin Profile How would that distro compare with Windows95 though? Which one? I've mentioned Debian, RedHat, and Xandros at least. Those three are all more functional than Win95, but as for older hardware that always makes things a bit more interesting. Look at it this way. Linux is the part of the OS that you don't see. On linux, the part with the user interface is called the Desktop Environment. There are several of these, and they are interchangeable (they are merely applications running on the OS after all). The major ones are KDE and GNOME, and they are the most fully featured. They also demand the most memory and cpu usage. You can replace these with something smaller like Windowmaker or xfce; but the price is you will need to learn the command line much more extensively to change system settings. This is not a terrible price to pay; linux's biggest advantage is the degree to which it can be controlled from the command line (and hence scripted). But it requires much more learning up front, which means a steeper learning curve. Finally, you can have the bare minimum with icewm, or one of the blackbox/fluxbox/openbox window managers. These are the least resource intensive while still being slightly configurable. Once you've got a desktop environment that is tolerable, the biggest problem you'll find is that the modern web browsers are such pigs that they won't run fast on a Pentium 133; but I've found that downloading the latest Opera browser is the best choice for these systems. And it includes a pretty decent email client, which conserves precious RAM. So, in short, if you are prepared to actually learn linux in a bit more depth than the average user, you can get more mileage out of an older system. It's really not that bad, it just depends on how much learning you are willing to tolerate. -kev 09-29-2004 21:04:34

RE:Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) noob I was refering to delilinux. Is there a good reference for learning to edit from the command line? Online preferably of course, but I'll front the cost of a book if it would be more constructive. I'm willing to put some effort into this. 09-29-2004 21:52:58

RE:Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) kevin Profile I was refering to delilinux OK, got it. That's a minimal system by default, and though I haven't used it personally it looks like a good way to go for older hardare. However, I'd still consider Opera as an alternative to dillo (the browser that comes with delilinux). It's only a 7MB download, IIRC. You can get away with learning basic linux administration exclusively using online documentation. Of course you'll want to look at the docs on the delilinux web site. Second, since Delilinux is based on Slackware 7.1, check the slackware site additional system documentation. Here's a sublink that looks like a good place to start: http://www.slackware.com/config/ For a general linux command line introduction, go here: http://www.linuxcommand.org Once you've grokked all that, just start trying to use your delilinux system. If you get stuck, use google and ask questions right here. We'll hook you up with whatever you are looking for (if you can't find it by googling). There also exists quite a bit of linux information in the form of "HOWTO" and "FAQ" documents. HOWTOs are task based, ie HOW TO DO XXX, whereas FAQs are a collection of questions that are frequently asked in newsgroups and forums. Look here for those: http://tldp.org/ Though you'll often find what you are looking for by tacking 'howto' or 'faq' and 'linux' onto a google search query: linux networking howto The real trick isn't finding documentation, it's sorting through it all to find the relevant bits. -kev 09-29-2004 22:29:06

RE:Why so many distros? (modified 0 times) Gavin19 Profile If you intend installing linux on your 'main' comp, which I assume is at least a good bit more powerful, then it is not a fair way to evaluate almost any modern distro, as many I have found to be roughly on a par with XP in terms of CPU/RAM usage. If you do want to preview a modern distro without a hd installation then the current selection of live cds will allow you to do just that. Many quality 'live' distros, which run off a single cd, are freely available eg. Mepis, Knoppix and Slax. The other big advantage with these is that they will give a good idea of the linux compatibility of your hardware before you perform an actual install. In fact, being a newb 'linuxian', I have found hw compatibility to be the most important factor in choosing a distro. However, conversely, most of the live discs offer an elevated level of hw detection over and above most regular distros, and so a slighty false sense of security, yet they are still the best starting point I find. As kevin said there are +- standard distros available such as Suse or Mandrake, which offer a proliferation of documentation and support due to a large user base. Myself, I found the wide selection of distros to be a boon, as I could experiment with as many as I liked before 'settling' on one. Whichever distro you choose you *will* have fun ( and a few headaches too :) ) Windows is functional - Linux is fun AND functional. 09-30-2004 15:13:11

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