Random non-M$ OS babbling

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That's right... more of DotW's Linux questions! Don't you all love those?

Down to buisness. One of my buddies brought me Debian 4.0, and told me to give it a try.

The installation part went without a hitch, and I have a fully functional Debian system (albeit in virtual, for testing purposes), but it is a really, really, really minimal system... not to mention it has Xfce - I'm a Fluxbox junkie now.

But I digress. I have the CD2 (and probably will burn myself CD3 too today) to add more packages (plus a few programs I can compile myself, though the sytem is missing crucial components like the C compiler), but I'll be totally honest I don't know squat about managing/adding packages.

So, how do I install the packages from the other Debian packages CD?

 

You could try adding it as an offline repository through Synaptic (if you have that installed) and just apt-get the stuff on...I know how to do this in Ubuntu, but in Debian...have you had a look through the Debian forums?

 

Posting this from my brand new Debian system.

I played around with Aptitude and added a few packages. To my own surprise, pppoeconf was already included.

I haven't yet compiled Opera, so I'm currently browsing the web with Iceweasel... this browser screams Firefox.

 

@DoTW: Iceweasel is firefox...just rebranded because the Debian group found Mozilla's terms of use too restrictive...

As for Opera...why are you compiling it??

sudo apt-get install opera should do this trick, no?

 

Rebranded Firefox... Ha.

As for Opera, it's purely for bandwidth reasons. I have a ridiculous 1GB download cap per month, which is what I use just browsing the web.

Therefore, I download tarballs of programs I want at school and/or work, and compile them myself.

When I have a slow day at work, I'm gonna download the Debian DVDs instead. The installer isn't kidding when saying the system's gonna be very minimal.

 

LOL

In that case, cool...but when compiling programs, watch out for dependencies...they're a HUGE pain...but then, you already knew that right?

 

That's the great thing about APT. No need to bang your heard against the wall trying to figure out dependencies, APT takes care of all of that for you.

 

Actually, I like aptitude. If I select a package tht requires dependencies, aptitude will warn me if the package has dependencies or conflicts with another package (yes, it can happen)

I kinda grew fond of the fact that installing Debian from CDs results in a minimalist system - it's then a simple matter of adding the packages I need to compile programs, compile my own programs and voila - one lightweight, no-nonsense system.

Most of the stuff in Debian I'm also familiar with from my Ubuntu days. Ubuntu is Debian-based, which explains an awful lot. Be that as it may... I DO like Debian, but it's not impossible you'll find me returning in the arms of my beloved Slackware 12.

 

You know....
Seeing as you are constantly having problems with Linux, you might be better suited with a Windows based machine.

/me ducks and hides

 

Linux is more 1337 though. Plus Window is the cause of all of the worlds problems...and Bill Gates eats kittens. Its probably a bit of a shame that all game devs tend to code for an operating system that costs heaps, is less stable and seems to be getting worse each version.

 

Oh, Kit, you're a funny, funny man.

Asking questions, learning new stuff and RTFM is a small price to pay for a rock-solid zero maintenance OS.

It's bad enough to have to suffer Bill's crap for gaming - the less I have to deal with Winblows, the better I feel.

 

@Kitrax: Also, he may be having trouble getting his system up and running...but he's never going to have to worry about viruses or spyware EVER again...that's a pretty big pro...

Plus, unless he's planning on playing Crysis 24x7...there's not much a Windows system can do that hiis Debian system can't...

And last but not least (I promise ) this may be subjective, but I actually like trying out new things and learning new ways of doing things. Not too productive, I agree, but on some level I'm sure DotW would agree.

 

All the headscratching, RTFM and time spent learning about Linux (and also BSD) is a more than fair trade for being completly free of all the junk that plague Winblows.

Besides, I had planned on trying Linux many years ago, and my former school actually teached Linux in one of the courses, along with Winblows. I wasn't too keen about Linux at first... but the more I played around with it, the more I grew fond of it. The rest, they say, is history.

Absolutely. All the roadblocks I've encountered as a Linux user haven't daunted me the slightest bit -- they were challenges to overcome, opportunities to learn something new.

And through it all, notice that everytime I posted asking help about Linux, it has always been about different distributions - Slackware, Gentoo, Debian, Fedora... I like out trying new distros, finding out their strong and weak points, how a certain distribution compares to another one, stuff like that.

And I'd like to adress Stu's earlier post, yes, it's a shame that game developpers stick with programming games in DX. But in the end, who can blame them - M$ has an iron fist grip on the computer market.

And finally, as a closing note... Linux is a system that grows on you. When I got a little more comfortable, the first thing I thought was "Damn, why did I waited so long to try it out?".

So true.

 

I wouldn't go *that* far. While Linux clearly has fewer attacks, it's not immune. The real reason that Linux isn't really attacked is because it has such a small market share in the OS merket. It's just not profitable enough for the attackers to go through the trouble.

That...and there's a new distro introduced every 3.5 hours.

 

You do have a point on that one. However, the tons of distros that hit the shelves are all based on one of the big distros - either Debian, Slackware, Gentoo or Red Hat. Ubuntu is Debian-based, for example. Fedora is Red Hat-based.

Truth be told, I too roll my eyes when I see YET ANOTHER distro hitting the shelves. But hey, the Linux kernel was designed for flexibility, so I suppose it was meant to be this way - everyone and their grandmothers releasing their dumb customized Linux.

 

Well...if you say so. I realise it is never accurate to make such general stereotypical statements, so allow me to rephrase myself:

"Using Linux gives you MUCH more security as an operating system than...oh say, Windows XP or Vista, due to a superior implementation of security, user control, access rights features etc as well as a significant security based advantage due to the smaller market share which results in fewer virus attacks so much so that the threat of viruses causing data loss and problems for the average user when compared to Windows XP is effectively nil."

Fair enough?

 

Maybe you should get a Mac, and you could make the ultimate Anti-Microsoft statement.

Ah, I forgot! They use "Intel Inside" now. They have gone over to the dark side as well, it seems. What's the world coming to?

 

There are some PowerPC-based G3 for sale at work... but I don't really need yet another laptop. Also, not sure I trust the guy who repaired them... (That was me, BTW)

 

DotW - Well, I use Linux everyday at work and I despise it. To fair, it's a pretty old version, but it's still based on Unix. I just hate using it. At my job before that, I used Win 2000, which I despised also; it's just a corporate version of Win 98, which I don't care much for either. To be honest, I was about to give up on Windows and get a Mac, but I really like using Win XP, the more I use everything else, including Vista, the more I like it. But a Mac would be my next choice. I really like the Mac OS.

 

Well, UNIX is a pain in the a** to learn, I won't argue with that. I'm still banging my head against the wall trying to get a FreeBSD (a direct descendent of UNIX) machine up and running with a graphical environement and PPPoE connection, and so far, FreeBSD has pwned my ass time and time again.

Not all Linux distros are user unfriendly, though. Ubuntu or Fedora are two distros that are a good initiation to Linux... though I personally despise both, because they run Window managers I abhor - GNOME and the +!@$*^ KDE. For a Winblows user, those two environements will be the most familiar.

I personally use and love Debian simply because when downloading CD ISOs of Debian, only the first CD is needed to complete the installation, and the resulting system is very minimalist and lightweight, containing only core packages. It's then a simple matter of adding the rest of the essential packages and/or compiling one's programs, and voila, one lightweight, no-nonsense system.

Slackware's another distribution I love, but not as much as Debian. It doesen't contain the horrible GNOME, and the uglyarse KDE is optional. Fluxbox and Xfce are included, two WM I love. The only caveat of Slackware is the package manager which is a horrible nightmare.

Chandos, my point is, don't judge Linux by your dislike of one distro. Like I said, some of them are very user-friendly, making it great for a transition from M$. Like I've said before, Linux's a system that grows on you. Of course, it DOES require more time and effort to learn, but the payoff is a solid, flexible and reliable OS.