Gauland, Michael wrote:
Now that Aidan's developed a Computer Acquisition Strategy, he'd like
some advice on distributions. He writes:
Hello Linux people,
I am using Ubuntu now (on an old eMac, but I'm switching to an x86
machine), but I am wondering if there is anything closer to my idea of
a perfect (as perfect as is possible outside of Utopia) Linux
distribution. I want something fast (and I mean FAST, not just
efficient for what it does, like GNOME or KDE), without any fancy foo
foo, like window "effects". I've heard Xfce is a fast, efficient
desktop environment. I also don't want to have to get the source for
ALL the software I want to add on, which is why I like Ubuntu.
(Although, I do realise that's from Debian, and that non-Debian based
distributions have packages.) I mostly use the command-line, and
Emacs, so I don't need a nice file browser, but I still like GUIs for
complicated tasks, such as managing packages, and networking. And as
for free software philosophy, I have a somewhat pragmatic view on what
proprietary I use. I want to be able to easily install closed
drivers, but not have Adobe Acrobat Reader as part of the default
installation. I've heard of some distributions that have setups like
that. Stability is definitely a must. I would rather have a slightly
outdated system, than an unstable, yet on the edge, system. I also
find the release cycle of Ubuntu mildly irritating. It's not that
big a deal, but it's just a LITTLE too often for my liking.
So if anyone can recommend a distribution like this, that would be
great. And thanks for all your advice on computer shopping. I
decided to get a working a machine off TradeMe, and improve it as I
need to. Of course I'll open it up to look at EXACTLY what I've got,
when I get it, too.
So, here's your chance to (politely) evangelise your favourite distro,
and perhaps win a convert (or two) in the bargain. Have at it!
--Mike
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Debian!
