"Int Eger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> [...]
> Anyway.. sometimes my system really gets in trouble handling all these
> things, and so I was wondering if using Mandrake would make my system
> faster. That's because Mandrake uses Pentium-optimized code, so since I've
> got a Pentium, why don't use it as a Pentium... but I wonder what would be
> the best...
Pentium optimized code might make a difference in speed, but if basic
stability is your problem, I'd look at that first. Turbo Linux and others
also emphasize optimized code.
> - I now got a running system, so I could build myself a system, compile
all
> programs with pentium optimization, and install only the things i really
> need
> - or I could install Mandrake
I'm using RedHat and have tried an earlier (5.2) Mandrake distribution.
Mandrake was fine, but since it's based on RedHat, it always seemed to be a
notch or two behind RedHat on fixes. I was also not impressed with the
stability at the time.
A middle ground would be compile yourself an optimized kernel, then
selectively recompile the RPMs using Pentium optimizations. I've done this
for things like XFree86 and have noticed a difference. The other advantage
to this approach is that you can customize the RPMs (ie. installation
locations) then easily duplicate them on another machine (as opposed to hand
compiling, and editing config files).
> I guess the first option would be the best, but then, how do I start ?
> with the basic set of an existing distribution like Slackware or so ?
If you're considering another distribution, consider Debian. I'm going to go
over to Debian from RedHat once the newest release 2.1 (Potato) is done. I
played with Debian, and found that by far it is the most straightforward
approach to getting a system installed with exactly the options you want.
A basic Debian install is 10 diskettes and fits in 100MB easily. After that,
you install individual packages using apt-get. The installer will determine
what additional packages (if any) are required and offer to download and
install them for you. Everything is fully customizable, and Debian is
sticking to the "release it when it's READY" philosophy, as opposed to
meeting marketing's deadlines like commercial distributions are doing now.
At a recent Linux user's group, advocates from various distros got up and
made their case. The Slackware guy was sneering at everyone touting the
superiority of Slack and generally being a bit arrogant. The Debian guy got
up, and pretty well blew him away without ever having to slight Slack in any
way.
> And else.. does anyone have any experience with Mandrake ? In fact one of
> the things I hate about Mandrake(Redhat) is their use of RPMs... yes it's
> easy.. but I always feel like I don't have any control over it... I
already
> tried to relocate an RPM while installing it, because I wanted that
proggie
> in my /usr/local directory, but no it couldn't be relocated...
These are some of the issues causing me to give OpenBSD/FreeBSD a look.
There's only ONE distribution (the source) which you compile with your
specific system optimizations. The Linux distro wars are so distracting
these days. The core OS is great, but the "features" can be pretty
meaningless. Short of going to *BSD, Debian seems the way to go.
Good luck!
- Bob
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