[NBLUG/talk] recommendations for distro

[Todd Cary]

Kevin -

A view point from someone who has limited *NIX experience:

On a lark, I installed Red Hat 4 (bought at Best Buy) on one of my 
computers headed for the scrap pile about three years ago.  The install 
was easier than Windows but that version of Samba did create a 
challenge.  When Samba was finally up and working, I really got hooked 
on this "box in the corner" and decided to activate FTP, then HTTP and 
finally PHP with Interbase.  Keep in mind my *NIX experience was very 
limited.  Since I earn my living writing database applications, oriented 
to the class action administrators, with Delphi, I found, thanks to 
Samba, I could use the PHP to develop Web apps very easily and use the 
FTP server to get my Delphi apps to my client - never see them any more.

The Linux server runs on my home office network with five other 
computers and a Primary Domain Controller, and thanks to Samba, it is 
just another computer in Windows Explorer.

Now I am up to Red Hat 9 (again bought) and the computer hardware has 
been upgraded.  However, it still does not have a UPS like its mates, so 
when the electricity goes out in western Sonoma during the storms, the 
poor box surfers a horrible "reboot" but has never failed to come back 
[not a recommended procedure].  The Red Hat Network makes the upgrades a 
snap, but I am still struggling to learn where all of the configuration 
files are located (since I need to get to them so infrequently, I tend 
to forget what I learned the last time I was there :-)  ).

Oh yes!  The folks on this List are very helpful and never make fun of 
my limited *NIX experience.  But I am trying, with difficulty, to get a 
better handle on RH Linux - if there is room, I will take a Linux Admin 
course at Santa Rosa JC in the Spring.

Todd

Kevin Dwan wrote:

> I have some Unix experience, but I'm new to Linux. I'm planning on 
> putting a second HD on my NT workstation, installing either XP or 
> W2000 on it (which I need for applications like FrameMaker), and 
> making a Linux partition. I don't have any particular focus for using 
> Linux. On Windows, I use Borland'sJBuilder to code Java, and Delphi.
>
> Red Hat says the  download is 650MB, and while I'm on DSL, I'm 
> thinking of paying a little money for a CD and being sure I've gotten 
> all the pieces. Programmer's Paradise has RH 9(.0, I think) for $40. 
> They don't carry Mandrake, which I've read is a little friendlier to 
> install, but the O'Reilly book I looked at and many others seem to 
> focus on RedHat, so without better information, that's the way I'll go.
>
> I'd welcome any comments or suggestions about getting this done. If 
> I'm about to step wrong, please let me know.
>
> Cheers.....
>
> Kevin Dwan                voice: 707-823-7077
> kevind at sonic.net           
>
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