[LUG] point raised by linux history questions

[kevin bailey <kev.bailey@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

i think we have to change our thinking about software...


the boxed sets contain masses of software and a couple of manuals.  but 
- all of this software is available online and the manuals can not 
contain anything like the vast amount of knowlege in deja.com, google, 
and the web in general.  (the manuals are usually available online as well!)


i see the main purpose of the boxed sets is to help you install linux.

to achieve this you get a bootable CD and helpful installation manual.

once linux is installed and internet access is established then 
everything else can be carried out using online resources.

(since most open source software is continually updated the software 
which is provided on the CD's is usually behind the latest release anyway).

of course - it is very slow to dowload large programs via a 56k link, so 
having them on a CD helps - but once ADSL becaomes widespread this will 
no longer be so important.

what i do is install a completely minimal install of debian.  i use the 
text installer to avoid installing X (mc and lynx are your friends 
here).  this install is about 30/40 megs.

then i only download what apps are needed.  this means that i install a 
clean OS with minimal bloat.  of course it takes a while to download the 
latest version of X (if needed - don't forget web/ftp servers have no 
need for X) but i have smurftime so i can leave it overnight.

there is a danger when installing from the CD's to select all the 
programs available and let the installer install them to the machine.

this gives you a clogged machine with possible interdependency problems 
- also configuration is carried out with applications and you may not be 
aware of all the alias', cron jobs, etc that have been set up for you.

by all means have a machine which can be played around with or trashed/ 
reinstalled etc. - but if you want a machine to run for a while keep it 
simple.

i used red hat, mandrake etc initially - but bear in mind that they can 
be bloatware if not careful,

kev








the main distro's are a boxed set of CD's and a couple of manuals.  the 
CD's contain an installer program and a selection of kernels.


Alex Charrett wrote:
> On Sat, 2002-06-22 at 14:10, Roland Tarver wrote:
>
> > Thanks Alex, I'll be learning some more soon so There's no need to ask dumb
> > questions -----> Gooooogle (as advised)
> >
> >
> > > You're making the common mistake of confusing price with liberty.
> >
> > "I thought linux was a free OS. Free as in £0 and _source-included_."
> > - I do understand this bit of the open source concept and liberties it
> > provides.
>
>
> Just because distributions are available at little or no cost does not
> mean they have to be, people still need to earn a living and companies
> still need to make a profit.  There is nothing in free software
> licensing that stops software being sold.
>
> Even a boxed-set of Linux costs relatively little if you consider what
> you get for it and compare that cost to proprietary OSes. 
>
> Alex.
>
>
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