Tom Schaefer wrote:
I really hope the Linux community doesn't start distribution holy wars like the old operating systems holy wars. Geeeeeez ... there's nothing like dying on the wrong battlefield.
Each distributor has their own take on what a distribution ought to be. Each distribution then becomes a self portrait of the company that produced it. It's their movie. The beauty of it all is that the freedom from costly licensing has spawned more than one Linux distributor. Now they compete for quality, not necessarily revenue. SuSE boasts "German Engineering" ... I buy into that first.
Sun, BSD, SCO, and even to a little extent FreeBSD are all coming from single sources. While the Linux kernel itself comes from a single source we all understand the massive collaborative input that makes it work.
There is nothing to prevent some of you from perfecting your own Linux distribution and your own installer process. It's when you begin to consider what it takes to get a system operational with a high level of automation that you appreciate the efforts of folks at SuSE, Debian, RedHat, Slackware, WGS, Caldera (and God forbid I forgot any one else) .
Consider for a moment what it takes to build a goof-proof installer and you will quit after the first day. Some will go the distance to make it work, and we reward them for their efforts by staying with them and supporting "their art".
Maybe you don't like RedHat, so what. I used to hate the RPM system until I understood how it worked, and now I see I am saving myself time and energy with its automation. It'll mature ... "just hang dude" ...
I like the lightweightedness of Slackware. It makes a lean and mean router os. I like it for building dialup machines that need very few apps and just networking essentials. I can use SuSE or any of the others for the same purpose, but for some reason - "I like it" for what I need - it does the job.
Redhat makes distributions for other platforms. This is an essential component of Linux's future success. The world of computing continues to evolves toward open systems, and this will be part of what advances technology further.
So they are advancing the art of cross platform computing - not just Linux. Linux's cross platform success is due in large part to companies like RedHat sticking out their neck and making it work.
The "Titanic" movie project used RedHat Linux on Alpha, so RedHat is probably due an Academy Award as well. And this from someone who's not real fond of RedHat. ( I am going to take a look at their 5.x product once it shakes out a bit. )
The movie also put Linux through some very high stress testing. they found out a lot of what can break Linux, and so Linux itslef gained from the movie.
At current prices, most of us who are working with Linux can well afford to take a look at various distributions. Relish in the fact that Linux does have more than one company's idea of an os distribution.
In fact, because anyone can create their own distribution, companies with specialized software such as database products, POS systems, etc. can create their own distributions tailor made to their own needs.
-tks-
Try doing a totally "fire and forget" operating system upgrade via satellite. That'll REALLY get you to appreciate automation that works :) Bit o' history: My Company (our team, 5 people)just finished upgrading just under 4 THOUSAND hosts from Solaris 2.4 x86 to Solaris 2.6 x86 in less than 2 months (actually 9 months with all the development work). The actual upgrade, work once the software (differing hardware, mostly) was ready took a little over 1 1/2 months. Great automation will really make you appreciate the level of work that went into the distribution. SuSe is about the best that I've seen, they have done wonders with Linux. THe SuSe team has done UNIX right. Thanks, guys. John Weekley -- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo. -- To get out of this list, please send email to majordomo@suse.com with this text in its body: unsubscribe suse-linux-e