Comments on: Dear World, Please Stop Saying Linux Is Hard to Install.

By: Rishabh Mishra (possible248)

Rishabh Mishra (possible248) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:29:25 +0000

Slackware is known for being stable. There are very few bugs in it. But ironically, I had stability issues with it. To top it off, it sounded similar to the issues i80and had with Ubuntu.

Slackware is good, if you are okay with configuring the X server yourself after installation.

By: Voyagerfan5761

Voyagerfan5761 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:26:55 +0000

Interesting, then, that i80and recommended Slackware…

By: Rishabh Mishra (possible248)

Rishabh Mishra (possible248) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:37:45 +0000

Thanks for considering. One of my most important goals is to have people understand that Linux has changed from 15 years ago (Slackware is an exception. It's package manager hasn't had major changes since 1993, I think).

By: Voyagerfan5761

Voyagerfan5761 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:40:31 +0000

Glad I have Linux-using friends like you. :-) The jury's still out on whether or not I can even use this computer. But I'm going to keep your comment in mind come the end of the summer, when I'll hopefully have time to actually think. Thanks for clearing things up!

I tried to upmod your comment, but since this is your blog (I guess) it won't let me. Oh well.

By: Rishabh Mishra (possible248)

Rishabh Mishra (possible248) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:39:44 +0000

Excellent example. I couldn't have phrased it better myself.

By: Rishabh Mishra (possible248)

Rishabh Mishra (possible248) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:36:27 +0000

Actually, the post was inspired by some articles I read about Linux vs. Windows and a discussion I had on FriendFeed.

In today's world of Linux, here's how the process you described above goes:

1) Finding the distro
I'll narrow it down for you. Ubuntu. OpenSUSE is good, but it doesn't have as much stuff in the repositories.

2) Downloading it
This can be done in the background, overnight, etc.

3) Installing it
You just have to answer a couple questions at first about your time zone, password, etc. and then it's just automatic.

4) Finding the drivers
Linux has some amazing hardware support. The basics should be covered. You may have trouble with wi-fi, but some proprietary stuff can help there. If you have a nvidia card, you'll want nvidia's driver, located on the nvidia website.

5) Compiling and installing all the server software and helpers
With Ubuntu's repositories, you can get software in a matter of clicks. Compiling is only for exotic stuff that you don't find in the repositories.

6) Getting everything configured properly
While getting the _absolutely perfect_ configuration can take a while, I'll tell you that you can use Linux right out of the box without taking forever to configure. After all, I do switch Linux distributions every few weeks, so a lot of reconfiguration is necessary.

By: Voyagerfan5761

Voyagerfan5761 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:18:44 +0000

I get the distinct feeling that this was prompted by my discussion about moving the server on my computer to another PC... In case it was, let me explain why I'm not setting up Linux right now. (If it wasn't, well, you can ignore this comment or even delete it. ;-)

My computer has to go back to my school in the next couple days, so the server on it (which I set up when I was taking a Web Design course, that now carries two website test directories and a personal wiki) has to be moved. I'm also leaving for Evanston, IL, next week for a five-week theater program at Northwestern University. On top of those, I have ~20GB of data to transfer, several events and social gatherings, and shopping to do.

So, finding the proper Linux distro, downloading it, installing it, finding the drivers, compiling and installing all the server software and helpers, and getting everything configured properly is just not something I have time to do right now. I want to set up exactly what I have on another Windows PC, transfer the files and configurations, and just leave it until I get back in August.

I know Ubuntu has a wonderful GUI installer, as do many other distros, but in the interest of time I'm sticking to what I've used for the last ten years. Starting with server stuff on a Windows PC was probably a mistake, but it was what I had.

Hope that clears up my reasoning, if this post was indeed inspired by my tweets this morning. :-)

By: Jake (aka Jawee)

Jake (aka Jawee) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:54:17 +0000

I can't agree more. Linux has to be one of the easiest operating systems to install (or at least some distributions–there are exceptions). Windows has had even harder installs in the past. Has anyone tried Windows Me? Redhat of the time was easier, and this was years ago.

By: possible248

possible248 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:29:25 +0000

Slackware is known for being stable. There are very few bugs in it. But ironically, I had stability issues with it. To top it off, it sounded similar to the issues i80and had with Ubuntu.

Slackware is good, if you are okay with configuring the X server yourself after installation.

By: Voyagerfan5761

Voyagerfan5761 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:26:55 +0000

Interesting, then, that i80and recommended Slackware…