[ale] Debian 3.0 as a server platform?

[James Sumners]

Am I crazy or is this thread not about "Debian 3.0 as a server
platform"? I did mention in passing that I don't recommend Debian to
average users but that was it.

I have installed all of the major distributions. By far, I prefer the
Debian installer to any of them. I have never found the Debian install
system to be all that difficult. I find it to be very straight forward
and easy to follow. The first distribution I was ever able to install
and use successfully was Debian 2.1 (slink) and it had a much more
archaic installer than the current one. But, if I were to hand someone
a CD to install Linux by themselves I would most likely hand them a
SuSE 9.2 CD (9.3 can only be had on DVD; curious isn't it?) or, if I
felt them competent enough, an Ubuntu CD.

I apologize if I misread the email but it did seem very much like you
were making a comparison.

On 6/4/05, Geoffrey <esoteric at 3times25.net> wrote:
> James Sumners wrote:
> > When I am setting up a server I want the bare minimum so that I can
> > decide what is on the machine. No installer is ever going to be smart
> > enough to figure that out.
> 
> I agree.
> 
> > Notice that I never said it isn't possible to trim down SuSE or Red
> > Hat or Mandrake down to something manageable during install. I said
> > that by _default_ they install way too much for a single CD
> > installation.
> 
> And this is wrong.  Reread my post.  I stated that SuSE makes
> suggestions on what to install based on the amount of disk space as well
> as input you have provided.
> 
> Again, the user who wants a minimal install is not the average user.
> These distros are targeting a larger group of users.  They start off
> with suggestions which you can easily change through a point and click
> interface.
> 
> > I said that the Debian install system doesn't install
> > all of that junk unless you specifically tell it to. If you think
> > about, that is actually a much easier, less time consuming, way to do
> > things.
> 
> So I'll tell you what.  Let's sit down together and do installs.  You
> install a minimal Debian and I'll install a minimal Suse and see who
> finishes first.  Certainly you would agree that the Debian install is
> not for the uninitiated.  I could easily sit my daughter down with a
> SuSE install and ask her to install a minimal install. I certainly
> couldn't do that with Debian.  I am comparing the distros not people.
> 
> > Now, I would appreciate it if you would not try to insult my
> > intelligence by saying that I can't do what a 13 year old can.
> 
> Then reread the post.  I was simply saying that the latest installation
> packages are easy enough for a 13 year old.  I made no such comparison
> to you.
> 
> --
> Until later, Geoffrey
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> 


-- 
James Sumners
http://james.roomfullofmirrors.com/

"All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts
pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it
is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become
drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."

Missionaria Protectiva, Text QIV (decto)
CH:D 59