[UFO Chicago] Re: Brian's Conversion from FreeBSD to Debian andQuestions on X

[Brian Sobolak]

Christopher D. Heer wrote:
> From: Larry Garfield
>
>> I'm also rather late to this thread, so I'll address a couple of things
>> at
>> once.
>
> I just wanted to thank the various contributions to this conversation.

Excellent!

> I am a long-time user of MS operating systems (out of necessity) but have
> dabbled in the past with SunOS, BSD, Linux (including my Tivos!), etc.
> However, continued frustration with Windows is pushing me towards Linux or
> something similar, especially as a server OS.
>
> So I'm looking to migrate my in-home server to Linux as a way to (A) get
> more out of the box and (B) get experience before I try it out on
> desktops/laptops/work machines.  I'm not a total noob, but I'm not all
> that
> far from it either.  However, I don't want something that will completely
> shield me from the guts, as it were; I want to learn the underlying stuff
> so
> I know what's really going on.

Before we get started...  one of the reasons I wiped Windows off of the
box I had was I decided I was tired of dealing with all the anti-virus
crap.

But before you wipe and reload, you might consider using VMWare Server or
VMWare player to get your feet wet.  You can download dozens of different
distros, and you just unzip and double-click and have a working system. 
It definitely doesn't let you feel how the install goes, etc., but it
gives you  a working system pretty quickly.

And if you do switch to Linux, you can run Windows inside a VM, so long as
you have the original license to do so.

> So I have what are some rather fundamental questions about selecting the
> distro I ultimately use:
>
> 1) From a purely "what-will-it-run" standpoint, does it matter much which
> distro I choose?  Putting aside package management for the moment (I've
> been
> reading those comments here with great interest)...choosing a specific
> distro shouldn't limit me in terms of application/util/tool selection,
> should it?

Short answer:  No.

Long answer:  Vendors will sometimes bundle their special firewall
configuration tool with their distro or something.  But outside of some
system admin stuff, I'd say the apps run well across the board.  (And
FreeBSD has a Linux compatibility mode, so you can run linux binaries if
it doesn't exist natively on FreeBSD)

> 2) Does it matter what window manager I run?  The two I see mentioned most
> often are gnome and KDE, but I can't figure out what the real advantages
> and
> disadvantages of either is, or whether it's just a matter of taste.

Short answer:  No.

Long answer:  You should come to the meetings to discuss this, cos it
could take a long time.  Some of the differences between KDE and GNOME are
"under the covers" and some are about licensing (I believe; that might be
old info).  They are both good and if you run GNOME you can usually run
the KDE apps and vice-versa; you aren't locked out.

For a truly different experience, try fvwm.  After Windows, the Mac, etc.,
it's sort of like finding the music in bird chirps after listening to a
Pearl Jam concert.  It's SO minimal and simple, and there's a beauty in
that.

> 3) Are there any good resources for learning general *nix file system
> structures?  The last time I played with a Linux distro (Red Hat IIRC) one
> of the things that made me crazy was having no idea where anything was.  I
> googled around for Linux noob resources but most that I found were too
> superficial/noobified.

Umm, we're probably good resources.  If you expect to be doing a lot of
stuff, ask on the list if anyone wants to get on IRC and we try that way
too.

Others are the following shell commands:  locate, which, find, etc.

Linux in a nutshell and Unix power tools, two books from O'Reilly, are
worth the investment.  They'll help out a lot.

And while it's FreeBSD specific, I found their handbook to be a great
online primer on Unix and where stuff is. 
http://www.freebsd.org/handbook/

> Not looking for handholding -- if I don't learn it myself I'll never
> understand it -- just some pointers or tips to get me aimed in the right
> direction.  And I understand that everyone has a different take, but given
> that most or nearly all of you have more experience with this stuff than
> I... :)

That's why this group was started, I think, back many many moons ago.

--
Brian Sobolak
http://www.planetshwoop.com/