[lug] Distribution favorites?

[David Morris]

On Fri, Nov 03, 2006 at 07:27:42PM -0500, Elyse M. Grasso wrote:
> On Friday 03 November 2006 6:28 pm, Collins Richey wrote:
> > On 11/3/06, Elyse M. Grasso <emgrasso at data-raptors.com> wrote:
> > 
> > >
> > > So... what distros with good KDE support do people recommend?
> > >
> > > I've downloaded Kubuntu and stuck it in a virtual machine, but the
> > > installation feels sort of fluffy and Microsofty. I need to see whether it
> > > can get to a more geeky feeling configuration without too much tweaking.
> > > --
> > 
> > I must be easier to please. I find Kubuntu quite adequate for my
> > needs. I could careless about geekiness.
> > 
> > There are a growing number of Kubuntu users, and Mark Shuttleworth has
> > deemed it worthy of ongoing support. Check out the Kubuntu forums and
> > lists. My only problem is that 95% of the stuff in Ubuntu land is
> > targeted for Gnome.
> > 
> I think my problem with a lot of the distributions I'm seeing is that I really 
> despise the way they do admin. 
> 
> I find the Kubuntu installation which tries to hide the concept of root very 
> untrustworthy. It makes me wonder what else they have mangled in non-standard 
> ways that will boobytrap things for someone from a UNIX background.

Ubuntu/Kubuntu are based on the Debian Unstable source tree,
modified for a simpler user interface, fewer architectures,
and fewer packages (so they can be kept updated easier).  If
you don't want that simplified interface, you probably want
to use the Debian "testing" distribution.

Drawbacks are that the packages will be slightly older
at times, and you may sometimes get a broken package
(relatively rare).  May provide the "geeky" feel you're
looking for, though.

--David