[sf-lug] Sunday meeting at the Javacat--11 AM to 1 PM

[jim stockford]

good response, i'll try to tell you after I know myself.

    my guess is that some people use their laptops
for email and web browsing mainly and occasionally
for light word processing. i'm sure some people
go for heavier-duty word processing and
spreadsheeting.
    i also guess there are only some people who use
their laptops to run significant audio apps and only
some who have a need for 3D and games.
    use reflects generational and other personal
interest dimensions.
    as to community, there's a thriving CentOS
mailing list and the OS is so similar to Red Hat's
product that she, if she wishes, can benefit from lots
of online and printed info that's RH oriented.
    but i'm bound by my own limitations: email and
web browsing, no interest in games or media,
maybe a little  vi  if i want to write a note or two,
wget, links, rpm at the command line--my primary
use is that of studying RHEL configuration so's to
get paid to operate some tethered corporate server.

    as to point and click update management, sleep
mode, configuring third-party software, oddball
media formats, and more, those are very good
points. I donno--my CentOS is on tower boxes.
    fortunately i'll also have fedora core DVDs
with me.
    unfortunately her laptop may only have a CD
drive.
    I guess I'll bring some (older) Ubuntu disks and
hope someone else brings the latest Ubuntu, to
give her some choices.

what was that noise?
thanks lots for the helpful note.
jim



On Mar 2, 2007, at 12:02 PM, Asheesh Laroia wrote:

> On Fri, 2 Mar 2007, Sameer Verma wrote:
>
>> jim stockford wrote:
>>> why not? it's robust and rich.
>>> Fedora is richer, but not as robust.
>>> i got a bad attitude toward Ubuntu just now.
>>> so why not CentOS on a laptop?
>
> I've heard CentOS called many things, but never "rich".  I haven't 
> used it
> personally, only helped people when they've come running to me for an
> alternative.
>
> Tell me how well-supported getting multiple programs to play audio at 
> once
> (using e.g. pulseaudio) is on CentOS.  Tell me how well-supported 
> sleep is
> on the most current laptops, and how much third-party software is
> available (from LyX and Firefox all the way to games like Frozen 
> Bubble).
> Will she run into dependency hell trying to get new software 
> installed, or
> is there a complete repository available with a point and click 
> interface?
> Does it ship the latest (i.e., most compatible and most responsive)
> version of OpenOffice.org?
>
> When she wants to upgrade between versions, is there a graphical 
> utility
> that does the upgrade?  What about playing oddball media formats that 
> she
> may run into?  How about 3D acceleration?
>
> Will she have a large user community with whom to discuss problems when
> they arise?  Not just a large user *base*, but a large group of people
> trying to do the same things she is (run a portable personal 
> workstation,
> rather than a tethered corporate server).
>
> These are not fringe issues, these are core usability issues.  And they
> are surely issues of "richness".
>
> For me, Ubuntu is #1 on these issues, and I hear Fedora is okay with 
> them.
> The one time I saw CentOS on a laptop it was a nightmare on almost all 
> of
> these counts, but hey, that almost half a year ago, and the CentOS 
> version
> wasn't the current one.
>
>> Since Jim mentioned it, I'll say that I have a particularly *good*
>> attitude toward Ubuntu [right now] :-)  I also have a good attitude
>> toward Fedora [right now] for running it on my servers.
>
> I have the same feeling as Sameer on Ubuntu, and I run Debian on my
> servers. (-:
>
> -- Asheesh.
>
> -- 
> Q:	Why do people who live near Niagara Falls have flat foreheads?
> A:	Because every morning they wake up thinking "What *is* that noise?
>  	Oh, right, *of course*!
>
> _______________________________________________
> sf-lug mailing list
> sf-lug at linuxmafia.com
> http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/sf-lug
>