Don't even consider Linux!

I have a growing feeling. A feeling that I cannot deny. It is a sense that Linux is suffering. It is suffering from 'Joe-Average-Everyday-Desktop-itis'. And I would like it to stop. So I am pleading with you gentle reader - Don't even consider Linux.

When I came innocent to the Linux fold in 1996 I wanted a better Operating System. I wanted to be unshackled from the bonds of corporate megalomaniacs who insisted that they knew what was good best for me. I wanted stability, security, and a clean fast PC. I wanted to be captain of my own ship, steering my own computing destiny.

By sheer dumb luck I stumbled upon Slackware. I would like to tell you that it was a well researched intelligent decision. I would like to tell you that I made an informed choice. I would like to tell you that I listened to the voice of popular opinion. Nope, I just bought the book and CD-ROM that caught my eye. A book that at the time I could afford.

So when I read the following article from Think Thick it struck a resonate chord with me. Among other things it speaks to the work that a user must do to make the most of Linux. I believe this work is exactly what set Linux apart from the other OSs. In addition I believe that this prerequisite work is what is missing from the 'Joe-Average-Everyday-Desktop-itis' distros that tout themselves as the next great Linux.

Then I came across this excellent article from tuxmachines.org entitled Slackware 12: The anti-'buntu. From the title alone I knew the author had hit the nail on the head. Then I had this great idea. I would respond to the Think Thick '10 Things' article (in RED) with excerpts from the 'anti-'buntu' article (in GREEN). So here goes... (NOTE: You should read each article independently too.)

Confessions of a Linux Fan: 10 Things You Might Want To Know Before Switching Over To Linux

1. The basic installation of most mainstream Linux distributions is very easy, but a first time user might run into trouble when trying to depart from the defaults.

The "setup" script is a simple menu-based utility. The SlackBook, a well-written reference manual and tutorial on how to install and use Slackware, has a good walk-thru of the process (including screenshots). It's quite simple and fast, if you take the setup utility's recommendation and install everything (which avoids the setup utility asking you which packages you want to install).

2. If you want a proper Linux installation, you are going to have to mess around with the partition table.

Before running setup, however, you will need to parition your hard disk, if you haven't already. (I personally prefer to create partitions prior to installing a distro, regardless, using the GParted live CD.) Instead of providing a graphical partitioning utility (like gparted), Slackware offers you fdisk (which is completely command-line-driven) and cfdisk.

3. You will have to learn how to use the command line.

Now it's time to get busy adding a regular user account and configuring the X server. There are two utilities you can use to configure X, "xorgconfig" and "xorgsetup". The former will prompt you to provide quite a bit of detail about your hardware; the payoff is an "xorg.conf" that's extremely well-commented (i.e. the purpose of each section is explained). The latter will do the configuration automagically, but leaves the comments out.

4. All those pretty effects of wobbly windows and cube desktops require some work from the user.

If you're planning on installing the proprietary NVIDIA driver, this is a good time to do it. If you installed everything, you'll already have the needed kernel source. Using "xorgsetup" is the better than using "xorgconfig" if you're going to install the NVIDIA driver. I chose to let the NVIDIA installer write its own entries to "xorg.conf" after running "xorgconfig", and it made a huge mess of the comments.

5. Yes, more hardware works with Linux than with Windows. No, not all hardware works 100% like it's supposed to.

(See #4)

6. If you need/want to install a package not included in the repositories, or install from source, you might need to do some research.

To help you compile programs from source, there's a utility named checkinstall. After running the standard "./configure" and "make" commands in your source directory, you run "checkinstall" instead of "make install", and it will create a Slackware package for you (and also install it, if you choose). See checkinstall's README file for more information. (Although checkinstall was included in the "/extra" directory of the Slackware installation media until the very last minute, it was removed due to some sort of incompatibility. As of this writing, a new version hasn't been released yet.)

7. Most mainstream software manufacturers forget about Linux.

My guess (by looking at my package logs) is that the entire Slackware distro proper consists of somewhere around 800 packages, give or take. (Contrast this with Debian's pool of around roughly 18,000 packages.)

8. Linux is not for the meek of heart.

Compiling from source can sometimes be frustrating, but that's usually the fault of the software developer. For example, Slackware includes a nice bittorrent client named "bittornado" in its "/extra" repository, but doesn't include wxPython, which you need to install in order to run bittornado in GUI mode.

9. Linux is almost entirely virus/trojan/spyware free, but you will still need some kind of protection.

The Slackware article makes no mention of virus/trojan/spyware so I am including the '10 Things' answer...

Protection for Linux usually means a firewall, either installed in your computer, or in a router/hardware firewall. This, of course, implies a little bit more work for the user.

10. Linux assumes that you are an intelligent person.
And then there's Slackware, which is more traditional. Slackware is the oldest surviving Linux distribution; its first version came out in 1993. Version 12 was recently released. As its Wikipedia entry notes, it's got a reputation for sacrificing ease-of-use (in terms of configuration and package management tools provided by the distribution) in favor of letting the end user configure the system and its software by herself.
If you want an easy-to-use Linux distribution that doesn't make you work too hard, Slackware might not be for you. On the other hand, if you want a distro that's quick to set up, and know how to configure it by hand (or aren't afraid of learning to), you might fall in love with Slackware. It's definitely an interesting way to learn how to use Linux. And it's definitely a way to get a stable server up and running in very little time.

So your only real choice is Slackware! And if you are not up for the challenge then please ... Don't even consider Linux!