[linux-audio-user] Best distro for Audio??

[John Check]

On Saturday 07 August 2004 09:33 am, robin fell wrote:
> > Last Friday 06 August 2004 03:01, Russell Hanaghan was like:
> > > I need to stretch my wings a little and try something outside of
> > > Mandrake 10.0...
> > >
> > > Can I get some basic pros and cons of the different distro's you're
> > > using? And especially from previous Mandrake users.
>
> I gave up with Mandrake at 8.0.  It was OK(ish), but I have a nasty
> habit of breaking _anything_ based on RPM.
>
> Tried Planet, but based on RH meant endless RPM database woes for me :(
>
> Ended up on Gentoo, but I can't really recommend it for general use by
> others;
>
> cons
> 1. easy to select configurations (via USE flags) that break your system
> 2. easy to select (via USE flags) configurations that _nearly_ work :(
> 3. takes ages to compile things from source,  with little real benefit
> 4. fills your HD with source code (minor niggle really)
>
> pros
> 1. i've not managed to break portage yet.  this is numero-uno for me
> because i killed MDK and RH several times - requiring a reinstall [note:
> yes i do know about rpm dB locks and dB repair tools, but they failed to
> fix my dB]
> 2. you choose how much cruft you want to install
> 3. 'portage' and dependency managment :)
> 4. package list is up-to-date
> 5. 'feels' more amenable to source installation of 'other' things -
> probably because it hasn't been 'customised' to suit the whims of a
> particular distro.  I daresay distros may have standardised a little
> more now.
>
> I'm currently considering a change of distro too - I spend too long on
> admin issues, and not enough time hacking/recording.  Debian looks
> interesting, but i need to find out how robust the underlying dB is
> first...

I don't recall ever hearing anybody wedging the package management
system. I've seen rpm break on RH, not on SuSE. 

Debian cons:
1) Packages are split up way too finely, but I don't build embedded systems.
2) RH experience doesn't translate well (really a RH con)
3) All those little "they really need a utility for this" utilities actually 
exist, but you have to look in the policy manual to find out.

Pros: 
1) Package management is superb
2) A smooth upgrade path is high priority
3) After armageddon, the Dodge Dart driving cockroaches will still be running 
Debian

>
> good luck
> R