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

[Russell Hanaghan]

On Sat, 2004-08-07 at 14:57, John Check wrote:
> 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

Now that last line I like!  :)

Thanks for the info!
R~

> 
> >
> > good luck
> > R