[GRLUG] distros, DE's, etc.

[Topher]

This is mostly about how I choose a distro, with thoughts thrown in about 
Desktop Environments, etc.

As mentioned, I run Enlightenment (DR16 to be specific).  I don't know of 
any mainstream distros that make it available in their package system (I 
haven't looked in a while though).  I also don't know of any mainstream 
distros that *prefer* to run something other than KDE or Gnome.  They're 
very intent on making a windows-like system.

Since I don't get into that, *any* distro I use is going to get torn apart 
and re-configured the way I like it.  That nullifies most "default" and 
"out of the box" settings *except* for hardware detection.

So what I look for in a distro is good hardware detection and having 
modern libraries and such, so that I can still install whatever I want, 
even if I have to compile it.

That levels the playing field a lot.  Suse, Fedora, Mandriva, CentOS; 
they're all redhat originated, rpm based systems.  I'm going to turn off 
Gnome and KDE in all of them, get mp3 playback working in all of them, 
etc.  At that point, what's the difference?

Topher
Manager of Internet Services
Cornerstone University Radio

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"Usually people believe their motives and emotions are known to themselves
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 			-- Louis L'Amour, Guns of the Timberlands