Re: SEUL: Debian versus RedHat and DPKG versus RPM

[jfm2@club-internet.fr]

   Delivered-To: jfm@sidney.remcomp.fr
   X-Authentication-Warning: mail.txcc.net: majordomo set sender to owner-seul-project using -f
   Comments: Authenticated sender is <solaris@fobos.ulpgc.es>
   From: "Aldo-Pier Solari" <solaris@fobos.ulpgc.es>
   Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 21:38:07 +0000

   Agree with Jean-F's proposals.

   The general perception, in this college, is that Debian has still a 
   long way to go and both experimented hackers and other novices will 
   recommend RedHat to anyone who is not up to waste a lot of time in 
   the tech aspects of the OS. Debian is still considered a technically 
   troublesome distrib. Slackware comes last in the easy of use queue.

Some of the minor distributions are easier to use than RedHAt, and
would make a better starting point for SEUL.  But you can't get them
for a couple of dollars at Cheapbytes so developpers could object at
the extra expense.

   A drawback might be that all RedHat developments will not be GPLed 
   but Debian's will be. In the future, that may imply a significative 
   difference for the SEUL-coders who, to keep up, will have to do a 
   larger man-hour-input if they choose RedHat. This is a strategical 
   issue. In the short term, RedHat may look more appealing but in the 
   long term Debian may be a better alternative due to GPL issues.


You think than because RedHat is a commercial company the software it
develops is not GPLed.  You are wrong.  ALL the Redhat softwrae is
GPLed: RPM is GPLed, Glint is GPLed, control-panel and all its
components are GPLed.

Official Redhat includes THREE non-GPLed, non-RedHat, proprietary
packages: the RedBaron and Grail web browsers, the MetroLink X
server.  And you can live without them.

The Redhat distrib you get in RedHat's Power Tools or in the copies
of RedHAt you get at InfoMagic or CheapBytes are completely free.

So GPL is not an argument in the RedHat versus Debian.  It could be
for the minor distributions.


Nevertheless I think GPLed or not GPLed we should review minor
distributions.  We can at least get ideas from them.  See in the list
archives for June my review about LST.  I was really impressed by it.

-- 
			Jean Francois Martinez

==================== The Linux.  Use the Linux, Luke! =======================

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simple End User Linux Mailing list
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to majordomo@txcc.net
with the line
unsubscribe seul-project
in the body of the letter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------