Comments on: Red Hat's Fedora 8 hope: An all-purpose Linux foundation

Fedora 8 is meant to make it easier to create new Linux versions on the Red Hat foundation--even if it means stripping out the branding.

[SysEng5]

New Features!

"Among other new features in Fedora 8: New software to do a better job detecting printers when they're plugged in... better support for laptops..."

Wow! Plug and play and support for laptops. Welcome to the features introduced with Windows 95. Fedora is only 12 short years behind. Best of luck with your free Science Fair software project.

[alucinor]

new vista features

I hear Vista finally got symbolic linking abilities -- welcome to UNIX System V! Good luck with that bureaucracy-ridden ball of DRM'ed bloatware you've got.

[cary1]

Some more new features...

I have only used Ubuntu 6 and 7.04. The part I like best about them is the way you have to type commands in terminal to make it work. That is so cool! I just have to remember like ten thousand different phrases.

Windows really sucks in this regard. They have made these GUI wizards for everything, from connecting to network, to sharing a folder. All you have to do is click on some buttons. No typing text. This is so boring. Even my grandma can do it..

[jlinnaba]

Hope it's better than 6 and 7

I tried installing both Core 6 and 7 on my new laptop. 1. The stupid install created a graphical login. 2. Then when I rebooted both Cores created a X11 lock file, preventing a log in. Sure I changed the run level, but then something else would break. I installed Slackware 12 and had no problem. Until Fedora get's it's act together, forget Fedora. As a long time Linux user, all I can say is that Linux still doesn't make the grade. Even using Slackware I have to recompile the kernel just to get my wifi card to work. Even though I have recompiled the kernel many times, it gets tiresome to have have to do it every time I install Linux. Current device drivers are always a problem. So mainly I use Vista these days as much as hate M$, it get's the job done. Maybe someday Linux will be up to snuff, been saying that for 10 years now........

[Penguinisto]

Items you may find useful:

I'm typing this from FC7, and FC6 is used widely @ work. I've used it successfully on laptops (Dell, IBM), desktops (name it), and dedicated servers (from tiny old P3's w/ 728MB RAM, all the way up to HP DL-585's w/ 4 CPU's and 32GB of RAM on-board).

For WiFi love, go get Ubuntu - it's the distro that's least anal about proprietary drivers, and are not a problem in 99% of the cases.

(Note: most people don't ask about getting just a CLI, but as a guy who does this sort of stuff for a living on servers, here you go):

* If you don't want a GUI at all, type "linux text" at the prompt when you boot the install CD. No GUI will pop up after that, in either install or during runtime. You can always type "startx" or "telinit 5" at the CLI prompt if you do want the GUI to pop up. [b]OR...[/b] you can keep the GUI install, and whenever you want a CLI that badly, either pull up Terminal or hit CTRL+ALT+F1 and you get a std. TTY console. (CTRL+ALT+F7 takes you back to to the GUI).

[Trane Francks]

Doesn't make the grade

> As a long time Linux user, all I can say is that
> Linux still doesn't make the grade.

I really do hate to agree, but after 11 years of Slackware, I finally bailed after the grief of upgrading Slack 11 to 12. I bought a MacBook loaded with a couple of gig of RAM and, dang, if this just isn't turning out to be more fun than I've had on a system in a very, very long time.

It's not that Linux isn't close, but Slackware sure doesn't match the multimedia experience of my Mac. The Linux box is currently doing duty as a file server for some 130 gigs of MP3s. :)

[czmyt]

RHEL For Free

FYI, you can get a recompiled version Red Hat Enterprise Linux for free from the CentOS project: www.centos.org.

[Penguinisto]

Exactly, but...

...the things you don't get are support and back-patching. Not a biggie for an IT shop with Linux pros in it, but CentOS can be a deal-breaker for an IT shop in transition, or one full of MCSE-types who have zero clue how to deal with anything that doesn't have a GUI tool for every little function on the server. ;)

/P

[amadensor]

Bot we already have Debian

How many projects are already based on Debian? That is because the package manager is excellent, and it is easy to make your own. Just change the list of sources to get stuff from adding your repository, and install your package, which depends on all of the pieces you want.

Instant custom distribution.

[behringerdj]

Fedora still buggy

Looks nice, is a bit faster but the old bugs are still here http://codeassembly.com/Fedora-8-Impressions/

[inachu]

How old is Fedora 8 now?

I have a copy that is almost 2 years old at version 8.

Their version branding is misleading.
Only difference is this one got a face lift.
To confirm this I installed the old one and the taask bar is at the bottom whereas this articles version is at the top. But both are version 8.

Articles version should be Version 9 or 8 1/2