Choosing a distribution

[Chris G]

On Mon, Nov 05, 2007 at 05:40:53PM +0000, Tony Arnold wrote:
> Chris,
> 
> Chris G wrote:
> > I have been using Linux for many years, for the past two or three
> > years I have been using Slackware but recently have been looking for
> > something that's a bit easier to maintain and update.
> > 
> > I've been using Fedora 7 for the past month or two and it provides
> > some of what I need but also has some disadvantages.  So, I'm thinking
> > about an Ubuntu distribution but would like to ask a few questions:-
> > 
> >     I need an apache server, an ssh server and (probably) mySql.  Does
> >     this mean I *have* to go for Ubuntu Server?
> 
> No, all of the above will run on the Ubnuntu desktop systems. I run
> Apache and an ssh server on my desktop system.
> 
So what does Ubuntu Server give me (or lose me) that the other Ubuntus
don't?


> >     I don't use KDE, Gnome or Xfce (I did run Xfce for a while) but
> >     fvwm2, is this easy to do on Ubuntu?
> 
> I've never tried this, but I suspect that after installing fvwm2, you
> would just select the type of session you want from the log in screen.
> 
OK, that's the usual way of doing it, I just wante to make sure I
wasn't locked into a particular window mananger.


> >     I run Vmware to run a Windows XP guest, will this sit in Ubuntu
> >     Server quite happily?
> 
> Yes. VMware server is probably what you want.
> 
> >     Does Ubuntu force me to use sudo or can I (as I do now) just
> >     switch to root on the command line using 'su' and do root'ey
> >     things that way?
> 
> There is no difference between doing su and supplying the root password
> and type sudo -i and supplying your own password, so I've never
> understood the big deal that is made of this.
> 
There is, once you've become root you can issue lots of commands as
root rather than prefixing everything you do with sudo.


> By default, Ubuntu uses sudo and the root account is effectively
> disabled. You can set a root password which will enable it if you really
> want to and then use su.
> 
> Personally, I prefer the sudo way.
> 
I guess it's just habit, having been a Unix user since the 1980s I
find the 'old fashioned' way of becoming root more comfortable.  :-)

-- 
Chris Green