Debian/Ubuntu as cruelty? (was Re: [wellylug] ubuntu help.... & SimplyMEPIS Linux)

[Cliff Pratt]

Brent Wood wrote:
 >
>>> It's highly likely that the system is not correctly configured
>>> with repositories correctly set, and the guy will find that he
>>> has a system that he can't get updates for!
> 
> Some people need reading lessons. Sigh..... This whole exercise was
> because he HAD NO INTERNET ACCESS" Try running any debian package
> mangler (A common enough phrase, I do come from a RPM background :-)
> without net access & see how it goes.
>
You have a comprehension problem - where do I mention INTERNET ACCESS 
above?
 >
> My apologies to all those on the list who had to suffer through
> extraneous emails from people who can't or don't bother reading the
> questions.
> 
> & my thanks again to those who did read it & provided the answers.
>
A bodge-up is a bodge-up is a bodge-up. Whether it's a rpm-based 
bodge-up or a deb-based bodge up.
 >
>> Cliff : Woah chill out man - rpm, deb, whatever they all have their
>>  merits. i dont see why anyone should be persecuted for making a
>> mistake - we all have our methods, as for downloading and
>> installing a .deb by hand - it is perfectly standard and fine. all
>> apt does is to automate the process. Get off your high horse and
>> help rather than putting the guy down. as for "there is no
>> equivalent of rpmfind" what do you call this ?
>> http://www.debian.org/distrib/packages#search_packages and this 
>> http://packages.ubuntu.com/
>> 
>> Brent : you may find this handy (i use it on all Ubuntu systems i 
>> install - it needs net access however) 
>> http://easyubuntu.freecontrib.org/overview.html, and your issue
>> with the A64 Network is an odd one - i have a similar motherboard
>> and my network works without an issue, does that board have 2
>> network ports ? if so you need to make sure your plugged into the
>> one that is powered by the northbridge and not the other - as all
>> AMD64 distro's support forcedeth (the module for nforce ethernet)
>> however they may not support the second network without some
>> buggering round
>> 
> 
> Thanks Geraint. There is a bit of high dudgeon around this ain't
> there! I only ever encounter it when I suggest anything Debian might
> be less than the word of God (or his prophets Deb & Ian :-) For some
> reason users of other distros don't seem to take themselves so
> seriously.
> 
If you had read my email, you would have seen that nothing I said 
relates specifically to Debian. It was a critique of your approach to a 
distro that you know nothing about - ie expect it to work like the one 
you know and criticise it for not doing so, and leaving someone with a 
system that they will not be able to update.

I use RPM distros and DEB distros, but I took the time to find out about 
the distros' package system. If I were to install, say, Slackware, then 
I'd find out how to go about adding packages to it. I wouldn't expect it 
to work out of the box like RedHat or Debian. I wouldn't hack at it like 
an amateur.

Cheers,

Cliff