Hi,
Some online reviews point out that Mandrake 8.1 (thinking of power pack version) allows new users to set up their security level during installation "automagically". They offer various settings. From something like "Welcome to Crackers" to "Paranoid". Might this distro be good for OpenACS newbies because:
1) Easy to install
2) Comes with lots of updated software for exploring Linux and the software that runs on it (besides just OpenACS, I mean). KDE, GNOME, programming tools; for instance Xfree86 4.1.0 ships with this distro allowing lots more video cards to work well (like Matrox G450 dual head cards without ugly kludges that would be bad for newbies).
2) Based on Redhat; so lots of RH specific documentation will apply or be close enough to enable figuring out. Some OpenACS RPMs will work. This allows newbies to get up and running quickly.
3) Allows first time users to have a secured box at the end of installation if they follow the communities suggestions to choose options A, B and C or whatever during installation.
Your opinion?
Based on my understanding, Debian would be great for keeping one's box up to date, Slack would be great for learning "UNIX proper", *BSD would be great for many reasons, but for those just getting started, wouldn't Mandrake 8.1 power pack be as close to ideal as anything?
Maybe after a few weeks or months the newbie could explore and switch to something else for whatever reasons. But having all one's hardware recognized and set up correctly during installation AND the availability of RPMs to install OpenACS specific stuff seems to make Mandrake very appealing as a choice for newbies.
Please share your insights on this. Am I right on or off target?
Thanks,
Louis
