[plug] Updating RedHat

[Russell Keith-Magee]

> What different Linux Versoins are thier and what is the best??

Ok, before things get messy...

I know you're a newbie, but be warned: You just yelled "FIRE" in a crowded
theatre.

"Which distro is best" is a question you NEVER ask, unless you have a death
wish, or like causing trouble. People have a lot of heart felt opinions, and
many will defend their opinions to their net-death. Other naughty questions
include "Vi or Emacs?", "Gnome or KDE", and "C++ or Java".

To Tim: Qudos for the inquisitive mind, but dont do it again :-)
To Everyone Else: Take a deep breath, relax, spank your inner moppet,
whatever.

> Hi all, it tim again. Is debian another version of linux? if so
> what is it
> like? Thanks

Yes; Debian is another distribution of Linux. It's not a commercial distro
(i.e., there is no Debian Corp selling a nice cardboard box); it's more of a
community effort, which generally tries to keep to the free software ideals
whenever it can.

Generally, IHMO, Mandrake and RedHat tends to be easiest for newbies; bog
easy installs, lots of (arguably bad) decisions made for you during the
install to make your life easy.

Debian's install is a bit of a b*tch (IMHO), BUT you should only every need
to install it once. The major advantage to Debian is that it has a fantastic
update system. This allows you to install/update individual packages
extremely easilty, and allows you to migrates very nicely between OS
versions.

RedHat/Mandrake tend to have lots of nice polished corners and utilites in
the base install; Debian generally takes the philosophy of config editing by
hand using <text editor of choice>. Not always friendly to newbies, but
those that survive generally have a much better idea of how their system
works.

Is is right for you? There is no simple answer. Try it. It's free (no cost),
and free (as in speech); worst case, you'll be $5 out in the cost of the
CD's you had to burn - if you ask nicely, someone around PLUG might even
lend you a copy.

Russ %-)