[TriLUG] different versions of 7.2 for sale]

[Craig Duncan]

It all seems to have been said, but as an ever learning linux user here is
my $0.02...

The new installer in RH 7.2 was much easier and more intuitive than in 7.1.
I managed to upgrade my existing RH web server with ease and gain the
benefits of the ext3 file system.

That being said, I was unable to install RH 7.2 on my new system (ABIT
KT7A-RAID/AMD Athlon 1133/Matrox G550) due to it crashing with a serious "I
cannot proceed" error when trying to configure my graphics card, which it
did not recognize. Mandrake 8.1, on the other hand, installed with it's
usual ease recognizing all hardware and providing options for configuring
one or both video heads on my graphics card.

Up until the point the install died, I was reasonably happy with the
procedure of a fresh install, even if it was not as informative as Mandrake
as to what it was doing. The partitioning was much more intuitive than
before, and selecting a desktop enviroment was easy. Can't say I am all that
impressed with the installs window layout though, I would prefer to be able
to read the help text/information in a wider pane, say on the bottom instead
of the narrow pane on the left. Since you seem interested only in the
install, I won't discuss the window mangers and graphical tools.

What I would like to see:
Support out the box for IDE RAID. Neither RH nor Mandrake recognized that I
had set up a mirrored partition, yet while playing around with freeBSD
(really, just for fun - I was clueless), it recognized the array during
install and offered it as one of the devices to install on. Yes, I know that
I can set up software RAID, but when you have a hardware RAID chip on the
motherboard, why not use it, besides it's a cheap and easy backup option.

PS If you are interested in testing either the RAID or the Video card during
install, I would be happy to lend you my box for a day or two (at most), so
long as you supply the hard drives and return it as good as new :=)


-----Original Message-----
From: trilug-admin at trilug.org [mailto:trilug-admin at trilug.org]On Behalf
Of Brent Fox
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2001 8:33 PM
To: trilug at trilug.org; Vestal, Roy L.; 'trilug at trilug.org '
Subject: Re: [TriLUG] different versions of 7.2 for sale]


Hi Roy,

    I work for Red Hat on the installer (and various config tools), and I'm
curious as to what people like better about the Mandrake installer.  At the
end of every release, I do a comparative analysis on the installers for many
other OSes (various Linux distros, Solaris x86, various Windows versions,
etc.) to try to determine areas in which we are lacking.  I do this because
I
want our installer (and our OS as a whole) to be the best one available.

Specifically, how is Mandrake's installer easier to use?  How does it help
you better understand what you are installing?

So I guess the question isn't just to Roy, but to everybody:
  What can we do to make the Red Hat Linux installer better?


Cheers,
  Brent


On Wednesday 24 October 2001 10:42 am, Vestal, Roy L. wrote:
> Being one from the Windoze world, I can say that I like the "bloating" in
> the install. I'm learning this from experience as well as books.  I don't
> have the *nix background like alot of the folks in TriLUG. Being used to
> bloat from the master himself, Mr. G., it does help some.
>
> I do have one request, if any of the RH folks are reading, the installer
> from Mandrake is a lot easier to use for those of us that are learning
this
> way. There is a lot of front end, and the install takes longer, but it
> helped me understand what I was installing. I personally WANT to use RH
> Linux, since I'm a homegrown NC boy, I prefer RH to any other. Call me a
> hick, or a good ol' boy, but I plan on hanging on.
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