[PD] Linux - which distribution to use?

[David Powers]

Question: I'm considering a dual boot because my old laptop with
Debian died, and I got a new one, currently with XP (running blackbox
for windows though, thanks Frank!). However, one thing I recall is
that on my old laptop, the system was freezing until the kernel was
patched. Having to patch the kernel before anything works.

I also could never get that computer on the internet through USB
wireless (it had no built in wireless card), and these days I pretty
much depend on some sort of wireless connection to get on the
internet, I'm mostly working away from home. I found that Debian was
impossible to use without an internet connection, and it was quite a
catch22 trying to fix anything, when I couldn't search for info and
apt-get things to try to solve the problem.

So, what I'm saying is, I WANT to intall Debian, but I'm very afraid
to do so and have the same kind of probems. My newer computer (used
one year) though, is a Dell Inspiron 630m, which my old employer let
me keep when I left, while the old one was some PIII Toshiba. Can I
expect an easier time with the install of Debian on a newer laptop? My
friend led me to believe the problems were related to having an older
laptop.

Or should I try Ubuntu first if I'm doing it myself, and wait for 6
months for the Debian until I'm more comfortable with it all? I guess
it's the hardware/wireless config + kernel recompiling that I'm
worried about.

~David

On 4/18/07, Frank Barknecht <fbar at footils.org> wrote:
> Hallo,
> Roman Haefeli hat gesagt: // Roman Haefeli wrote:
>
> > On Wed, 2007-04-18 at 17:01 +0200, Frank Barknecht wrote:
> > > Me, too. Debian rules. Other than that pure:dyne rules as well.
> >
> > i agree, though ubuntu is also a debian derivative, but sometimes much
> > easier to use than debian and from my experience comes with better
> > maintained repos. as a beginner, i'd still vote for ubuntu.
>