Hmm,
I was introduced to Debian sometime ago and have never looked back. I
run RedHat as well because the manufacturer of the MRi instrument
supports it. I have also run their software on Debian linux with minor
modification of their scripts. There is a resident Debian expert
amongst us (he will surface eventually) and hope that he will add to
this discussion.
As far as I am concerned, the kernel is what matters. Install the most
stable available (see kernel.org for more info). With Debians apt
utility, maintaining and ugrading your system should be no hassle. I
have apt installed on RedHat too. Works like a charm. Installation is
usually trouble free. Its not graphical but allows good control over
how your system is set up initially. Getting X to run is still a black
art I'm afraid and may cause some angst.
You can run whatever Desktop you like. The Linux flavor doesn't matter.
I prefer KDE on RedHat but an even more lightweight Desktop is XFCE and
I generally use this to keep others happy and feeling as though they
were operating a Windows computer. Window managers are abound. Find one
that you like and stick to it. Personally I use fvwm2 usually and no
Desktop environment. So I have no file manager type application and
everything is done from a terminal. Leads to a very basic looking
system. I run the same thing on the Mac with Apples X11 bundle.
In so far as graphics are concerned, there is no limit provided that
the GTK libraries are up to date.
Attached are two screen shots.
math_gimp.jpg -- screen shot of the fvwm2 window manager running on X
on the Mac and no Desktop environment. The Gimp has been invoked via
Mathematica. No problems even in a highly intensive graphics
environment. Open windows can be iconized and stacked neatly to one
side. Four virtual Desktops are running and a summary figure can be
seen on the bottom right hand side. The same look and feel can be
achieved on a Linux box (Debian). Actually the environment was ported
from my home pc (Debian) installation and modified appropriately to run
on the Mac.
pvOnScr0.tiff -- screenshot of KDE desktop manager and some window
manager I chose from KControlPanel running MRI software. RedHat 7.0 OS.
Boring really. The shot is from an XDMCP session to the linux box from
the Mac. If you want to serve graphics applications, this is one way to
go. But there may be some fiddling to do on the Display server side to
match fonts and colors etc. Cross that bridge when you get to it.
The options are limitless, I think.
Having said all of that, I don't think it matters what flavor of Linux
you install. If it is easy to install by all means go for it. After
many attempts with Debian I kind of feel that its worth the hassle.
Customizing that installation to do what you want will take time.
HTH
Yas
On Aug 10, 2004, at 9:24 AM, Jerrod Howard wrote:
> OK, I don't mean to open a flame war or anything, but I am building up
> a
> machine to do beta testing on our calendar and some other graphical
> analysis
> programs on (STL viewers and converters, PLY builders, etc). Right
> now, we
> run Debian 3.0 on our calendar, but it is *very* sparse (mini-OS and
> Apache
> to house our calendar).
>
> I was wondering what OS you would recommend (which Linux version) that
> is
> the most stable, while allowing for a good GUI engine to manage the
> graphics
> aps? I know SuSE, Mandrake (which I know pretty well), and RedHat, and
> I
> will probably try them both out (since while I'm testing I can blow
> out the
> machine at will), but are there some others you have experience with
> that
> you know to be pretty easy to install and run very stable? It will
> house the
> OS, apache (or some web server), FTP server, and some graphics apps.
> Thanks
>
> Jerrod Howard
> Core Imaging Facility
>
Yasvir A. Tesiram
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Free Radical Biology and Ageing Research Program
825 NE 13th Street, OKC, OK, 73104
P: (405) 271 7126
F: (405) 271 1795
E: [log in to unmask]
|
