distributions (was "Re: linux BBQ...")

[Peter Breton]

> The MicroCenter in Cambridge does indeed have a nice price on the InfoMagic
> set, at $9.19 for the 4-cd set.  However, be advised that it isn't the 
> current release; it is the March 1995 distribution.  There should be a May
> distribution out, and the July distribution should come along very soon.
> (I also discovered that the Slackware installation for the Sony CDU31 CD
> in this distribution is faulty, but you probably don't have that kind of
> CD drive.)

If you are in the Boston area, I would advise getting a copy from 
MicroCenter; the CD holds complete archives of sunsite, tsx, and a GNU 
archive (dated March 95, of course). It has already saved me several hours 
of download time. MicroCenter also has Walnut Creek's Slackware (also 
March 95) for about $15.
 
> Installation from this set is cryptic enough that I don't recommend it for
> UNIX novices.  Other good choices are Yggdrisil (excellent multimedia 
> tools) or Red Hat, or if you want a bells-and-whistle system you might
> try Caldera.  (I understand there's a low-price beta package available 
> right now, but I haven't investigated this.)

  My first installation was Yggdrasil, and it was a breeze (however, I 
had carefully selected hardware from the hardware compatibility list). The 
Caldera advertisement says that it includes a complete Red Hat 
distribution, and the price ($39) is only slightly higher than other 
distributions. I have the Caldera CD on order, and I can give a report on 
it to anyone who's interested after I install.

				Peter

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Peter Breton  pbreton at cs.umb.edu          PGP key by finger
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