Linux or Free BSD on IBM thinkpad?
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I've just been given an old IBM thinkpad. I'm going to wipe it and install some Unix variant on it. Any suggestions as to what flavor of *nix I should install. The machine will be used for developing code / scripts, so it should be rock solid and as generic as possible. I want Perl, and Python, along with the normal C++ development tools. Suggestions?
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I've just been given an old IBM thinkpad. I'm going to wipe it and install some Unix variant on it. Any suggestions as to what flavor of *nix I should install. The machine will be used for developing code / scripts, so it should be rock solid and as generic as possible. I want Perl, and Python, along with the normal C++ development tools. Suggestions?
FreeBSD is generaly 'better' than Linux. Its device support is pretty poor compared to Linux though, so you are likely to end up with a VGA console in the top left hand corner of the screen. Personaly I'd use Window 2000 + Activestate perl/python + cygwin. Ryan.
"Everybody has a right to be stupid, but some people abuse the privilege." Uncle Joe Stalin
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I've just been given an old IBM thinkpad. I'm going to wipe it and install some Unix variant on it. Any suggestions as to what flavor of *nix I should install. The machine will be used for developing code / scripts, so it should be rock solid and as generic as possible. I want Perl, and Python, along with the normal C++ development tools. Suggestions?
I'm always pro BSD, but it'll really depend on your hardware in the laptop because it's not exactly like the parts are as interchangable as a desktop. Look at... http://www.freebsd.org/releases/5.0R/hardware.html[^] http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/faq/hardware.html[^] For more info on supported hardware. If it doesn't meet all your requirements, then I'd try either NetBSD or Linux. For Linux distros RedHat 8.x-9.x and SuSE 8.x seem to detect hardware fairly well these days (at least from what I've heard from my cohorts). Jeremy Falcon
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They were actually quite good opinions. If you want flames with a little bit of illumination, visit this site[^]. [EDIT]Of course, the site is down now. ;P [/EDIT] back up! I should just make that a perma-link in my signature. Seems like I post it all the time.
Jon Sagara
You know the world is off tilt, when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest basketball player is Chinese, and Germany doesn't want to go to war. -- Charles Barkley
Jon Sagara wrote: They were actually quite good opinions. Thanks! Jeremy Falcon
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Go with Open BSD. The distro is the most secure of all the BSD and Linux flavors. It's EXTREMELY secure right out of the box, as opposed to your standard Linux distro (ehem, RedHat). Jim QTExtender - The OFFICIAL addon for QuoteTracker.
IMHO OpenBSD is perfectly suited (even recommended) for a router, gateway or firewall, but not necessarily a development machine. Jeremy Falcon
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I'm looking for illumination, not flames. :)
:-D Regards, Brian Dela :-)
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I'm always pro BSD, but it'll really depend on your hardware in the laptop because it's not exactly like the parts are as interchangable as a desktop. Look at... http://www.freebsd.org/releases/5.0R/hardware.html[^] http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/faq/hardware.html[^] For more info on supported hardware. If it doesn't meet all your requirements, then I'd try either NetBSD or Linux. For Linux distros RedHat 8.x-9.x and SuSE 8.x seem to detect hardware fairly well these days (at least from what I've heard from my cohorts). Jeremy Falcon
Why do you prefer FreeBSD ? For instance with RedHat 9.0 there is a new thread package NPTL and a brand new O(1) scheduler (Threading model 1:1) , that replaces the dreadful LinuxThreads library . This leaves all other BSD* systems concerning threading far-behind ... It's definitely much more POSIX compliant , and damn fast , and was approved by Linus himself , he said that finnaly was arrived a decent threading package for Linux ... Now concerning security OpenBSD definitely is the bsd to go ... Of course for increased security only a nix* clone implementing mandatory access controls instead of the normnal dacl would satisfy a paranoid guy like http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/[^] ... Cheers,Joao Vaz And if your dream is to care for your family, to put food on the table, to provide them with an education and a good home, then maybe suffering through an endless, pointless, boring job will seem to have purpose. And you will realize how even a rock can change the world, simply by remaining obstinately stationary.-Shog9 Remember just because a good thing comes to an end, doesn't mean that the next one can't be better.-Chris Meech
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I've just been given an old IBM thinkpad. I'm going to wipe it and install some Unix variant on it. Any suggestions as to what flavor of *nix I should install. The machine will be used for developing code / scripts, so it should be rock solid and as generic as possible. I want Perl, and Python, along with the normal C++ development tools. Suggestions?
About a month ago, I got handed a TP600. I put RH8 (Linux) on it with almost no problems. It runs just fine - display gets picked up no problem. The only remaining issues are the PCMCIA slot/NIC and sound. And I haven't spent too much time trying to fix either one. Can't say anything about BSD except that I'm going to be trying it out soon. :) J
"You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant."
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Why do you prefer FreeBSD ? For instance with RedHat 9.0 there is a new thread package NPTL and a brand new O(1) scheduler (Threading model 1:1) , that replaces the dreadful LinuxThreads library . This leaves all other BSD* systems concerning threading far-behind ... It's definitely much more POSIX compliant , and damn fast , and was approved by Linus himself , he said that finnaly was arrived a decent threading package for Linux ... Now concerning security OpenBSD definitely is the bsd to go ... Of course for increased security only a nix* clone implementing mandatory access controls instead of the normnal dacl would satisfy a paranoid guy like http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/[^] ... Cheers,Joao Vaz And if your dream is to care for your family, to put food on the table, to provide them with an education and a good home, then maybe suffering through an endless, pointless, boring job will seem to have purpose. And you will realize how even a rock can change the world, simply by remaining obstinately stationary.-Shog9 Remember just because a good thing comes to an end, doesn't mean that the next one can't be better.-Chris Meech
Joao Vaz wrote: Why do you prefer FreeBSD ? Aw man, we need a FAQ. ;) Joao Vaz wrote: NPTL And it still isn't even fully tested. FreeBSD caters to a community of people who expect a stable server. Which is something I believe is important. Besides this is a new issue regarding threading. So far, the only stats I've seen are in reference to startup and shutdown (may be due to lack of research on my part) and not actual performance, per sé. Also, it consumes a lot of RAM that should be saved for other things IMO. FreeBSD still has better SMP and Swap performance, TCP/IP stack, standard Unix filesystem support, etc. A non-bloated kernel that now has integrated security in the kernel like OpenBSD, and it still the most reliable OS around. As far as POSIX compliance, we’re talking about threading here compared to the old Linux model (not Unix) and not the entire OS. Anyway, for a complete list of reasons, you could try searching some back posts because I’ve like answered this question at least a dozen times on CP. Maybe one day (if Chris permits) I’ll write an article about it. :) Jeremy Falcon
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IMHO OpenBSD is perfectly suited (even recommended) for a router, gateway or firewall, but not necessarily a development machine. Jeremy Falcon
Agreed.. Many of the ports for OpenBSD are lagging behind, as they're not really being focused on. -- In the land of the blind, be king! Some day, Dominion, some say prayers, now I say mine.
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I've just been given an old IBM thinkpad. I'm going to wipe it and install some Unix variant on it. Any suggestions as to what flavor of *nix I should install. The machine will be used for developing code / scripts, so it should be rock solid and as generic as possible. I want Perl, and Python, along with the normal C++ development tools. Suggestions?
Windows_nix :~ ? i'm only pointer to myself
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Joao Vaz wrote: Why do you prefer FreeBSD ? Aw man, we need a FAQ. ;) Joao Vaz wrote: NPTL And it still isn't even fully tested. FreeBSD caters to a community of people who expect a stable server. Which is something I believe is important. Besides this is a new issue regarding threading. So far, the only stats I've seen are in reference to startup and shutdown (may be due to lack of research on my part) and not actual performance, per sé. Also, it consumes a lot of RAM that should be saved for other things IMO. FreeBSD still has better SMP and Swap performance, TCP/IP stack, standard Unix filesystem support, etc. A non-bloated kernel that now has integrated security in the kernel like OpenBSD, and it still the most reliable OS around. As far as POSIX compliance, we’re talking about threading here compared to the old Linux model (not Unix) and not the entire OS. Anyway, for a complete list of reasons, you could try searching some back posts because I’ve like answered this question at least a dozen times on CP. Maybe one day (if Chris permits) I’ll write an article about it. :) Jeremy Falcon
Jeremy Falcon wrote: So far, the only stats I've seen are in reference to startup and shutdown (may be due to lack of research on my part) and not actual performance, per sé. I lost the link , but it had good performance comparing with other 2 thread packages , don't ask me I don't remember it :rolleyes: Jeremy Falcon wrote: Also, it consumes a lot of RAM that should be saved for other things IMO. That is a fact , but FreeBSD with a graphical window manager like Gnome or Kde ... Jeremy Falcon wrote: FreeBSD still has better SMP and Swap performance Yeah , but they're improving it , and the latest patches on kernel 2.5 looks promising . Jeremy Falcon wrote: As far as POSIX compliance, we’re talking about threading here compared to the old Linux model (not Unix) and not the entire OS. Fair enough . Jeremy Falcon wrote: Anyway, for a complete list of reasons, you could try searching some back posts because I’ve like answered this question at least a dozen times on CP. Then I don't bug you anymore , I'll search your posts ... Jeremy Falcon wrote: Maybe one day (if Chris permits) I’ll write an article about it. Maybe on www.unixproject.com[^] :cool: I sincerely I've read good things about FreeBSD and definitely , I need to get dirty with it :-D Cheers,Joao Vaz And if your dream is to care for your family, to put food on the table, to provide them with an education and a good home, then maybe suffering through an endless, pointless, boring job will seem to have purpose. And you will realize how even a rock can change the world, simply by remaining obstinately stationary.-Shog9 Remember just because a good thing comes to an end, doesn't mean that the next one can't be better.-Chris Meech
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: So far, the only stats I've seen are in reference to startup and shutdown (may be due to lack of research on my part) and not actual performance, per sé. I lost the link , but it had good performance comparing with other 2 thread packages , don't ask me I don't remember it :rolleyes: Jeremy Falcon wrote: Also, it consumes a lot of RAM that should be saved for other things IMO. That is a fact , but FreeBSD with a graphical window manager like Gnome or Kde ... Jeremy Falcon wrote: FreeBSD still has better SMP and Swap performance Yeah , but they're improving it , and the latest patches on kernel 2.5 looks promising . Jeremy Falcon wrote: As far as POSIX compliance, we’re talking about threading here compared to the old Linux model (not Unix) and not the entire OS. Fair enough . Jeremy Falcon wrote: Anyway, for a complete list of reasons, you could try searching some back posts because I’ve like answered this question at least a dozen times on CP. Then I don't bug you anymore , I'll search your posts ... Jeremy Falcon wrote: Maybe one day (if Chris permits) I’ll write an article about it. Maybe on www.unixproject.com[^] :cool: I sincerely I've read good things about FreeBSD and definitely , I need to get dirty with it :-D Cheers,Joao Vaz And if your dream is to care for your family, to put food on the table, to provide them with an education and a good home, then maybe suffering through an endless, pointless, boring job will seem to have purpose. And you will realize how even a rock can change the world, simply by remaining obstinately stationary.-Shog9 Remember just because a good thing comes to an end, doesn't mean that the next one can't be better.-Chris Meech
Joao Vaz wrote: Then I don't bug you anymore , I'll search your posts ... Well, it's not bugging me. I always admire when people ask sincere, objective questions (like I do). It can just get really old typing the same things over and over again ya know. :) Jeremy Falcon
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Joao Vaz wrote: Then I don't bug you anymore , I'll search your posts ... Well, it's not bugging me. I always admire when people ask sincere, objective questions (like I do). It can just get really old typing the same things over and over again ya know. :) Jeremy Falcon
Jeremy Falcon wrote: t can just get really old typing the same things over and over again ya know. Yep, It can be pretty annoying and boring :) Cheers,Joao Vaz And if your dream is to care for your family, to put food on the table, to provide them with an education and a good home, then maybe suffering through an endless, pointless, boring job will seem to have purpose. And you will realize how even a rock can change the world, simply by remaining obstinately stationary.-Shog9 Remember just because a good thing comes to an end, doesn't mean that the next one can't be better.-Chris Meech