[oclug] Linux on the desktop??

[Gilles J. Seguin]

"David F. Skoll" wrote:
> 
> Vu Nguyen wrote:
> 
> > Can you explain your comments at the end?  What sort of difficulties did you
> > run into with RH 7?
> 
> Well, for me, X didn't work.

hum !

> Also, the compiler is broken and won't
> even compile the kernel -- you need to use "kgcc" (= an older version of
> gcc) for that.

Patch for broken format line on the kernel-2.2.x, and shown by gcc-2.96
has never been accepted.  Distributor are having no choice than 
providing an alternive compiler, after a year of waiting !

For the kernel-2.4.x, two weeks before the official release.
Linus send an email saying that it is a good idea to try the gcc-2.96
compiler because it is showing problem with the kernel.

bottom line, kernel-2.4.0 is compiling with gcc-2.96
and run/work.  Read, do not used for prime time.
gcc-2.96-69

> Also, the C library shipped with RH7 is a beta version.  All in all, RH7
> seemed not quite ready for prime-time to me.

For my part, programs that have not been compile for gcc version 2.96
and the glibc-2.2 library are consired broken.
Test cases showing bad behavior are very well come.

> In general, I find the Red
> Hat *.0 releases awful,

Major update has always this effect, you must read documentations,
check new behavior. The maintenance is awful, not the software.

I like Red Hat showing that we still have lot of work to do.
It is not time to show shortness of breath.
High Availabity system/application is another story.
But a lot of them require the kernel-2.4.0, ext3 file system.
Games want the DRI from XFree86-4.0.x
Printing, LPRng

> the *.1 releases so-so, and the *.2 releases OK.
> 
> Of course, I'm the cautious type, and probably won't use a 2.4 kernel
> until the middle of 2001. :-)