[kwlug-disc] Desktop linux for Gramps

[unsolicited]

Paul Nijjar wrote, On 12/03/2009 7:31 PM:
> On Thu, Dec 03, 2009 at 01:39:40PM -0500, unsolicited wrote:
>> Glenn, you have written a number of times about your problems with  
>> Mandriva, which seem to mostly surround availability, end of life, less 
>> (free) support than for other distros, cost, and other things. Don't 
>> perpetuate and extend your aggravation. "Come to the light!"
> 
> I totally disagree with unsolicited on this point. You will be the tech
> support for your parents. Therefore you should give them what you know
> and understand. 

I think you do Glenn a disservice here. By your reasoning we should
all still be running windows, and K-W LUG should not exist.

Please review the nature of Glenn's queries to the list over the past
few years. My overall impression is that the queries center around
problems with the packaging / distribution / presentation of Mandriva.
You seldom hear from him on any other topic. i.e. It appears he seldom
has reason to post, otherwise.

As best as I can tell, he is the only one on the list regularly
running Mandriva. Particularly in a production environment. Whenever
such queries of his present opportunities for weaning in a different
distribution (e.g. need new server), the list appears to be nudging
him in that way. Any other way. Repeatedly.

Mandriva, along with Suse and Red Hat, are the Microsoft of the Linux
world. Almost a GNU/Linux/GPL self-contradiction. Peek at the Mandriva 
home page.

There must be reasons why Debian (Ubuntu), and Fedora, are mentioned
far and above more frequently than Mandriva, in this list.

And reasons why you, yourself, are neither running it, nor migrating
to it. Your comment flies in the face of your own attitude - you
frequently search for better solutions than you have at the moment,
despite however familiar you are with the current tools you are using.

I have no particular beef with Mandriva. I don't run it. It is
probably one of the distributions I have tinkered with in the past. I 
know little of it, and my impressions of it mostly come from this 
list. But if I'm going to expend energy overcoming a learning curve in 
any particular area, I want to be able to leverage it to the widest 
world / environment I can.

It's noteworthy that nobody on the thread has defended Mandriva.

No foul to anyone. We'd all like to see Glenn and his users have the 
slickest, easiest, best possible experience possible. However they get 
there.