[ale] vFAQ: Good distributions on Dell D610 laptops

[villyard at comcast.net (Katherine Villyard)]

John Mills wrote:
> KB -
>
> Thanks. That brings me to another question:
>
> I see 'ubuntu' downloads its installer as a single CD. Is it then usual to 
> go through a net installation to end up with a usably complete setup? If 
> so, is the net procedure automated?
>
>   

Yes, and yes. There's also a lot of software in the repositories, which 
you can install through synaptic (or adept, if you're using kubuntu).

> I also see some DVD downloads for 'kubuntu'. What are the 'pros' and 
> 'cons' of 'ubuntu' and 'kubuntu', and CD vs. DVD installations?
>   

Kubuntu is Ubuntu with KDE. Ubuntu itself defaults to Gnome.

I usually download the alternate text-only installer CD because it's 
faster than the GUI installer. I would only recommend the default GUI 
installer if you have a lot of resources; it's a live CD, which is nice 
for seeing if your hardware is supported, but I find the installer 
itself rage-honingly slow. Scroll down to the bottom of the CD download 
page to get the text installer; it's under "other installation options" 
and labelled "alternate install CD." BTW, that comment about it being 
for machines "with less than 192MB of RAM" really overestimates the 
performance of the GUI installer, IMHO.

I've never used the DVD installation. I get all the software I need out 
of the repositories. If you don't see something you want, you may need 
to enable more repositories.

I hope that helps,
Katherine