Eric S. Raymond knocks Fedora, and I’m all about it. I hate that bloody distribution but I see it everywhere. How it got established as “the Linux to give to newbies” is beyond me, because it’s ridiculous trying to install anything in a Redhat-based distribution. Even the non-newbies still choose Fedora, which is even more baffling. For those recommending it to newbies, why would you introduce someone who has used Windows all their life to the pains of yum and RPM dependency hell? Debian got it right, people. apt-get if you prefer the command line, Synaptic if you want a GUI. Why? apt-get just works. With a Redhat derivative, the system tells you it can’t install package X because it depends on package Y, then sits on its laurels and twiddles its thumbs while you run around trying to find the exact RPM match. And if package Y can’t be installed because of a missing dependency? Well, welcome to the aforementioned RPM dependency hell. With a Debian derivative, such as Ubuntu, the system calculates which packages X depends on, tells you, then runs out and gets them. It gets the right versions, it installs them in the right order, and then it installs package X for you. Easy as pie, and the way it should be.