[Tfug] linux no longer for amateurs

[Claude Rubinson]

On Sat, Jan 16, 2010 at 07:57:35AM -0700, Zack Williams wrote:
> Ah, damn, I should have been more clear - I intended that as a praise
> for disro releases, if only because they get more Q&A and another set
> of eyes over everything when it's integrated.    Thus, they're more
> likely to work, in my experience.

That's exactly right.  And when compiling from source (something that
I, too, haven't had to do in quite some time), best practice for
end-users is to use the distro-provided sources (which integrate
bugfixes and distro-specific patches) and tools (which ease the
installation and ensure that the new kernel plays nice with the rest
of the system).

Debian's kernel-package package, for example, makes the building and
management of kernel sources pretty trivial.  Probably the most
difficult thing for the novice is learning what different kernel
config options do.  Second is learning how to properly name the
resulting deb.  Knowing the proper names for drivers (which I think
Bexley was complaining about on BSD), tends not to be too bad.

Claude