Re: OffTopic: newbie to Linux Alpha

[Eric Lee Green <eric linux-hw com>]

On Fri, 19 Feb 1999, Emmanuel PIERRE wrote:
> I'm about to buy an Alpha(based on Alpha 21164 and Alpha 164 UX2), what should
> I know on what differs from linux on Intel ?

Well, hmm. First of all, no good browser :-(. The good news, though, is
that KDE 1.1 does compile straight out of the box (you can drop by our
booth at LinuxWorld Expo and see it running on a 164LX-533) and the KDE
1.1 browser isn't half bad (even handles cookies now).

Secondly, Linux on the Alpha is very much a hacker's platform. It's the
way that Linux was four or five years ago on the Intel, where you had to
compile things all the time and hack the kernel all the time to deal with
weirdness. For example, you'll note that the LX box at the show doesn't
light up its little hard drive LED when it's accessing its hard drive.
That's because I had about an hour free this morning to get KDE 1.1 and
the 2.2.1 kernel going on it prior to it being packed up for the show, and
I did not have time to go hunt down a patch to the kernel's initialization
routine for the Symbios 53c875 chip that would enable the hard drive
light. The patch exists, I have seen it referenced on the kernel-list, but
the fact is that you don't have to do that kind of thing on the Intel
platform. In short, the Alpha is still for the adventuresome. Those who
want to turn on their Linux box and have it just plain work are probably
better off sticking with the Intel. But if you're bored with Intel, and
want some speed, well, Alpha will give you excitement and speed a'plenty. 

--
Eric Lee Green         eric@linux-hw.com     http://www.linux-hw.com/~eric
  "Software is like sex, it's better when it's free." -- Linus