Clean install keeping home folder intact

[Ian Malone]

On 22 August 2012 13:38, Tim <ignored_mailbox at yahoo.com.au> wrote:
> Tim:
>>> Just pick an OS that doesn't need updating/discarding all the time.
>
> Eddie G. O'Connor Jr:
>> Which OS's would that be?...just to satisfy my own curiosity?...
>
> There's CentOS, and there was (may still be) a long life version of
> Ubuntu.  Where you install a particular release, and there isn't a
> cut-off date for the creation of any updates.  So, you can do package
> updates for years to come, without having to do a destroy and rebuild
> total upgrade.

Ubuntu LTS, every two years the regular Ubuntu release is assigned to
be an LTS and updates for it are maintained for 5 years rather than
the 18 months that most releases get. The most recent Ubuntu (12.04)
is an LTS. But if you want a Debian server rather than a desktop then
maybe just get Debian.

CentOS or Scientific Linux are the obvious RPM based choices. As an
alternative Open SUSE's evergreen project aims to extend support for
nominated releases to 3 years (there was a similar effort for Fedora
early on, but it's quite tough for a community-based effort, so not
sure if SUSE will keep it up either). Then there are the paid-for
enterprise options.

> And, for the true gluttons for punishment, you can roll your own install
> from the source files.  If you like, you can have very little other than
> core files and networking.  No Gnome, KDE, whatever...
>

Though there you'd have to maintain your own updates (even if the
minimal system should require fewer ones).

-- 
imalone
http://ibmalone.blogspot.co.uk