...

On Tue, 08 Dec 2020 12:54:32 -0500, Frank Cox theatre@sasktel.net might just possibly have said:

F> Is Oracle a real alternative to Centos? I'm asking because genuinely F> don't know; I've never paid any attention to Oracle's Linux offering F> before now.

I've used Unix/Linux at Wright-Patterson AFB, USA since 1988 -- this includes Solaris starting at 2.5.1 up to 11, FreeBSD, and Linux. I used CentOS for several years and I'm a refugee simply because it was easier to get something containing the name "Oracle" approved for use on base. (All the stupid sh*t you've heard about gov't procurement is true.)

I *despise* Oracle the company, but I ran Oracle Linux as both a server for an Oracle DB and as my workstation starting Jan 2018 after a drive failure knocked my machine out of the park. Occasionally I had to dork around looking for a source RPM, but other than that I was fine with it. You use "yum" like anywhere else.

FWIW, my 6.10 installation had this in /etc/redhat-release: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 6.10 (Santiago)

Go to https://linux.oracle.com/switch/centos/, poke around a bit, and you end up here: https://yum.oracle.com/oracle-linux-downloads.html

I just went to the ISO page and I can grab whatever I like without signing up for anything, so nothing's changed since I first used it.

I use FreeBSD on my home systems to avoid precisely this kind of crap, so this is *NOT* a recommendation for Oracle in general -- be ready for them to change the rules at any time.

Finally, I've been on this list for many years -- Johnny H. is the most responsive and least arrogant person I've ever seen, so please don't pee in his Wheaties.

-- Karl Vogel / vogelke AT pobox.com / I don't speak for the USAF or any company

Mangled song lyric: I can't climb this ceiling any more. Actual lyric: I can't fight this feeling anymore. (REO Speedwagon)