Thanks for pointing out the contrasts (and the original article). I have battled this for a long time - there are classroom scenarios where there is only so much you can ask, and when you get to self-study situations, it gets even harder.
Can you tell me which book the second proof is from?
Time to try Slackware again. It was my first dip into Linux many years ago. I moved to apt-get supportive distros but the idea of keeping a smaller set of applications around and knowing exactly what's on there is appealing.
Can you tell me which book the second proof is from?