On Wed, Dec 6, 2017 at 11:52 AM, Michael Stone wrote: > you want debian to be uninstallable on some hardware without a copy of > windows? that doesn't seem like a step forward or even a desirable goal.
Of course not, that would be a ridiculous suggestion. I would wager that most devices have another OS installed before installing Debian. I propose that the process of installing Debian could be made easier if the Debian install process started with an app on that OS instead of manually choosing which d-i to download. These apps could also do all the setup that users currently have to do manually to get d-i to start. For example on Turris Omnia routers, you have to update the shipped u-boot before you can boot d-i off USB. On BIOS systems you have to press a magic key or navigate BIOS menus to figure out how to boot d-i. For devices that don't ship with an OS or Debian doesn't yet have an install bootstrap app, obviously d-i ISOs would still be available and users could manually download and run them, with or without the needed firmware. Some more details in this other email: https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2017/12/msg00101.html -- bye, pabs https://wiki.debian.org/PaulWise
