Hello - I am very interested in installing Debian Linux in my computer, but your webpage is extremely confusing:
1. What is, simply and straightforwardly, the way to install Debian in a clean system which had previously Win2000? I have reformatted the hard drive. It's clean, and ready. Intel system, Pentium II 266 Mhz. ATI AIW video 7500 video card. Two M-Audio cards (yes, they're both Linux compatible). I have downloaded a file called "debian-30r1-i386-binary-1.iso". What confuses me is that first it's written that 7 cds have to be burnt, and then it says that only the first one has to be used. So can I just install debian with a cd created from the above file? Or do I need the 7 cds? Is the installer going to ask me for the 7 cds? The Jigdo procedure is also rather confusing. The program works on a command window. I managed to also download a file called "debian-update-3.0r1-i386.iso.tmp" Do I need this file only to install Debian? Should I just burn a cd with this file? 2. Why there isn't just a direct, straightforward way - without any commands, just a wizard - to install Debian? Why the lengthy manual? Putting this into perspective, this is a major deterrent for people who want to get out from Microsoft and get into Linux asap. If there was an easy installer and easy guidelines, Microsoft's days left would be very few. 3. Yes, your website has a lot of information but it's very, very confusing. In my search for a very straightforward, and simple way to install Debian (I'm hoping for something like "insert CD and follow wizard on the screen") I ended up at a "mini how-to" explaining about how to configure a 3-button mouse. This is a default feature on Windows; does this mean that even the mouse has to be reconfigured to be used with Debian? How many more basic pieces of hardware have to be reconfigured to be used with Debian? Like I said, I am very, very interested in getting into Linux; but there should be a really straightforward way to install it, and compatibility issues should be solved and automatized in a "plug-and-play" type fashion. Once the "geek" details are put in the background for good, general customers will avidly drop Microsoft and get openly into Linux. Debian seems ideal because it is not trying to commercialize as Red Hat, Mandrake or Lindows; and it's of course open source. Carlos Najar Calgary, AB Canada
