>Understandable. We need a good Debian book, luckily, multiple such projectas >are under work.
If they are online books perhaps you could point me to the authors - maybe some help is needed ? (I'm not keen to work voluntarily for commercial productions) > >> Coming from the Windows world - when something doesn't work reinstall the OS ! > >:) Glad you understand :) > >> >> Again I would like to suggest that the install could be made much easier >> >> with a couple of (not necessarily simple) changes. For instance, providing >> >> a kernal with SB16/AWE32/AWE64 support already present and working. >> > >> >The kernel can't guess or detect the interrupts and ioports. AWE cards also >> >require often pnp set up. You are asking for too much. However, ALSA will >> >have better sound support and auto detection. The OSS Lite sound driver is >> >really crap. >> >> I can understand you saying that it is difficult but I can't understand you >> saying impossible. > >I don't remember the exact quote, but usually saying "it's impossible" in >the Free Software world means, "well, that's very hard to do, and I don't >know how and don't have the time to find out how to do it" :) Fair comment - I'm not completely unaware of the pressures placed on volunteers > >> From what I understand RH at least has working >> autodetect and along with OSS it has been proved to be possible. > >Yes, it is. Still, OSS is semi-free software (OSS lite is free, the official >costs bucks), and is not worth working much on. Alsa, as I said, will have >support for multiple sound cards and better auto detection. I haven't heard of alsa previously - I can see I have some research to do <SNIP discussion on sound cards> >I don't like the module screen, too, it should be optional. An alternative >would not be to compile everything in, but to use the auto-module-loader kmod >by default. I'm pleased that we agree on this :) > >> There are IMHO too many packages installed as standard many of which I >> haven't even looked at yet myself despite using Linux daily. This creates >> the second problem of too much choice for the new user. As I said above, I >> feel one low power easy to use editor will do just to get the new user >> going same as notepad in windows. > >Just remember that Linux is not Windows, but a Unix clone. So we will have >more unixish structure then windowish. Every new user msut accept that. >Therefore, the standard editor is not notepad, but vi. The reasons are also >historical ones. Thank you - I regularly forget to assess Linux from the Unix point of view. It's good to have been reminded > >I wonder what the SEUL (simple end user linux) is doing. Someone should >definitely build a simple linux based on Debian targetted to ex windows >user. But let's not make bare Debian to that. Agreed > >I don't think making Debian windowish does really help anyone. >A derivative of Debian can be windowish, I would encourage everyone t try >something like this. > >> When more is needed then more can be >> installed. New users are going through enough trauma already getting used >> to the command line - bearing in mind that, from what I can see, most of >> the newbies are Windows users who have never even used or seen any *nix >> before. > >Well, that should be changed, right? > >> Both vi and emacs are very powerful tools but have a steep learning curve. >> I was almost put off of Linux in general because I thought that learning >> either was too much trouble. Fortunately I discovered ae before it was too >> late ! > >:) > >As I said, for the braindead windows user, a simple end user linux should be >prepared. Everyone else will have to swallow our philosophy anway, so why >not right from the start... Definitely a very good idea - is someone working on this or is there an abandoned project ripe for takeover somewhere ? > >> >> Why not, >> >> if a X type setup has been chosen just install Netscape (plus maybe Lynx) >> >> instead of NS, Lynx, Mozilla, W3 etc ... These sorts of examples just go >> >> on and on. >> > >> >Netscape is not part of Debian, sorry. I would find it VERY annoying if >> >selecting X would select a web browser, too. Again, I don't know what you >> >exactly are complaining about (see above). >> >> I understood that NS is available from the non-free section ? > >non-free section is not part of Debian GNU/Linux. Ooops :) My mistake > >> The above browsers are ALL installed as standard from the Hamm distro >> (using the dialup user option during install). This to me is very annoying >> because I don't want them and it takes up more time during the installation >> and more disk space needlessly. I understand that just about any package >> can be de-installed quite easily but the point is that I don't see why I >> should have to. > >Agreed. > >You raise very valid points. And I really have to try hard to find good >excuses why we haven't fixed those problems already :) > >> It is only by people outside the development community making suggestions >> that the developers can be aware of the "wish list" that these people have. >> I would hope that no-one expects volunteers to drop everything to try to >> satisfy a difficult or impossible request immediately or sooner but surely >> even the impossible requests/suggestions/ideas are all grist for the >> development mill ? > >Well, let me rephrase it: After a while, you seldom notice something new :) >Some new requests pop up, some vanish, but over a long time they stay the >same. It's not too bad to get reminded often, but I would be more happy >if people would include patches :) > Having had the benefit of hindsight I may have kept my mouth shut :) I also am beginning to recognise the same complaints occurring time and again and realise that I have added to the general overflow of adding complaints without proposing realistic solutions. >> Again let me emphasise that I am not complaining - I would like these >> comments and any others that I make to be taken as constructive criticism. >> If I had the coding skills I would implement the ideas myself and in time I >> will. > >Your comments are appreciated! You don't need to be a coder to help. Set up >a web page where you keep track of the boot floppy development and which >parts of the install are troublesome (stuff like installing emacs and >xemacs). If you have a spare partition to make test installs, that is all >what is needed. Then mail the boot floppy team about your analyse. > >That's just a suggestion. There are zillion ways to help. A web page probably isn't realistic for me at the moment as I don't know how long I will be staying with this isp. As it happens I have a 486 with 2Gb h/d just laying around - to think I never thought of using it in this way. Thank you. I have a couple of smail & networking problems to resolve (keep your eyes open for my questions when they come !) and will go this route. > >Thanks, >Marcus No, thank _you_ Marcus - you have been kind, informative and patient. Ivan. ps. I wonder about your .sig - is there a meaning to this ? >`Rhubarb is no Egyptian god.'
