Re: newbies needing help for graphic login
I hope i'm not double-posting - it seems the 'doze' version of Sylpheed is not very reliable, so here it comes:
Maybe all that is needed is to have the 'Desktop' task selected by default and have base-config start gdm on exit or do a 'init 2' i don't exactly remember the state you are when it exits. I can already imagine the face of a "switcher" when the install finishes and no reboot is required ("what, no reboot? great!" he thinks).
The general idea would be: if you don't change the defaults you get to the gui login, without additional steps. Tell a potential "switcher" he has to write something in a console just to start/reboot his computer and Debian looses 10 points. I know traditional Debian users might dislike this, but unselecting the 'Desktop' task is really trivial. Most will do a 'Manual package selection' anyway
Andrei
P.S. As already suggested, it would be a good idea to have all the suggestions gathered here forwarded to debian-devel. With all due respect to the developers, the point of view of the users might be more relevant in this particular issue.
On Thu, 5 Jan 2006 08:56:06 -0800
David Castor <dpcastor@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 1/5/06, Richard Lyons <richard@the-place.net> wrote:
> > The increasing frequency of 'help help help' messages from new users who
> > arrive at a command line console and don't know what to do next is a
> > good sign: more people moving from doze to Linux, more moving from
> > fedora and suze to debian. But there is a real danger of scaring them
> > off -- and I think their plight is a sign that debian should offer a
> > little extra help for them. What do others here think?
>
> I think it's a good idea. The problem area in the installer seems to
> be the screen where the
> various pre-configured installation options are selected (Desktop,
> Server, etc). I don't
> recall seeing any explanation of the implications of this selection
> or even how to make
> the selection. Getting the "X" inside the brackets is not intuitive
> to someone coming from
> a purely GUI background. Maybe if no selection is made on this
> screen, there should be
> some warning/verifications.
>
> On my first installation, I blew by that screen, making no selections
> and ending up with no
> GUI - which was not a big deal to me, but it was a bit mysterious as
> to how I got there.
>
> Dave
>
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