Geert Stappers wrote: > Op 29-04-2007 om 14:28 schreef Eddy Petri??or: >> Julien BLACHE wrote: >>> Apple machines aren't ia64, they're i386/amd64 machines. >>> >>> So, you used the wrong architecture, grab an i386 or amd64 >>> installation media instead. >> Maybe we could add a warning in the ia64 images >> when such an image is used on an amd64 machine; > > Please elaborate your proposal. what's not clear? if you try to boot an ia64 image and it fails, the error message should suggest (if clear detection is not possible) that the user might be trying to boot the wrong type of image and maybe he/she should try an amd64 image which is the proper image for Intel Core 2 processors > Brainstorm, throw ideas at the community, share ideas. > Feel free. > Don't let you be hinderd, surely not by the rest of this E-mail. > > >> this ia64/amd64 issue comes up really often. > > Less often then plain ignorance. You can't expect everybody to know how debian called its amd64/x86_64 architecture. Even the people that are close to debian might not know the difference (I know I also was confused). And since Intel Core 2 processors are produced by Intel, people *expect* the arch to be called something along the lines of i386, i486, and not k6, k7 or amd*, so ia64 - oh "Intel architecture, 64 bits, that's it" is the first thing that springs to mind. This is the reason behind many choices made in all kinds of places which are taken on the account of the "element of the least surprise". Not knowing the history of the x86_64 arch is NOT plain ignorance. You can't expect everybody to know such things. I appreciate what Debian wanted to do (pay a tribute to amd), but we have to admit the choice backfired. I would be really curious about some comparative graphs about the downloads of the ia64 images around the release of etch and around the release of sarge (also in comparison with i386, amd64 and other images)... I wouldn't be surprised if there was a big difference since Intel Core 2 processors became more common place during sarge's lifetime and is *easy* to make the wrong choice... > I also feel sad to see installation reports that say this is not quite the same thing, although I understand what are you trying to prove. > IMNSHO is the best way to fix these issues, > is the sell pre-installed GNU/Linux computers. I agree, but I'd say "pre-installed with Debian GNU/Linux" ;-) -- Regards, EddyP ============================================= "Imagination is more important than knowledge" A.Einstein
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