Downloading and building iso image of Debian Linux
Well, dear friends at Debian.
I just thought I'd share with you my recent experience of trying to get Debian Linux (at least cd1) to install.
Now, let me tell you right from the start I'm no newbie to computers, and I'm quite fluent with good old DOS and OS's in general, including several previous installations of Linux (Caldera and Redhat).
Unfortunately, I had no luck getting Debian Linux via your Pseudo-Image Kit and rsync utilities.
After spending almost a whole day trying to download, and I have fast DSL Internet connection, I still only have about 470Mb and am getting many "Error downloading file" and when I tried the rsync utility it never even reached the iso file on the FTP site and I tried many different possible commands.
I must say I've never seen more flawed distribution system then your Pseudo-Image Kit, the instructions leave a lot up to ones imagination, with no concrete examples for total newbies who I am sure have very little hope of ever getting the download and build of the iso image complete. The master lists often lead to wrong path on the FTP servers and to outdated distribution versions.
Those two utilities are perhaps the best examples why Linux is, after all the years, still only a tiny shadow of Windows OS's, since they probably all by themselves manage to drive potential Linux user promptly away and back into the Windows world.
I must however compliment you on the installation routine of the base package, which I managed to download as a collection of files from one of the FTP sites and install successfully. The installation guidance and disk partitioning utility are certainly a huge improvement over previous utilities from other distributions.
I don't mean to put down your work or make any personal criticism, I'm just stating the experience I had and my rather bitter feelings left that lead me to this criticism.
Maybe, like most businesses, you are trying to nudge people toward purchasing the official CD packages, but in my opinion, if you make unmistakable claim on your web site that it's free for download then it's only reasonable to assume that that's the case. But if you make it almost impossible for people to accomplish the download and iso build then it leads one to suspicions as to what your motives are.
For whatever it's worth, I appreciate all your hard work and time, but in the end I have to conclude Pseudo-Image Kit + rsync = crap
Sincerely
John Horak
(would like to be a Linux user, maybe tomorrow I'll have better luck)
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