Bug#3031: various boot-floppies nits
Package: boot-floppies
Tiny problems I noticed when installing 1.1 from scratch:
- Error messages get wiped when a full-screen display is shown. It would be
nice if they could be pushed off the top first (perhaps with multiple CRs), so
that SH-PGUP could be used to inspect them.
- One or more of the main Installation menus seems to get too big. This seems
to be causing some garbage characters to be displayed around the edges.
- The prompts refer to the "EXT2" filesystem. Although "EXT2" is used in some
ext2 program messages, it would probably be better for novices if these boot
prompts used "ext2" instead.
- I was wary of the initial highlighted letters on the menu options (i.e., "If
I press the letter, does it execute the item right away? If so, what happens
if I press a letter which appears in two or more items?", etc.) It would be
nice if their behavior could be documented somewhere, perhaps on a preceding
screen?
- In one or two places, a screen is drawn and then immediately skipped
through. This is a little disconcerting (particularly combined with the first
item above).
- Somewhere (I forget) there is a message that says a certain procedure "will
take several minutes". It only took about 3 secs on my machine, which left me
wondering if it actually worked. Perhaps the prompt should say "may take up
to several minutes".
- There is a question asked about installing a MBR, and it's not clear that
LILO is what is actually to be installed. For the benefit of experienced
Linuxers, this should probably be stated. Also, the warning given here
(regarding whether to install the MBR) is a lot weaker than the one given in
the image package; it should be similar, if not stronger. LILO can always be
installed later, but if it's done wrong early by an inexperienced user, it can
be a real pain.
- The hostname prompt should make it explicit whether a FQDN is being asked
for.
- The nameserver prompt should make it explicit that multiple items should be
space-separated.
- It would be nice for newbies if the SH-PGUP/PGDN feature was explained early
on.
Thanks,
--Mike
Reply to: