Desperate need for a config tool
I'm not a developer but would like to share my experience with
installing/using Debian and compare it to Windows 95/98. I'm a long
time Unix user (Sun, Apollo, HP), but not administrator, and started
to use/administer a Debian machine a year ago. Since then I
installed/upgraded Debian 2.0 on three machines. I found my system
(dual PPro) very stable, fast, with all the software I need running
well, easy to upgrade and maintain.
However, configuring it is a nightmare, especially in comparison to
Windows. I'm not a Windows user, but on a dual boot machine I needed
about 5 min. to set the proper time, configure the monitor, install
printer and ZIP drive, establish a PPP connection. On Linux I have to
read a lot of documentation (/usr/doc, man pages, HOWTOs, bug reports)
before I can set almost trivial things (like changing From: field
in the mail headers). Eventually, this usually involves changing
just a line or two in configuration files, but may take hours/days
to find out.
I installed and tried Webmin, and it looked like a great tool for
a non-experienced administrator. I didn't stay with it because
it has support just for Debian 1.3, and it isn't packaged for Debian.
So it doesn't give me any assurance that what it does to my config
files is in accordance with Debian 2.0 policy. However, a tool like
that, with Debian support (eg, all packages with config files
should register with it, like menu system) would certainly bring
Debian much closer to non-experienced users.
Now the obvious: "Why don't you do it?"
First, I lack the expertise, and second, such a tool really requires
to be accepted into the Debian policy.
This note shouldn't be taken as a criticism to your great work, but
rather as a point of view of a grateful, non-expert user.
If anybody cares, I'm willing to give a detailed account of typical
configuration problems.
-Igor Mozetic
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