New user rant..urr, questions.
** WARNING ** I TYPE A LOT! DEAL WITH IT!!
--+ I'm an experienced computer user, and have been looking at Linux closer and closer over the last few years. On a couple of
occaisions I have attempted to install various flavours of Linux with.. umm.. "classic" results. You see, I'm cursed.. for me, software
breaks in the strangest ways. Trust me. If you think it happens only to you, yes, it's documentable and exists in others. There is no
cure.
Anyways, after a horrible experience with Mandrake (it's looks good but tastes bad), I've decided on Debian because:
- kernal-independance (why base the distrib on someone else's work?)
- fair popularity (tough to guage since I haven't looked for Debian links yet, but there are some commercial packages based on
Debian, so that's a positive guage)
- quality software install/uninstall function (I'm entirely anal about this, yes I've heard mandrake has a good package handler.. but..
umm, when the os doesn't actually install.. who cares.)
- various other reasons amounting to a good fuzzy feeling about this one. =)
--+ Anyhow. I would like some user help. I need a set of links pointing towards user stories on Debian, as well as various other user
pages. There are no links on http://www.debian.org and I couldn't find a webring with a couple of quick searches.
--+ I would like to document my experiences with Debian, essay-style, to contribute to the efforts. My gift of finding problems with
software will kick in.. I'll take notes and review the software so hopefully everything will be reproducable. IF Debian manages to
miraculously survive the ordeal, I will have an archive filled with screenshots, doodles and essays describing how it can be made
even better. But that's for later.
Sy, a.k.a. The Racksasha
You've never heard of me.
If you have, yes.. I've been under a rock. =)
Background information on the author follows:
<RANT>
To no avail, I have screwed with:
+--+ DOS - although mostly unsupported now, still way more powerful than windows and I know it inside out (and then some). I'll be
heading back to this since I'm getting an HP 200lx (modified, of course). I'm going out of my way to get a 286 "laptop" (call it a
portable, it's huge).. I'm going retro.
+--+ Win3.x - I screwed with this to the point of considering releasing 3.11b (non workgroups) by documenting the modification of an
upgraded 3.1.. the project got frozen indefinitely and now it's years later.
+--+ Win95 - ooh, pretty. I can play games.. wait a sec, I could play games on my old 486, and now I need a pentium to play win95
games.. why did I want this OS again? games? I used to be learning programming.. hmm..
+--+ Many-year trek back into the c64 resulting in rising popularity then a plummetting death (oops). I still love the beast.. Hell, I got a
HardSID and play c64 tunes still.. but I don't emulate it and haven't looked back.
+--+ Win98 - Win95 on crack
+--+ WinNT - tell me why I need this again? / see previous comment.
+--+ Yggdrasil's Linux - from a book. The book was a nice read, the distrib didn't actually install (missing file(s)). The CDs were in
perfect condition. I can pronnounce the name, but I'm not sure if I can spell it.
+--+ -- Around this time I researched most Linux distribs, and read everything everywhere.. I still couldn't understand why these
people didn't fix DOS and use that instead.. I couldn't even see a spreadsheet program for linux, letalone text-graphics ala the c64
textmode. All this to procrastinate over learning to program.. damn, I should have stayed with the c64, cause I was doing it there..
stupid internet. =/
+--+ RedHad 5.who_cares - Nice, big book. I bought the biggest, most popular, most up to date and therefore most expensive
book. I found out that somehow I already know most of the content (go figure). The install didn't work, missing files.. hmm. Once
again, perfect CDs and no luck.
+--+ -- Enter a cablemodem, toss to the winds all free time. =)
+--+ BeOS - It doesn't go, not with a wiz beos games tester helping me install. Later efforts with the free download (nice idea, nice
when it boots) resulted in a horrifically slow system.. hrmph
+--+ Mandrake - Great website, forking fantastic website. You have to pay for support though.. but I checked it out anyways.
Awesome install, I knew it inside-out from the website demos. It autodetects everything perfectly, It just _does_not_work_.. yet
another sad, sad installer which can't find it's own files.
</RANT>
And so I'm left here.
Don't let me down.
Rack.
Website to come.. maybe if crosswinds (http://www.crosswinds.net) gets their act together so I can update.. hrm. Anyone want to
host me? =)
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