Re: The Real Problem With Debian
As a newbie I hesitate to get involved here, because I know nothing about the
other versions of Linux. But after reading through countless problems and
their solutions on this mailing list, maybe it's refreshing to hear about
someone's positive experience.
I chose Debian because I was attracted to its non-commercial nature. A few
years ago I tried Slink, but gave up after many problems. So I did have a
tiny bit of experience when, a couple of months ago, I ordered Woody on CD.
It installed so easily, seemed much more streamlined than my recollection of
Slink. Somewhere I read that KDE was an easy transition for Windows users,
so I chose it in the install. I would highly recommend it to anyone moving
from Windows because it gives a complete working environment (that has a
familiar look and feel) from the start. AND the printer was so easy to
install in KDE using CUPS.
My only problem was with sound. Some very helpful people on this list
explained that I needed the sound module in the kernel, and that I should
have picked the "vanilla" kernel right at the beginning of the installation.
Recompiling the kernel is beyond me at this point, so I re-installed. If
only there had been a warning somewhere at the beginning of the installation
process for us newbies!
Other than that, though, I had a fully working system after an easy
installation. And I had not spent time with another distribution of Linux
before getting Debian.
If any developers are reading this, thanks for a great product. It installed
easily on my old computer, and best of all, it doesn't crash several times a
day as Windows did! That was so frustrating!
One other note: rather than try to deal with a dual boot, I bought a cheap,
used hard drive on Ebay. I still have my old hard drive with Windows, never
needed to go back to it. Maybe I'll think of a use for it someday...
Peter Christensen
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