Steve Lamb wrote:
Antony Gelberg wrote:I really don't think that this is the kind of thing to recommend on d-u without a very good reason.The amazingly simple install is a very good reason. Hell, I've used Debian since the libc5 days and *I* preferred Ubuntu's setup to even Sarge's. My one and only complaint is that being such a hard core Debian user I don't see a viable way to migrate from Ubuntu to Debian because they use completely different package names.
AIUI Ubuntu uses the same installer as Sarge.
There's another Debian based distro out there whose name eludes me at the
moment.. *rummages through his CD images...* Ah-ha... Progeny. Progeny is
an awesome Debian based distro in that the installer is easy as cake and aside
from about a dozen custom named packages they use Debian packages so migration
over to mainline Debian is easy.
All in all when talking to someone who is coming fresh into Linux but has
enough experience to install Windows I'd point them at Progeny, Knoppix or
Ubuntu and stress that once they get comfortable to move on over to mainline
Debian.
I don't think it's so much to do with the newness of the user as the character of the user. I've seen new users get on well with Debian, "getting it" very quickly. I've also seen (otherwise) very experienced users get very frustrated with their failure to understand The Debian Way.
Perhaps we need a guide to TDW, so that people can make more informed decisions about whether Debian is for them.