Re: Linux Distribution Chooser
I was that newbie 18 months ago!
Debian was my first experience of Linux and I found ending up at a console
after my first installation surprising and difficult. I got through it with
lots of reading of documentation and googling, followed by a blundering and
error prone crash course in apt-get.
Another installation difficulty was that I didn't appreciate I was supposed to
use the space bar to make stars appear in the option columns before
proceeding to the <ok> option (the tab key I coped with). A bit of text to
that effect early on in the process would have helped.
Later, I discovered the installation manual...
The Tasksel stage of the installer could indeed make life easier for the
neophyte. It could strongly advise them to install a desktop environment by
default and make the choice of a console an option for those who Know What
They Are Doing, as I do 7 or 8 machines later.
I really enjoy Debian, and I appreciate the efforts of all the Developers, but
it's very hard to put yourself back in the position of someone who doesn't
know the basics.
Angus Mackenzie
Reply to: