On 20/05/10 01:52, Thierry Chatelet wrote:
On Thursday 20 May 2010 02:12:55 David Hoff Jr wrote:I am a current Windows XP User but want to convert to Linux. I have downloaded the Debian 5.0.4 CD and need to know which other CD's I need to download to have a working screen reader. Since I only have a dialup connection I need the CD's to install required packages rather than trying to do them over the internet. My wife and grandchildren can help me with installation. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have tried Vinux 3.0 but Ubuntu does not include modem support.You have to know what type of cpu you have: 64 or 32 bits. Then get the cd's, either amd64 or i386, unless you have something else than intel or amd cpu. Then you have to decide which graphic interface you want: KDE, gnome xfce or an other one. Search the net to make your choice. I doubt you will need more than the first cd for gnome, or the kde or xfce+lxde cds if you choose one of these graphical interface.(I am using kde). If you need more application, you can always download cd2 after, it should meet all your needs. As far as modem support, I have no idea, but someone else can help you...... Thierry
DavidIn the days that I used dial-up modem, the kppp package was always very helpful for getting the modem working. It was a small button that one clicked to activate the interface and once you were connected would just sit in the system tray (area near the clock) and blink red/ green for package transmission. The genius of kppp was that it would automatically seek out the modem that was connected to the machine and configure it. All I needed to do was to complete the account-related details, save them and then hit connect. It is possible, and sometimes desirable, to use one DE (such as Gnome or KDE) but use packages associated with another DE. For example, if you default to Gnome - which is a very good DE in terms of configuration capacity and ease of use - you can still use any number of KDE-related packages, one of which would be kppp.
I am privileged to have broadband so haven't had to think about this for a while, but you might want to use the CD set from Lenny (stable) only because, unlike testing, there will be very little in the way of needing to download packages and security fixes, etc. which otherwise will be a pain.
Welcome to GNU/ Linux Debian. You will have a reasonably steep learning curve and will likely get frustrated and feel out of your depth. This is all quite normal and except for the uber-geeks, most of us have probably had experiences which have caused us grief and rapid hair loss from self-inflicted pulling. But, take things slowly, familiarise yourself with the command line because you can get a lot of things done there and once you are familiar with it, if the you-know-what hits the fan and you are back to a black screen/ white text situation you won't feel intimidated and lost. Also, do lots of reading - there are some good on-line fora (e.g. http://www.linuxquestions.org ) and of course this mailing list - on which to ask questions. These days though you should have a pretty easy ride and can usually accept most of the default configuration options out of the box.
I would certainly reiterate Thierry's comments about ensuring that your CD set is compatible with your system architecture, otherwise you will have a very unpleasant computing experience.
Hope this helps AG