Re: Installation
On Sun, 2012-09-16 at 22:42 +0200, lee wrote:
> Camaleón <noelamac@gmail.com> writes:
>
> > On Sat, 15 Sep 2012 20:59:30 +0200, lee wrote:
> >
> >> Camaleón <noelamac@gmail.com> writes:
> >>
> >>> Debian people has done a marvelous work with thteir documentation and
> >>> this step (Partitioning) is very well explained there¹ (even it has a
> >>> separate Appendix!).
> >>>
> >>> ¹http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch06s03.html.en#di-partition
> >>
> >> Just give users a way to find and to read this information while they
> >> are using the installer without requiring them to have anything but the
> >> installer and the computer they are trying to install on.
> >
> > That's absurd. You are not going to install an OS in the middle of nowhere,
> > dude, so you print the manual (or just the sections you are interested in)
> > and you can read it while installing.
>
> 1.) I don't have a working computer to find and print manuals with.
> First I need to install Debian (or have that working system).
>
> 2.) I don't have a printer. Do you really still print something?
>
> 3.) I don't want this paper crap, I don't have room for it and I hate
> it.
>
> 4.) During the installation, I might come across something that isn't
> (sufficiently) covered in the manual, something unforeseen (so I
> didn't print the pages I would need) or just something I want to
> know more about before I proceed with the installation.
>
> 5.) When I have a working system before installing, I can take my time
> to learn before I start to install, and I might even be able to use
> the system for things that aren't related to the installation. That
> takes away any pressure to install which might be there because I
> need a working computer.
>
> 6.) Consider some excited impatience when someone has this shiny new
> computer in front of him after they just assembled the parts after
> those finally arrived in the mail or at the dealer. The CD/DVD goes
> in and they start the installation because they want their computer
> to work. The option to print manuals and whatever doesn't exist
> before the thing works. I can't go to my neighbours and block
> their computer for a week or two or how long ever it takes until I
> manage to successfully finish the installation. I want a working
> system _now_.
>
> 7.) If it's not 6.), it may be that a friend gave me the installer
> CD/DVD and I'm eager to try it out because I have heard so many good
> things about Linux. I have installed OSs before, so how hard can it
> be? The CD/DVD goes into the drive and there I go --- until I get
> stuck. Wow great, I can even switch to a working system and find
> out what I need to know! How cool is that! Linux is awesome!
>
>
> It's absurd to assume that people have another working computer at hand,
> that they know what manuals to print in advance ...
>
> Anyway, the problem is solved already, Debian has a life installer image
> you can use. I'll try it when I set up my VM.
I agree that the installers of all Linux distros I know are bad,
excepted of distros that are made for people who wish to configure their
Linux very individual. OTOH it can't harm to buy a Linux distro that
ships with a user manual and support, when being a dummy. I did buy Suse
9.0, but because I wanted to get knowledge about more complex things
than the install. Unfortunately the admin's manual was as simple as the
users manual was. At that time I don't had Internet access for my Atari
ST, but I was an experienced coder. However, buying Linux didn't fit to
my needs, but it's exactly what could help a newbie. It's a
misconception, that everybody who will use the computer as a tool, has
got Internet access. Unfortunately Linux without Internet access isn't
very good, it's better to have Internet access.
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