Thanks to pointers from replies to my earlier messages about "dselect", I now understand how to install software on Debian. The key is to use "dpkg" and install things without the whole "dselect" rigamarole.
The biggest discovery I've made is the "list of packages" on the Debian web site. That lets you point and click your way through all the packages you think you want and examine their dependancies. That makes "dpkg" a piece of cake (once I read the FAQ, of course - amazing how much that helps ;-). As soon as I get my hands on a Debian 1.2.8 CD distribution (has anyone used the "Greenbush" service? 18 bucks for three monthly 2-CD sets seems like a bargain) I'm ready to install Linux "for real" and start using it. I've read "The Linux Partition mini-HOWTO", which is excellent but mostly covers stuff in detail that I already knew at least in a general sense. What I need to know is the canonical set of mount points or file systems or whatever they're called. In the past, Unix systems I've used have been pretty monolithic - everything in one or two partitions (plus swap). This may not be optimum. In particular, I see references to /usr/local (whatever that is) and /home (that one I'm familiar with from workstations I used years ago) being on their own partitions - separate from the root and swap partitions. Is there a "HOWTO" or something that outlines the current conventional wisdom about partitions? If not, can somebody clue me in as to what /usr/local and so forth are used for and why they might be separate. It seems like it may have something to do with sofware that you keep up to date with the Debian package system (most everything I need) as opposed to stuff you compile yourself since it isn't available in a ".deb" package (at least a couple things I know I'll need fall in this category). I don't want a dozen partitions (wouldn't fit on my one 3.2GB disk anyway) but I also don't want to combine stuff that is hard to sort out later. ------------- Brent Hutto [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS MAILING LIST: e-mail the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Trouble? e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] .