Hi, I have only recently begun to "play" with linux, and have no knowledge of how other distributions are setup. I am also not familiar with the history or overall goals of debian.
I read great things about debian, and chose it, not knowing what to expect. Perhaps the platform I am using (Thinkpad 560) is making things overly complex, and my recent frustrations are to be expected, and are warranted. If anybody is touting this as an "out of the box solution", then they must have installed it on a "more standard" PC or other platform, and thus achieved success without "hassles". I thought it would be much easier to get linux up and running taking advantage of the hardware in my machine. I have been able to get it running in the last few weeks, with X Windows, and running quite well. As my CDROM (PCMCIA-based) could not be seen, it took a LOT of "mucking around" and I even trashed my system many times. Over the last few days I have taken on the challenge of trying to get APM, SOUND, and SCSI support, with nothing but troubles and confusion. As much as I hate to admit this, Windows 95 installed very easily. If nothing else, MS has done great in this area. I think a program that could run under Win95/98 or even DOS, that would gather information about the hardware in a machine, and generate a file that linux could take advantage of during installation would be of great value. Perhaps one exists, but I am not aware. I am still determined to get debian linux running on this machine, and I realize a certain amount of learning and patience is required. I will only have the luxury of being a "linux newbie" for a short time, and while I have this perspective I am passing on my feelings. I have been using UNIX variants for many years, but have never needed to aquire the "sysadmin" skills until now. I hope my opinions are of some value. I really appreciate the fact that this software can be offered free, and respect and admire the efforts of everyone that made it possible. John ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com