> How about suggesting some improvements, rather than "I don't like the > Debian install"?
The people I've talked to mention that RedHat's install is more of a "one screen, ask one question" mode. Debian's (at least the last time I did a full install) used a more complicated screen layout. Newbies want simplicity combined with the feeling of being a techie. (No, it's not an oxymoron.) One person I talked to was overwhelmed by Debian's full menu of choices. Even though it was simple enough to me (and I liked the idea of being able to jump out of order, execute a shell, etc.), and even though the full menu led him through the steps by simply smacking Enter, he was intimidated by it. Go figure. ;-) To me, the roughest part of any Linux install is the partitioning. This ought to be taken very carefully, and there has to be a lot of help for people. In addition, a "dummy" mode for partitioning should be created -- something like saying, "Okay, I'll create a big partition and a swap partition." If a dummy mode is used, then the entire sequence about asking to mount partitions should be skipped. Now, the tough part in such a dummy mode would be handling someone who has Win95 still installed, etc., etc. I think overall we could eliminate a *lot* of the prompts in an install just by making assumptions. Perhaps a two-mode install should be used: expert and novice mode. Ask the expert everything, let them have full power. In the novice mode, cut down on the prompts the user gets. For example, why ask a novice user if they want to check for bad blocks or not? Just either do it or not. Some sort of novice install could eliminate a lot of clutter and simply things greatly. The other suggestion I'd make -- especially for something like a novice mode -- would be to pretty things up. Yes, I know it sounds dumb. But for newbies it does matter. Let me take a wild example. In a novice mode, we can probably assume (and could detect) a VGA video system. Why not put the system into graphics mode for a moment, grab a bunch of trivial system information (RAM, BIOS date, CPU copyright string, any foolish thing! Oh, we can't forget the BogoMIPS! :-) and flash a picture of Tux (or our Debian logo) and say "Welcome to Debian GNU/Linux" and display the various system data. Totally trivial right? I'd say so. But you'd be amazed at how many newbies will be impressed... Now, if anyone's thinking of doing such a thing, one final request. Please don't put that into the expert mode -- I know my CPU copyright string. ;-) -- Regards, | Windows98 (noun): 32 bit extensions and a . | graphical shell for a 16 bit patch to an 8 Randy | bit operating system originally coded for ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) | a 4 bit microprocessor written by a 2 bit http://www.golgotha.net | company that can't stand 1 bit of competition.
