At 2002-06-11T12:24:09Z, Dan Jacobson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Summary: Dan says the debian install process should at least ask/inform > the user that he is not getting current official GNU tools despite the GNU > on the box, and in some cases [awk] he isn't even getting a GNU tool.
You know, I use a lot of non-GNU tools (think Mozilla, for example). I've seen nothing at www.gnu.org that would lead me to believe that a distribution has to be 100% GNU and 100% current to get the GNU "brand", whatever that means. > I'm talking about the most basic of user. All these names are foreign. > He has just inserted the 8 woody CD's given to him by a friend and is > following instructions. How is this even an issue? The most basic user is likely to fall into one of two camps: 1) Knows the difference between mawk and gawk and can read a manual. No problems here; she can figure it out for herself. 2) Thinks that "awk" is the sound a bird makes and couldn't care less. No problems here; he won't be doing anything advanced enough to ever discover the issue, at least until he knows enough to 'apt-get install gawk'. > Why not install current _official_ versions of all GNU tools by default? > If there is something wrong with those tools then "go file a bug" with > their maintainers. You just perfectly described the 'unstable' distribution. Anyone who needs up-to-the-minute packages is perfectly free to join the fun and file bug reports. Since it was decided long ago that a stable distribution should be *stable*, regardless of arbitrary version numbers, new basic users get a working system. Advanced users are invited along with a distribution tailored to their needs. So, once again, where is the problem? -- Kirk Strauser The Strauser Group - http://www.strausergroup.com/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]