On 06/28/2020 12:27 PM, Mike C. wrote:
I like Debian very much. However its default installer coerces an undesirable collection of "must have" applications.I want a MATE desktop with a very sparse selection of apps installed by default. I've discovered that the installer is designed *NOT TO* implement an equivalent of apt-get's "no-install-recommends". I want a system that allows the use of the standard Debian repository but whose installer does not forcibly coerce the installation of undesired apps.Suggestions?I can offer a few suggestions based on personal experience. 1. The Netinstall image of vanilla Debian - It's a bare minimum installation image of Debian. Initially designed for dial-up and other low bandwidth Internet/Intranet connections. You download the very small installation image and then once the installer can connect to the Internet it steps you through a very detailed installation that asks you what desktops and apps you want to install. https://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/
I've been a computer _user_ since college in early 60's. Haven't used netinst for 8 or 9 years.I'd forgotten how complete a system it could be even before being allowed to connect to the internet.
[snip] 2. My personal favorite minimalist Debian distro was Crunchbang. It used OpenBox window manager. The original is now discontinued but BunsenLabs is a community development continuation of Crunchbang. It took me a while to get used to a window manager vs a desktop but now I greatly prefer it. OpenBox is clean and fast. More info here - https://www.bunsenlabs.org/index.html
I'll look into it. The site isn't aimed at minimalists of my ilk ;}
From here there are many lightweight Debian based distros such as Duvian,Antix, etc. which allow you to select from XFCE, LXQt, MATE, Cinnamon, LXDE, IceWM. etc to your heart's desire. HTH. Best of luck on your Debian journey!
It keeps this septuagenarian off the streets and out of mischief.
{mostly;}
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