Re: [tlug] Onto Debian via MEPIS

[Charles Muller <acmuller@example.com>]

Jonathan Byrne wrote:

> >Alternatively, I tried to install Sarge (testing) and Sid (unstable)
> >with every sort of ISO and boot option there was, but these would go
> >through neither on my Clevo, or on my Dell Dimension desktop, a fairly
> >standard machine. There was always device hangup or dependency issue
> >somewhere.
> 
> Well, you could sell them both and get a Thinkpad, Debian installed
> without issue on my 600X :-)

From what you say below, I guess you mean that Woody installed without
an issue, and then you upgraded?
 
> Seriously, though, did you know that Sarge and Sid can both be installed
> via the Stable installer?  You use the advanced options and after
> the basic install, you will get an opportunity to choose different
> apt sources.  You point that apt sources at Testing or Unstable
> and you're there.  It basically does an apt-get  dist-upgrade on the fly.

I am aware of this, and was able to successfully install on both
machines via Stable. But I have come to understand that if you install
and then upgrade this way, if you are using the 2.2 Woody kernel, it
won't automatically upgrade to 2.4 on a dist-upgrade--that you have to
do that separately on your own with your own Kernel
compilation/reinstallation (please correct me if I'm wrong).

The problem with this is that it is often the case that some kind of
conflict develops between the 2.2 and 2.4 network modules that seems
pretty hard to resolve. I had this problem, and after a bit of Googling,
found it to be commonplace.

OTOH, if I can indeed install Woody and upgrade to Sarge (including a
change of the kernel from 2.2 to 2.3), I'll give it a shot on my machine
at school next week.


> So, while a slick and highly polished Debian installer might be
> neat (the current one is like the old 4.x/5.x era RH installer, but that's
> really not so bad), the one we have now serves as a fairly effective barrier
> to entry to the sort of people I really don't want to see using Debian
> anyway.

But it also serves as an effective barrier to the widespread usage of
Debian in general, which is too bad, because I think that once Debian is
properly set up and running, it is far easier to use and maintain than
the RPM-style distros. While I am far from being a hacker, there are probably
only 3 or 4 people in my entire college who have better computer skills
that I do (don't worry, it's a *small* college), and if it takes me a week
to get a satisfactory Debian setup working, it is certainly going to
present some problems for people who want to adopt it for small
businesses, etc., and who are not the kind of ungrateful slobs that you
have been meeting on the Yahoo list.

But in the end, I am also not completely happy with the MEPIS approach,
precisely because of the kernel changes, and so I'm still going to
experiment with the various other Debian installers as they come out
(http://www.linuxmafia.com/faq/Debian/installers.html). If I find
something that I really like, I'll pass it along.


Chuck


--------------------------------------

Professor, Faculty of Humanities
Toyo Gakuen University
1660 Hiregasaki, Nagareyama-shi
Chiba 270-0161 JAPAN

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Web Site: Resources for East Asian Language and Thought
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