[SOLVED] Has Debian ever considered and easier install

[4D696B65]

Just installed MX.
Yes the install process is about the easiest I have seen.
Debian has to be a little more involved due to picking a DE or WM.
You have also like other distros included some packages to help the user get installed.
Debian is pretty raw at its core and designed to be that way.
I wonder if they could put an installer together that automates some of the process like finding your network cards and installing the proper drivers for them (wired and wireless). If it could detect other hardware you have like video card , printers and install drivers for them.
I guess that would take more of a staff that they don't have.
It sure would get people up and running faster I would think.
How many forum threads are related to getting those packages installed.
I mean if MX can do it and Mint and Ubuntu to name a few can do it you would think Debian could do it.
Oh well here I go again. I know I said this is solved so I will quit.

You have been here 4 years and still don't know that debian respects gnu while other distros don't care?

[dcihon]

Well I haven't read up on all the gnu documentation.
I apologize that I am one of those people that just jump into something without reading all the manuals.
I go read manuals and docs after I can't figure out a problem or after asking for help.

Guess I have been here longer than I thought:

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Well I guess I haven't learned much in 5+ years.

[stevepusser]

The MX/antiX installer also has a rather unique feature: changes you make in the Live session can be inherited by your install, except for networking setup. But as I understand, this depends on a unique way the the two distros handle the Live sessions, and is not transferable to vanilla Debian, for example.

Edit: and the MX and antiX developers have rewritten and renamed the application as "gazelle-installer"; they are getting translations for the localization strings now at Transifex.

I admit we'll probably be tortured as sinners forever by RMSatan and Freelzelbub in FSF Hell, along with the Mint developers.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

Well I haven't read up on all the gnu documentation.
I apologize that I am one of those people that just jump into something without reading all the manuals.
I go read manuals and docs after I can't figure out a problem or after asking for help.

It's not about documentation, it's about politics

Debian has principles[1] and these are considered far more important than pandering to clueless n00bs

[1] https://www.debian.org/social_contract

[pylkko]

To original poster, because you said "any comments accepted".

If you go to https://www.debian.org/ you will see the motto "Debian, the universal operating system". This can be seen as saying that Debian strives to be an operating system that can be used broadly for many different purposes on many different computer systems. And indeed, Debian supports more different processor architectures than most other Linux distributions, it has one of the largest, if not the largest package collection and is used to control everything from arm dev boards to embedded devices, from laptops to high traffic web servers (for example Google uses Debian). Heck, one day I was going to work with a train and the screen displaying the train time table was booting...booting Debian. Perhaps one of the downsides of being a general purpose operating system is that then you do not have time to make installing software as specifically designed for home computer users as, say, Mint Linux does (not only is it a time/resource problem, but sometimes what some users need is what others don't want). Although, installing Debian has steadily become more and more approachable to lay users. I personally think that it is in quite good condition with respect to this now. But anyway, that is one thing to keep in mind, that distributions like Mint cater to a much narrower audience and they can therefore probably take more time and resources towards making everything work for that specific narrow use case. Debian has never wanted nor does it need thousands of ex-windows users.

[dcihon]

Debian has never wanted nor does it need thousands of ex-windows users.

I know I haven't read everything about Debian but I haven't read that "Debian has never wanted ex-windows users". As far as needing them that is probably true.
I see your point about the other distros having a narrower user base.
Thanks for your insight.
All of this has enlightened me.

[jibberjabber]

by pylkko »Debian has never wanted nor does it need thousands of ex-windows users.

Interesting, but can you show us where anyone at debian.org says any thing even close to that, is that really Debian policy ? ... are you speaking for the Debian organization as a whole ?
Or perhaps , it is to say Debian wants to see people keep using Windows as well, that way they would not be EX windows users....

=================
One thing that often is the cause of problems installing Linux, or any other OS on a computer that was built with MS windows pre-installed, Microsoft and the computer manufacturer have done everything they can to make it hard, and in some cases impossible, to install another OS, this is not the fault of Linux or Debian, .... it is a deliberate attempt keep the Microsoft monopoly a monopoly.

[pylkko]

Yes, sorry. My statement may have been a bit more stronger than I intended. I did not mean to say that the Debian project explicitly does not want ex windows users. I mean to say that the Debian project does not want or need them in particular. Because the OP was asking something along the lines that wouldn't more people coming from windows use Debian if it were easier to install. In response to that, I thought it pertinent to point out that Debian does not in any particular way "live off" ex windows users, unlike Mint. If all ex windows users were to say that they no longer want to use Debian, then not much would change w.r.t o developing Debian, whereas if the same happened to Mint, then Mint would effectively stop existing as a project. So, certainly, to answer Garry's question, no you will not find an explicit statement on debian.org that these users are not wanted. But you will neither find any reference to them being particularly important or wanted.

Another way to see this would be to look at the sponsors of Debian and realize that they are industrial players that have industry needs, but that these needs are not related to home PC use.

https://www.debian.org/partners/
https://bits.debian.org/tag/sponsors.html
etc.

These would keep on sponsoring Debian even if people no longer wanted to switch their laptops from win to linux.

[Wheelerof4te]

Debian is leaning more towards server market with it's Stable release. But, Debian has never been only about servers and workstations, like CentOS/RHEL is. It's hard to balance the needs of server and desktop users, and on top of that support so many archs.
In spite of this difficulty, Debian is very easy to install when compared to some other "advanced" distros and it performs the role of universal OS well. Only problem Debian has is not supporting non-free firmware by default. Still, there are "unofficial" images with those included.