[NTLUG:Discuss] Debian help

[Lance Simmons]

* Paul Ingendorf <pauldy at wantek.net> [030919 00:38]:
> I'm just looking for some pointers on getting started with debian.  At
> 8 cds and throttled mirrors I think jigdo is pretty much the only
> option for doing it without spending a week downloading the images.
> The problem is there is no one to hold my hand and the water looks
> deep.  I'm hoping someone on this list has done this and can point me
> towards dry land.

If you have a broadband internet connection, you can download the floppy
disk images, use the floppies to get started, and then get packages from
the Internet.  Jigdo is OK (I've used it several times), but so long as
you have a broadband connection you don't need it.  Download the
floppies, use them, then edit /etc/apt/sources.list, changing "stable"
to "testing" or "unstable", then upgrading everything over your
connection.

I did these steps just today on an unfamiliar tablet computer that
doesn't have any cdrom (hence no jigdo).  It's doable.

If you _don't_ have a broadband connection, use jigdo, at leat the first
time.  Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to judge in each case
whether a jigdo install or a network install will be better.

-- 
Lance Simmons
Our command of information is staggering. And yet with that command comes a
great temptation. Partly, it is the temptation to confuse an excellent means of
communication with communications that are excellent.
		-- Roger Kimball