[TriLUG] different versions of 7.2 for sale]

[Brent Fox]

On Saturday 03 November 2001 04:21 pm, Mark Pilgrim wrote:
> Suggestion: implement novice/expert mode (like Mandrake does).  In novice
> mode, if you find a video card and you're sure enough of it to make it the
> default choice, *don't ask me to confirm your choice*.  Just do it.  Ditto
> for monitor.  Ditto for sound card.  Your installation program currently
> feels like a little kid tugging at my sleeve -- "Look at me, I found your
> video card; look at me, I know what monitor you're using."  As a geek, I
> appreciate the magnitude of this feat; as an end user, I wish you would get
> over yourself and stop trying to impress me.

I like this idea a lot.  But what about resolution?  It's hard to select a 
default that all users will like.  And chaning resolution later isn't the 
easiest thing to do.

>
> Other suggestion: completely revamp the whole partition + bootloader
> sequence.  It is currently task-oriented (first select or create a
> partition, then select a partitioning scheme, then select a bootloader,
> then configure the bootloader).  It should be goal-oriented, and many of
> these choices should simply go away (at least in novice mode).

Agreed.  In my opinion, the bootloader screen is currently the most confusing 
screen in the installer, and it is slated for a facelift.

> Example: I already had Windows 2000 on my machine, plus enough
> unpartitioned space to hold a complete Linux partition.  You should figure
> out that I probably want to keep the Windows 2000 installation and install
> Linux in the unpartitioned space.  I don't want task-oriented questions
> like "install in unpartitioned free space?", "select bootloader", "select
> MBR vs. boot sector", "select default boot image".  I want goal-oriented
> questions like "Do you want to keep your Windows 2000 installation?" and
> "Do you want to make Linux your default operating system?  (You can still
> choose a different one when you start up your computer.)"

I disagree.  Assumptions about what people want to do with their hard drive 
will be frequently wrong.  I do like the idea about goal-oriented questions, 
though.

>
> Do not, under any circumstances, force a novice user to choose between GRUB
> and LILO.  If GRUB is better, prettier, and stable, then install GRUB for
> me without asking.

Yes, I agree here too.  GRUB is superior to LILO for a number of technical 
reasons, and LILO may well disappear from the distro in the future.

> Do not, under any circumstances, force a novice user to choose between
> installing the bootloader on the MBR and on the boot sector.  If it makes a
> difference what version of Windows I have, go figure that out, then make
> the appropriate choice for me without asking.

Agreed.  Probably the vast majority of people select the default, which is 
MBR.  The version of Windows installed should not matter.

> You've done very well in simplifying other parts of the install
> (particularly the "workstation/server/laptop/custom" choice).  I know there
> are lots of possibilities for how to set up a dual boot system, but if you
> do some research, you'll probably find that only one or two are very
> common. Most users probably don't have unpartitioned free space (I only did
> because I'd just done a clean install from scratch and had intentionally
> left some free space for Linux).  Maybe most users want to leave their C:
> drive intact but use their D: drive for their new Linux installation.  I
> have no idea. Go find out the most common scenarios and make those
> super-easy.
>
> Hope this helps.

This helps, definitely.  These are some really good ideas.  

Cheers,
   Brent