[vox-tech] YAST equivalent on Debian?

[Jonathan Stickel]

Rick Moen wrote:
> Quoting Jonathan Stickel (jjstickel at sbcglobal.net):
> 
> 
>>Debian's installation process is difficult and requires intimate
>>knowledge of how linux works.
> 
> 
> Which of the couple of dozen installers for Debian are you referring to?
> Please see:  "Installers" on http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Debian
> 

See, that's the beginning of the problem.  What installer to use?  Why 
isn't there a standard one that "just works"?  I've tried the woody 
net-install, the sarge net-install, and libranet.  The libranet install 
broke after I changed the repositories to sarge and tried to upgrade. 
Yes, probably shouldn't have done that, but the "correct way" was 
certainly not clear.

> 
>>In order to have an up-to-date system, you risk instability (with the
>>testing or unstable tree), or must resort to 3rd party "backports".
> 
> 
> Debian-testing in my experience, has proven much more stable over the
> years than, say, Mandrakelinux, Fedora, or (in its day) Red Hat 7.x-9.
> Perhaps you can describe the ways in which your experience has differed.
> 

I find Fedora 3 to be very stable and usable "out of the box".

> 
>>Just my view.  Maybe I've never given it a fair chance since every 
>>install I've tried has failed.
> 
> 
> Wait, now I'm confused.  Was the experience that your claim about
> "risk[ing] instability" was based on gained using machines that _other_
> people installed, then?  Or were you speaking from zero experience?
> 

Yes, I admit I have "epsilon" experience, where epsilon is some small 
but finite number (bad engineering joke).  I'm mostly going by all the 
"debian is broke" traffic that I see go by on this list.

Jonathan