Debian
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| ilbts58 Aug 28, 2010 7:46 AM EDT |
I have downloaded, burned to disc, and ran Debian 5.05 as a live CD. I was impressed with its blazing fast boot up from disc. What made me steer clear of installing it was the fact that the highest resolution for monitor offered was 1024x768 even for the 64 bit version (which was what I downloaded.) Also there seemed to be a lack of packages suitable for my needs, aka amateur radio, electronics, etc. I was never a geek or had super computer skills even when I was running Windows. So to have a version of Linux (I currently use Ultimate 2.7) run straight out of the box is very important to me. It may be important to Windows users switching over to Linux as well. I hope Debian addresses this in it's "Squeeze" release. If not I will not be running it myself. |
| tmx Aug 28, 2010 12:58 PM EDT |
You can also use distro based on Debian like Ubuntu or distro that come with preloaded proprietary softwares like Linux Mint or Ultimate Edition which will work better with displays out of the box. |
| ilbts58 Aug 28, 2010 1:46 PM EDT |
I agree tmx (You're absolutely right.), and that is what I did. But my question is, at the risk of sounding somewhat stupid, why does Debian do this-make it difficult for someone such as myself who is sort of computer illiterate? |
| azerthoth Aug 28, 2010 2:03 PM EDT |
Dont take this the wrong way: There are varying levels of skills and needs, for each of those you can say "There is a distro for that" and not all distros are meant to address all needs. Debian is sans training wheels, Ubuntu and related put training wheels on for you. If a distro does not meet your needs in a specific way, move along to find one that does, or take the time to learn how to make it do what you want it to. I dont expect Ubuntu users to work without a GUI but I do from Debian users. I dont expect Debian users to recompile their whole system but I do from Gentoo users. All different knowledge levels and skill sets, but trying to make one of them into something that its not is counter productive to the diversity and growth of Linux as a whole. |
| Sander_Marechal Aug 28, 2010 2:45 PM EDT |
Quoting:why does Debian do this-make it difficult for someone such as myself who is sort of computer illiterate? Debian doesn't make it difficult. But I'm afraid azerthoth may be right. Debian might not be for you. Debian is an extremely stable operating system that can do nearly *anything*. Run desktops, servers, notebooks, phones, ADSL modems, robots, etcetera. As a result, it does not come with a lot of things "out of the box". It gives you a base system and, optionally, a basic desktop or webserver package. Any other things you need you can install from the repository (which is by far the largest repository in the entire Linux world). You don't need to be a comuter wiz to run Debian, but I'm afraid that you do need to be a little bit above the "computer illiterate" level. I suggest that you play with Ubuntu or Mint for a couple of months. Both are based on Debian. When you have learned Ubuntu or Mint a bit better it will become much easier to run Debian. |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 28, 2010 5:28 PM EDT |
I'm surprised at the 1024x768 thing, the auto-detect used for xorg has seemed rather reliable to me. Maybe his monitor isn't communicating back to the video card in a way that's expected. But yes, it can be fixed by hand, by creating an xorg.conf file and the adding your choice of numbers. I would be interested if other liveCDs did detect the video correctly, because that's not debian specific. |
| gus3 Aug 28, 2010 6:57 PM EDT |
I suspect Xorg's card driver module, for one simple reason: Using Nvidia's proprietary driver, I can set 1280x1024 resolution, with a sufficient (75 Hz?) refresh rate. Using the "nv" driver I can set only 1280x960, 60 Hz interlaced, which is intolerable on a CRT. |
| Bob_Robertson Aug 28, 2010 7:50 PM EDT |
Well, the nvidia proprietary driver is available as a package, or the nvidia and ati drivers are available from the manufacturers with Linux installers, and then xorg loads the proprietary driver by default, even without messing with xorg.conf |
| Steven_Rosenber Aug 29, 2010 2:01 AM EDT |
I've run Debian Squeeze recently with 1366x768 autodetected (this also works in Fedora 13, Ubuntu Lucid, PartedMagic ... even with Windows 7 after I find and install the driver). In my case, the video chip is ATI. Sometimes in Linux and BSD you have to install with a "basic" resolution and add drivers or do some configuration to get your "native" resolution. In your case I'm pretty sure it's not a Debian thing but instead an Xorg thing. As far as Amateur Radio packages go, I didn't know that Debian had fewer than other distros. But overall, find the distro that's right for your hardware, your skill level and your intended use. That's why I use many distros/projects on my different hunks of hardware. It's too hard spending all day slamming square pegs into round holes. If Debian isn't right in one situation, it might be in another. That's just the way it goes. Again, if you have "certain" video hardware, which in my case over the past few years has been a few machines with older Intel video chips, you know full well that it's Xorg that's doing the major buzz kill, not so much the Linux kernel and certainly not the distros/projects that are including various versions of Xorg in what they ship. I've seen everything from Ubuntu to OpenBSD go bad on my due to Xorg upgrades. It's not a great situation, but there it is. My "new" ATI chip seems to be doing well at present, but it really doesn't like the Fedora 14 Alpha (or PC-BSD 8.1), so I'm already getting worried. Debian Squeeze is my fallback distro at the moment ... I know it works on my current No. 1 (and 2 and 3) hardware. |
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