Re: About democracy was Re: Organizing for 6.2

[Mike Manley <Michael@licorne.demon.co.uk>]

Paul.Newman@pgen.com wrote:
> 
> It doesnt need to install from windows. If the CD is bootable that is surely the
> simplest thing there could be! Instructions: turn computer off, put cd in cd rom
> drive, turn computer on. So provided the install program looks like what windows
> users are used to seeing (ie nice GUI), and not like DOS, then that's all that's
> required. Or am I missing something?

This sounds fair enough - The only thing I would do under windows is
have a setup program - which would autorun when you put the disk in
the CD and allow you to browse the documentation on the CD (i.e.
the online installation guide - basically, the html files are on
the redhat cd anyway - just create a button that fires up the web
browser to view them when you click on it), tells you to reboot with
the CD in the drive to begin the install process and possibly a button
to press which prompts you to put a blank disk in the drive and would
create a boot disk if you need them - i.e. your CD isn't bootable.

> 
> Of course, once you have been using Linux for a while you begin slowly (over a
> period of months in my case) to appreciate when being in console mode is
> preferable to being in X. But people from a Windows background simply dont see
> it that way. The quality of the GUI during the install is important. Thats not
> just the "look", but also the on-screen instructions, overall intuitiveness, and
> on-line help available from within the install.
> 
> One of the most off-putting things about doing an RH custom install are the
> paltry descriptions given to the RPMs (from a newbies perspective) - if you know
> what DHCP is and what its for, you'll know whether you need it. If you dont know
> what it's for, and you are confronted with a choice as to whether to install it,
> you will be stuck if all you get is an expansion of the acronym.

This I agree with - however a newbie should be gently directed down
one of the prepackaged paths. A way of wording it so that newbies aren't
put out but won't use it is needed - perhaps 'Advanced Install' is 
more appropriate than custom install?

It also needs to be easy for a newbie to add extra packages without
too much difficulty once the system is running - i.e. without having
to su or logout and login as root - a graphical RPM browser with 
setuid wrapper round the actual install so that a privaledged user
can install things without being root - the initial non-root user 
created by the install should be allowed to install packages.
Can RPM keep track of who installed packages? i.e. can you allow
a user to install an RPM, try it out, then decide he doesn't
actually want that package and remove it without allowing the
user to remove every package on the system?

--
Mike Manley