Re: [Hampshire] Tesco to ship Linux PCs

On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:28:02 -0000 (GMT)
"Vic" <lug@???> wrote:

> > Etch went on my Compaq N160 in less than 15 minutes
> >
> > I didn't mess about with sound or printing as I won't need that
> > for what this laptop is going to do.
>
> Don't know about Debian, but sound and printing "just worked" in
> Whitebox, so they ought to be just as fine in Deb.
>
> But the sound hardware on the N160 is *nasty* :-(

Just as well to know that.

I didn't install any sound, ie Alsa or whatever, or cups software.

My installation method for a long time has been to install only the
basic system then add _just_ the packages I know I am going to use. I
can't remember when I last used tasksel as a means of selecting
packages.

On the laptop in addition to x & wmaker I installed geneweb (plus ssh
& rsync so I can keep the laptop in sync with the server), xpdf for
viewing pdf datafiles, opera for accessing geneweb pages and
iceweasel for viewing websites that don't like opera's version of
javascript. xzgv for viewing jpegs plus tellico, so I can keep track
of what books I've bought. I installed the windowmaker battery
monitor, since it is a laptop and has a battery that lasts more than
5 minutes, and wmclock since I rarely wear a watch.

And those few packages are all I chose to install.

The rest is what Debian installs by default on a basic system except
I prefer konsole to any other terminal emulator and gvim rather than
basic vim.

I'd add a bit more for a desktop system for my personal use but not a
lot more. Clawsmail, the gimp, xscanimage, openoffice writer and
calc plus acrobat reader are the only extras on this system as
compared to the N160.

A full install would no doubt take a bit longer but I don't like the
sort of systems with "everything including the kitchen sink" that
live CD distros tend to be.

--
John Lewis
Debian (Sid) with the GeneWeb genealogy package