List of Articles Book Review: Moving to Linux by Jason Wallwork Upgrading NVIDIA Graphics Drivers by Clint Gilders Mandrake 9.0 Experience by Harry "Buster" Ellis Safari Bookshelf Review by Clint Gilders Libranet: An Easy Way To Get Debian by Harry "Buster" Ellis   Embarrassed to tell your friends you can't get Debian running on your machine? Fear not. There is an easy way. Libranet: An Easy Way To Get Debian by Harry "Buster" Ellis, Originally written February 2003, Revised June 2003   A number of commercial enterprises have taken Debian and added a good installer to allow those of us who aren't computer wizards to get Debian on our hard drive. Libranet is one such Canadian company and it sells its distribution for $69.95 USD. However, in the spirit of Linux, the company used to offer an older version as a free download (Ed: You can still get it from PLUG for $5.00). After suffering many unsuccessful attempts to get Debian installed I finally tried Libranet 2.0 and am happy to recommend it highly. My Machine I used my Pentium 3 - one gigahertz system, with 512MB RAM, an ATI Rage 128 Pro video card, a SB sound card and various bits and pieces that Linux usually picks up, though the mouse can be a problem for Mandrake. I should mention as well that I connect to the Internet through a router, which makes everything much easier. Partitioning The Libranet tool for dividing up your hard drive is pretty old style. It's probably OK, but it's not like the newer graphical partitioners used by SuSE or Mandrake. If it seems like an obstacle, use something else. I used (blush) Windows XP, which has an excellent partitioning tool. Fdisk would work. Or you could start an install with Mandrake, and exit after your hard drive was ready. Anyway, I had lots of space so I had separate /home, /, and swap. Install I followed the directions. The install was pretty straightforward. A bit tedious. BUT...the most important part of the install was that everything worked! Well, almost. When you get to the graphical login page, don't select the default window manager. I don't think it works. Pick the other one. It doesn't matter what it is; all right-thinking people are going to download KDE anyways. The good news is that you now have a baby Debian system on your machine. And it was easy. If you have tried unsuccessfully to install Debian Woody, you know what I mean. Debian's Glory There are two things that make Debian extremely important in the Linux world. One, Debian involves a huge worldwide community of dedicated people producing good absolutely free software for no profit. It is as far from Bill Gates as one can get. It's more like hiking clubs, or the Boy Scouts, or service groups - groups that do good things because they enjoy it, and also because it's important. Debian users tend to be enthusiastic, like converts who have found the way. And two, Debian uses as a package manager the amazing APT. The best way to explain apt is to illustrate how it's used, so back to Libranet/Debian. Getting Software I wanted KDE, so I did this: I opened a terminal, switched user to root and typed apt-get install kde and hit <enter>. Then I played a card game on the computer. Meanwhile, the computer went to a mirror of the Debian site, found KDE, found out what else I'd need for it to run, downloaded it, and installed it. It was amazing and simple. And everything worked. The next evening I opened a terminal, switched to root, and typed apt-get upgrade. This was going to take a while, so I went to bed. When I got up in the morning, I had my Debian Woody system fully up-to-date and running almost perfectly. It is the most astonishing upgrade I have ever seen in Linux. Or in any system for that matter. It is the apt-get feature that makes Debian so powerful. I must confess that on one occasion where I did a Libranet/Debian upgrade to Woody on a different machine, I had to answer a seemingly endless number of straightforward, technical questions after the download. The result was the same however. But no hassle this time. You pays your money and you takes your chances I guess. Negatives The most serious problems with Debian are the initial install and the age of the packages. The problem of the initial install has now been solved - use the free Libranet 2.0 as a starting point. The age of the packages I suspect will always be with us. Debian doesn't rush into anything. However, in their defence, I must emphasize that everything works. Everything fits together. The system feels rock solid. And you have all the software available that you can imagine from the Debian site. Just type apt-get install <packagename>. A Libranet Positive Debian users seem to know which tools to use to do administrative tasks. And graphical interfaces are at a premium. But Libranet 2.0 gives you a modest but adequate package for your early months with Debian. And it's all point and click. Those new to Debian will find this handy. Conclusion Debian could easily become a lifelong friend. Install once, upgrade forever. You might be a year behind the others, but at least your system will be reliable, stable, and working. And you can smile when others talk about some great new software that they'll have operating really soon, if it doesn't explode again. Harry is retired from teaching elementary and high school kids for over 30+ years and is PLUG's chief inquisitor.   Editor's Note: If you prefer a more modern distro, check out Clint's or Harry's article on Mandrake 9.1.       ©2003 Peterborough Linux User Group, All Rights Reserved. Logos and buttons are used by permission of their respective owners. PLUG can not be held liable for damages resulting from the use or misuse of the information at this website or from its members. Don't run with scissors.   Comments can be sent to Jason Wallwork, Webmaster.