Slightly OT: bad rap for Fedora, and realistic effects

[Dotan Cohen]

On 01/03/07, Rahul Sundaram <sundaram at fedoraproject.org> wrote:
> Dotan Cohen wrote:
>
> > I want to remake the point that I'm not argueing for my own good: I
> > use and love Fedora. I'm simply stating that requiring 5 disks to
> > install is a turnoff for those not familiar with Fedora or Linux. No
> > amount of arguing will change that fact. And there is no need to
> > convice me that 5 disks is fine: I'm voicing the opinion of those whom
> > I've installed for, not my own opinion.
>
> 1) You do not need 5 CD's. A default package selection only requires 2 CD's.

Oh? And how is one to know that? Where is that mentioned in the documentation?

If I choose to install KDE, or foobar for that matter, can I be
certain that 2 disks is enough? Or will I find myself stuck in the
middle of an install, after I wiped the harddrive of a working XP
install, and have no way of downloading more disks?

> 2) Fedora 7 Test versions already provide single Live CD's with the
> ability to install to hard disk. The general release would have it too

Excellent. I was unaware of that. That will improve the situation dramatically.

> 3) Single CD's are not useful for the folks with limited bandwidth
> connnections. They can download alternative spins like the "Prime" and
> "Everything" versions.

And multiple-disk downloads are not useful for those with limited disk
to waste, time to spare, and/or patience. I term those people "end
users".

> 4) Instead of arguing for what is right, participate and help do it.  If
> you are right, folks will use it. Look at tools like Pungi and Pilgrim
> for customizations.

Rahul, if I could help I would. I'm not a CS major, just a silly
Mechanical Engineering student. Many of the usability problems that I
encounter with Linux, not specifically Fedora, is that all computer
users are assumed to be software engineers. We're not. Sorry.

Dotan Cohen

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