On 9/23/14, Andrei POPESCU <andreimpope...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Sb, 20 sep 14, 11:53:04, Gary Dale wrote: >> >> I recommend Debian/Testing (Jessie) which has been quite stable in >> use and is more up to date than Debian/Stable (Wheezy). You can also >> try the latest Linux Mint distribution, which is Debian-based and >> quite popular. > > Are you sure it's a good idea to recommend testing to someone new to > Debian? Stable is probably a much better entry point.
Ditto.. Stable. I resemble Andrei's observation.. I've made comments before that I've been playing with computers 20 years now, BUT my cognition is notably degenerating to where I have many a day that I'm approaching computers with the mental grasp of a newbie.. I'm working a security issue right now that is the second time the exact same issue has come up in less than a month. Only thing I did this time was the same thing any newbie would potentially do at some point: use their fave package manager to download APT........ Seconds before I read your comment, Andrei, I was sitting here thinking I cannot imagine someone's grandparents trying to work through this issue I'm having FOR A SECOND TIME in the same month...... A person truly new to computers in general, if not just Debian, using testing, a release where it is widely advocated it IS going to #FAIL at some point and should NOT be used on do-or-die machines, even by the more tech savvy? *hm* :) That warning found across the Net poses a question: Does the user have a dependable Internet connected fallback machine sitting right there within reach? A secondary question comes to mind: Being honest with oneself, what's the intended user's patience, tolerance, stress level like? :) *I guess*...... a new user could try downloading testing first... If it works, cool beans. If it doesn't work, format and install stable............. *I guess* :) BUT AGAIN... Just like what's happened to me here, first time a new user answers the call to upgrade anything on a functioning testing install, that necessary, often security-minded task could potentially cause the user's machine to immediately become frozen in time, if not completely inoperable, THAT second. As always, "YMMV"......... :) Cindy PS Just as a general FYI, there's a Debian list called "debian-laptop" [1]. In verifying the list name, I just encountered a member's email that repeats what I was thinking about it. It's a very low traffic list, [2] but there _are_ people monitoring it.. :) [1] https://lists.debian.org/debian-laptop/ [2] https://lists.debian.org/debian-laptop/2014/07/msg00005.html -- Cindy-Sue Causey Talking Rock, Pickens County, Georgia, USA * I comment, therefore I am (procrastinating tracking an ever evasive public key) * -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: https://lists.debian.org/CAO1P-kDQjmXtSUuh+YDD48AhCNBEkOpc9V=9gvtu_szglbg...@mail.gmail.com
