Brett Pierce wrote: > Really looking forward to trying out this tool. Only... even though I've > been on computers since late 1980s but I'm not a geek - but not entirely > stupid either. Your website is really intimidating and confusing. It's > very geeky to me, which means to many others as well. I was able to find > that there are two versions (at least) - one to use with Gimp, the other to > use without it (I already use an old photoshop version CS3.)
This is not correct. Debian is a Linux distribution -- a collection of software that works together as a complete operating system plus applications. In order to use it, you need to install it in such a manner that it takes over your computer -- Windows does not run at the same time. They can be installed together, but it is tricky. > I'm on your > download page for standalone. I can't find where to download. The page is, > like your site, confusing. There are lots of individual bits and pieces to > download - but seriously they sound like extras. But it's not clear. I'm > struggling to download, to know what to do. I'm from outside your > world, all those different terms are not my language. My mind just says... > no idea what this is or whether I need it. The simplest thing is to download a Debian Live image, which will allow you to try out Debian without committing to a permanent installation. You'll need to be able to burn a DVD or have a 4GB or larger USB stick available. The page for that is https://www.debian.org/CD/live/ and you almost certainly want to download a hybrid AMD64 image from https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/ If you don't know which to try, get https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/debian-live-10.8.0-amd64-mate.iso and burn it to a DVD or USB stick, then boot to it. > > Can I suggest you get a straight-talking non-geek who knows nothing about > your software and give them several scenarios (eg, A. You want to edit raw > files for your photos. You want to download this to do it. B. You want to > edit raw files but you already have an image editor like photoshop) and no > help and watch them figure it out? We understand how user experience works. You have a focus on a particular task. Debian is a whole operating system, not just a way to run a photo editor. (If you just want to run GIMP, did you know that it's available for Windows and macOS? Get it for free at https://www.gimp.org/ ) > the basis of how simple or not it is for them, redesign your site in Plain > English, decluttered, clear instructions for the basics in big headings, > and separate the more geeky stuff into sections with clear headings that > help people like me to ignore it That is probably not going to happen. While using Debian is generally pretty easy, installing it is not -- though much easier than it was, and certainly within the grasp of a high-school student who is wiiling to put in the effort to read the manual first. That manual would be here: https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/index.en.html -dsr-
