Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 08:19:15 +0800 From: John Summerfield <summer@OS2.ami.com.au> To: freebsd-newbies@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Newbie packages Message-ID: <200010310017.e9V0GrW22807@emu.os2.ami.com.au> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Mon, 30 Oct 2000 11:42:44 MST." <Pine.LNX.4.21.0010301137170.12908-100000@gus33.homeip.net>
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> > > On Mon, 30 Oct 2000, David Johnson wrote: > > > I've been thinking of ways to help out newbies that don't involve > > publishing savvy, programming expertise or marketing skills. Helping out > > with the documentation is always a good one. But I'm thinking of one > > particular "hole" in the documentation... > > > > What about a list of appropriate and/or recommended packages to install > > for newbies? Many Linux distributions have recommended packages for > > beginners, which are selected by default. Instead of making the brand > > new user select from two dozen text editors, one is selected by default. > > With consumer-oriented operating systems (windows/mac), the packages are > > chosen for you far in advance. But in FreeBSD you have thousands of > > unfamilar (to the newbie) packages to look over and choose from. All > > this choice can be confusing at the novice level. > > Personaly I think that the only packages a newbie should consern them > selves with at first at the Man Pages. Learn the system, then experiment > with the ports. However this is just IMHO :) They will frighten most newcomers off. I think first we need to get it to install readily to a state that most newcomers can use. I installed 4.1.1 a few days ago. Starts up in text mode, 80x25. That's the resolution I used on mainframes in 1976. Took me quite a while to get to 80x60; I can't get wider, though i really think the hardware can do it. I revisted the installer and selecte 'kde desktop' and it very nicely installed lots of kde (but didn't ask what parts I wanted; I don't think that games are essential) However, I found no option to start KDE automatically. On editing /etc/ttys I found how I might make xdm start automatically, but xdm ain't kdm. I started kdm manually; when I log in with it, I get twm, unless I'm root. That includes an account (j) known only on my FB system. I share home directories with Linux (where I have KDE and GNOOME both working); I' am NOT going to put anything in home directories to make KDE start automatically - to do so would likely break KDE and GNOME on Linux (I got caught on that one with RHL 5.x and 6.x) There is a heap of scope for decent configuration tools for printers, GUIs, X (I got lucky with that) I'm thinking I will drop FreeBSD from that box (Linux is faster anyway, and I'm better at setting it up) and putting it on another box where it won't matter if I break something. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-newbies" in the body of the message
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