this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2023
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Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I remember reading a comment on youtube on another video which mentioned that the download page is an IQ test to determine if a user is worthy of using Debian.
The downloader page has improved after the release of bookworm
But seriously, the website does need a revamp.
Look at the linux mint website, it is so clean, modern and easy to use.
It is definitely better since Bookworm, but it's still not great.
The default installation .iso is a netinstall that uses Debian's creaky old installer that looks like a text-based RPG from the 1980s when compared to a modern GUI Linux installer.
The live images, which are the best for new users because they do use a modern and user-friendly installer (Calamares) and allow pre-selection of the desktop environment, are still hidden away by needing to click through two more web pages to get to the list of isos, without any explanation of the different DEs or recommendations for new users.
It's like they thought to themselves "we need to make it easier for new users, but we don't want to make it too easy".
Every distro should just fucking use calamares.
Not automatable. The default debiam installer has a feature called preseeding, where you point it to a website serving a preseed file (and you can do this with automated commands input by qemu or vnc), and it gets a recipe on how to install the system.
Open issue: https://github.com/calamares/calamares/issues/508
So does why not debían and or fedora develop this feature and contribute it back to calamares?
Admittedly I don't know the details of the situation here. But rather than spend the development hours maintaining their own bad installer, why don't they put them into contributing to this arguably better shared project?
Because it's not their responsibility to add a feature people primarily use on servers to an installer built for desktop usage. Because there installer isn't bad, it's loved exactly for the ability to automate it. Because their installer works, and it doesn't take a lot of manpower. According to debian salsa, it basically only receives translations and package updates, some of that automated.
Why have the debian devs go off and add support a whole another installer (by support I mean actually attempt to add features to it) when they have a perfectly nice, working installer? The devs have more important things to do.