Hello All,

This is a mini installation report on Debian 3.1.

The linux26 kernel option was selected at boot prompt and Debian 3.1 was installed with a 2.6 kernel. The system was P4 2.4 GHz. and Intel 845 GEBV2 mobo. During installation itself the packages were updated from the net ( 120 MB). It detected the video with vesa drivers upto 800 x 600 resol. and sound was detected too.

Printer setup was tricky as the kde could not initiate a setup for lpd printers. After a lot of googling I came across this unusual method of setting up a printer and it worked. I downloaded packages using synaptec. http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=8302

Another problem was that sound did not work for the other user created for my family members. I looked up /etc/groups and added the new user in the line for 'audio' but still no good. Then after more googling I found this useful link http://www.andreas-janssen.de/debian-tipps-sarge.html#a36 I downloaded the latest alsa-base alsa-oss and the new user too can access sound.

Best part was that the 'totem' movie player could play VCDs and DVDs directly without the usual extra downloads. Still I installed the win32 codecs and libdvdcss later.

The usb pen drive was also detected, though I had to manually mount it, but it was fun.

In synaptec package manager, I came across a kernel for speech called speakup. The details are given below. Krish can try out this kernel for speech processing. The description is given below.

"...Linux kernel image for version 2.4.27-speakup This package contains the Linux kernel image for version 2.4.27-speakup, the corresponding System.map file, and the modules built by the packager. It also contains scripts that try to ensure that the system is not left in a unbootable state after an update.

If you wish to update a bootdisk, or to use a bootloader to make installing and using the image easier, we suggest you install the latest fdutils (for formatting a floppy to be used as boot disk), and LILO, for a powerful bootloader. Of course, both these are optional.

Kernel image packages are generally produced using kernel-package, and it is suggested that you install that package if you wish to create a custom kernel from the sources.

This kernel package contains a Linux kernel patched with speakup, a screen reader for the Linux console. Speakup currently supports the following hardware speech synthesizers: * DoubleTalk PC/LT * LiteTalk * Accent PC/SA * Speakout * Artic Transport * Audapter * Braille 'N Speak / Type 'N Speak * Dectalk External and Express * the Apollo2

NOTE: We don't claim this drivers to be stable, use them on your own risk...."

All in all, Debian 3.1 is a good distro for those who want to get some installation experience. Its not too difficult. The online helping community is simply fantastic with so much online help available. This distro rocks.

Regards,

Rony.

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