Hello folks, At last months meeting there was a call for suggestions for meeting topics for next year. I would like to propose the following..... As I am in the process of upgrading my stable of computers to Slackware 11.0, I remain puzzled why the BS about Slackware being hard to use has any traction at all. While I expect _any_ discussion of Slackware will probably be branded as a distro war, I think that I could deliver a constructive, informative talk on the _underlying essence_ of text-based installation, package management, and configuration. I would invite the audience to engage in _constructive_ discussion of whether the extra demands made by GUIs on computer resources justifies any ease of installation, package management, and configuration (if any). I would like to have a newbie actually install and configure a computer as part of the presentation. I realise that time will be tight, but I should be able to keep it around the one-hour mark. I suggest the following parameters- ** The installer does not have to be experienced with Linux, but it would be helpful if they were savvy with the computing basics on any operating system. I can give them a printed copy of Slackware Basics and the Slackware Manual. If they get stuck and cannot find the information that they require within one minute, then I could tell them what to do (to keep the presentation moving along). ** The computer to be used should be representative of current modest-specced machines available- no Winmodems, odd-ball, or defective components. ** The installation should be a typical one for a typical home user - no esoteric networking or overly specialised hardware. I would have the installers machine hooked up to the projector, so to show how she/he is progressing. Given these parameters, the newbie should be able to complete the installation/configuration in well under an hour on a reasonably fast machine. I could offer up a few Slackware CDs if any member of the audience also wants to do an install during the presentation. I would welcome the participation of other Slackers as co-presenters. I would also like to attend equivalent presentations by other folk who prefer a substantially different distro (I am particularly curious about Gentoo and LFS). Again, I stress that I am not attempting to start a distro-war. I would be attempting to discuss the underlying philosophy behind the oldest surviving Linux distro and to question whether the purported user-friendliness of GUI-based administrative suites can be justified. regards, ********************************************* Dr Denise J. Bates, PO Box 50, Meremere New Zealand E-mail: dbates(a)iconz.co.nz Telephone 09-2336433 Mobile 021-2541330 *********************************************