InformationWeek: Getting the Right Linux Footprint

“For all its advances in other areas, the Linux setup process
has long been a major obstacle to the operating system’s wider
acceptance. In fact, until quite recently, installing Linux was
like a trip back in time:

“Forget graphical interfaces. All too often, a Linux install was
and still is either fully or mostly a text-based operation,
although some of the screens might be dressed up a bit with colored
backgrounds or multicolored text. For example, Slackware 9.0, the
most-current release of that popular Linux distribution, sets up
entirely through myriad screens of DOS-style colored text, like
software from the mid-1980s. Primitive? You bet.

“Forget auto-detection of hardware. Despite the fact that
today’s hardware is capable of identifying itself fully and openly
to any software that knows how to ask, Linux still often requires
that you know, in advance, the brands and models–and, sometimes,
even exact model numbers–of the video card, network card, audio
card, (etc.) in your system. If you pick the wrong driver, you
might end up having to perform the entire installation over, from
scratch…”

Complete Story