[SWLUG] Linux newbie, again!

[Robert McQueen]

> Ah that explains a great deal..... having said that my copy (bought and
> paid for) doesn't seem to have Evolution on it.  The edition on Linux
> format seems to have a problem with OpenOffice.org... and I can't access
> windows drives at all (can't get logged on as root - only seems to allow
> me logging on as user).  But then I really am a newbie, Currently happy
> with Mandrake 9.00.

Disallowing graphical root logins is a feature to stop people shooting
themselves in the foot at the click of a button. To do things as root,
investigate tools like 'su' and 'sudo'.

> I suspect next time I upgrade I may try Debian,
> though downloading stuff off the net with dial up seems a bit of a non
> starter so its off to the Linux Emporium next month to by the full
> Debian set.

You can get a ~30MB ISO which has the base system on, which includes ppp
to dial you up to the net after the initial reboot. I can also burn you
a set of woody CDs if you want to avoid slooow downloads, or someone
closer to home (I'm in Cambridge atm) can probably help you out. For a
~180MB ISO image with a fair selection of packages, documentation, and
choice of kernel images (type bf24 at the boot: prompt to get kernel 2.4):
 http://www.phy.olemiss.edu/debian-cd/woody-i386-1.iso
Or for a more minimalist CD with the base system and the 2.4 kernel with
XFS filesystem:
 http://people.debian.org/~blade/XFS-Install/download/bootbf2.4-xfs_with_basedebs.iso

Regards,
Rob