
Hello! I'm actually using grml with harddisk-installation.I've also installed some debian packages. My question: What are the main goals or the differents between grml and a "normal" debian installation? greeting, johannes

On Wed, 19 Jul 2006 17:12:40 +0200, johannes swoboda wrote:
I'm actually using grml with harddisk-installation.
same here.
I've also installed some debian packages.
me 2.
My question: What are the main goals or the differents between grml and a "normal" debian installation?
once grml is installed on harddisk, it becomes a normal debian, more or less. Or, you can treate it as that if you don't know the trivial differences...
I use grml to install my debian because I failed to do that using the "normal" way -- kernel, X, all gave me problems.

Incoming from johannes swoboda:
Hello! I'm actually using grml with harddisk-installation.I've also installed some debian packages. My question: What are the main goals or the differents between grml and a "normal" debian installation?
"Normal" Debian is Debian Stable, currently Sarge. In order to create Stable, Debian uses Testing (currently Etch) and Unstable (always Sid). The latter two are merely tools used in creating Stable. They can, and should, be used but they're not what Debian has ever been about. Debian has always been about creating Stable.
Testing and Unstable have been known to break from time to time. That's their job; to find bugs before they're released into the wild.
Grml tries to mitigate Unstable's instability by testing upstream stuff from Sid before allowing it into Grml. This way, they hope for the best of both worlds: relative stability as well as bleeding edge software.
Besides all that, Grml offers lots of neat apps of their choosing, and lots of neat utilities helpful in using it. Whether you want to install it on a hard drive, run it from RAM or CD-ROM, or even a USB key, Grml's pretty versatile.
It's not perfect; nothing is. It's more perfect than stock Debian Sid, and way more up to date than Debian Stable.
Other less important details are the choice of software Grml offers. No KDE or Gnome; fluxbox instead. No BitchX ('cause it Sucks! :-), irssi instead. Once installed, you can apt-get anything you want that Grml doesn't provide.
I think it's pretty cool. I'd love to know why it refuses to install in this old Compaq of mine, but that's beside the point.

Hello!
Incoming from johannes swoboda:
Hello! I'm actually using grml with harddisk-installation.I've also installed some debian packages. My question: What are the main goals or the differents between grml and a "normal" debian installation?
Grml tries to mitigate Unstable's instability by testing upstream stuff from Sid before allowing it into Grml. This way, they hope for the best of both worlds: relative stability as well as bleeding edge software.
So which software repository is actually used? I have a stock debian and added the GRML repo, to have a look what´s in there. I found 29 packages and wondering now, which part of debian you are using. Is this just added to make the "pure" debian unstable a bit more convenient and userfriendly?
It's not perfect; nothing is. It's more perfect than stock Debian Sid, and way more up to date than Debian Stable.
Is it possible to set up grml with "testing"? Thats what i have right now, but i dont like the debian installer, and i dont want to download all the KDE-libs when choosing "desktop-install" and so on (when doin a new install on another machine). You know the hassles of the Installer :-)
Thanks in advance, Frank

* Frank eggsperde@gmx.net [20060721 11:09]:
Incoming from johannes swoboda:
Grml tries to mitigate Unstable's instability by testing upstream stuff from Sid before allowing it into Grml. This way, they hope for the best of both worlds: relative stability as well as bleeding edge software.
So which software repository is actually used?
You receive all Debian packages from the Debian-pool and all the (exclusive) add-on packages from the grml-repository. (Remember: we are therefore of course full binary compatible with Debian.)
I have a stock debian and added the GRML repo, to have a look what?s in there. I found 29 packages and wondering now, which part of debian you are using.
mika@vrs ~W/grml $ ls -1 repos/*.deb | sed 's/_.*//' | sort -u | wc -l 189
;)
Is this just added to make the "pure" debian unstable a bit more convenient and userfriendly?
Hm yes, kind of. :) I'm running daily updates and report bugs to the Debian BTS if I notice any problems. I try to keep http://wiki.grml.org/doku.php?id=upgrading up2date and if I notice a severe problem in Debian I try to fix it with providing the appropriate package via the grml-repos - which has a high priority in grml's apt-pinning setup (for example remember the file-rc bug #376366).
It's not perfect; nothing is. It's more perfect than stock Debian Sid, and way more up to date than Debian Stable.
Is it possible to set up grml with "testing"? Thats what i have right now, but i dont like the debian installer, and i dont want to download all the KDE-libs when choosing "desktop-install" and so on (when doin a new install on another machine). You know the hassles of the Installer :-)
I don't use such a setup on my own but I do know that there are users out there running grml successfully with setting sources.list to Debian/testing.
regards, -mika-

On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 11:26:24 +0200, Michael Prokop wrote:
Is it possible to set up grml with "testing"? Thats what i have right now, but i dont like the debian installer, and i dont want to download all the KDE-libs when choosing "desktop-install" and so on (when doin a new install on another machine). You know the hassles of the Installer :-)
I totally agree with you. Every point. I am using grml with "testing" now.
I don't use such a setup on my own but I do know that there are users out there running grml successfully with setting sources.list to Debian/testing.
yep, and maybe pin too. Piece of cake to achieve.

On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 17:45:48 +0200, T wrote:
... I am using grml with "testing" now.
I don't use such a setup on my own but I do know that there are users out there running grml successfully with setting sources.list to Debian/testing.
yep, and maybe pin too. Piece of cake to achieve.
FYI, From
Remastering Hacks http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Remastering_Hacks
Update all packages
* Use apt-get update to get the lists with the latest releases and patches. Do not update a package if you don't need to, it may lead to the use of additional disk space (precious commodity when you want to keep everything below 700 MB) and you may brake something else without knowing. Abuse the -s option to simulate the installation.
* Before doing the update, I modified my default releases to testing, that means that the software I'll be using will have a good balance of stability and features. Knoppix uses unstable by default, which is too risky for my personal taste.
Teilnehmer (5)
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Frank
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johannes swoboda
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Michael Prokop
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s. keeling
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T