[ILUG] Debian n00b questions

[Justin Mason]

Hi ILUG --

guess what -- I'm switching.   I've just ordered a new IBM Thinkpad T40,
and I'm planning to change the habit of 5 years (or so) and put Debian on
it instead of Dead Rat/Fedora.  However, this'll be only the second Debian
install-from-CD I've ever performed. 

Now, I know Debian has some wierd "this is the default, but you're
expected to know not to use it" features during the CD install; for
example, my first attempt a few years ago died tragically during a
frustration-filled battle with dselect.  (grr.)

So, given that I'm planning to get 2.6.1 running with ext3, XFree86 4.3.x,
and KDE 3.2, any other gotchas I should watch out for?  So far I've
collected:

- watch out for absurd crap in default Stinkpad configuration (namely,
  don't boot it without booting into linux first and renaming a Windows
  filesystem conversion tool, as WinXP will convert its nice FAT32 fs
  into NTFS at first boot, which is a bitch to resize).

- install from Woody CD 1, as "unstable" and "testing" are Not
  Recommended for CD installs

- use "bf24" at the boot prompt to get a 2.4.x kernel

- don't use dselect, it is the spawn of the devil

- after basic install, edit sources.list and s/stable/unstable/, then
  apt-get update and dist-upgrade

- get 2.6.1, XFree86 4.3, and KDE 3.2 up and running after that point

- engrave "Elbereth" on the floor if dselect shows up and attacks.

Any other tips?

--j.