On Fri, 5 Jun 2015 01:13:51 +0100
KatolaZ <katolaz@???> wrote:


> Maybe I am the only one unable to see the problem in asking the owner
> of hardware which requires some essential non-free firmware during
> installation to put the required firmware on a USB stick during the
> first boot. If the user has got a way to burn a net-install cd, then
> he almost surely has no problem into plugging a USB stick on that
> other computer and copying one file therein....

You very well might be the only one unable to see the problem, because
it *could* be a big problem. The "put the firmware on the USB stick"
solution works if and only if all of:

* The user is made exquisitely aware of the need and the process before
installation (requires the right documentation)
* The user is told, by the install program, whenever he will
need the firmware on stick
* The user is told precisely what files to put on the stick, what
directories, and how the stick must be formatted (documentation)
* The user can be walked through the process of copying the files from
the stick to where they belong. This might sound easy, but remember
the user is running an install CD at this point, and might not even
know what to do with Ctrl+Alt+F2, and a lot of install CD
environments don't have a full complement of commands.
* The user is told exactly how to figure out the make, model and
version of his problematic hardware, which firmware(s) this
corresponds to, and exactly how to get that firmware onto his
memstick.
* All this documentation must be easily and intuitively available in
the Install CD environment, because it's pretty much for sure the
user isn't going to be able to surf the net during installation.

In other words, yes it is a problem, unless our documentation is
voluminous yet well organized, and easily and intuitively accessible
during the install process. If it is otherwise, the user will just
throw the Dng cd in the trash and install Ubuntu. Systemd encumbered
Linux is still better than Windows.

SteveT

Steve Litt
June 2015 featured book: The Key to Everyday Excellence
http://www.troubleshooters.com/key