Potato install - package suggestions?

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Alan DuBoff (maestro@SoftOrchestra.com):

> Yes, it is possible to get such a lean system with the install that everything
> will not work, as an example...man pages if dependant packages are not
> installed (i.e., groff). However, with apt-get, as long as the network is
> hooked up you can get any package after.

Oh, believe me, I'm quite familiar with this.  The man-db problem was in
fact my first sign and quite certain that the Base System was a bit too 
spare.  The point did not concern whether the holes could be filled in,
as clearly they can (part of the reason for my tips document).  The
point concerned whether the hassle of finding and filling those holes
is justified.  (Another is the bin86 real-mode assembler, without which
/sbin/lilo doesn't work.)  

Whether I start with the Base System or a minimal package profile
generally hinges on whether I have time to backfill some crucial
packages, or just want to get on with it.  In any event, the Base System
approach _is_ an excellent way to know one's system better _and_ observe
a bravura performance by apt-get.
 
-- 
Cheers,              "By reading this sentence, you agree to be bound by the 
Rick Moen             terms of the Internet Protocol, version 4, or, at your 
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