Why do so many people make comments about the installation process of different linux distros?

Why does every linux distribution review always seem to focus on the installation process?

Is it because every distro is pretty much the same once you log into KDE or gnome or enlightenment etc? Focusing on the installation process just gives them something to write about.

What is the difference if a distribution takes 30mins to install or 45mins to install? Does it really matter?

How many times per day do people re-install linux?

Who cares if Mandrake installs with pretty graphs and Slackware just has text. Even a complete beginner can read for example, a hard drive partitioning in text.

From experimenting with about 15 different distros in recent months, they are all pretty easy to get up and running. They all take much the same time to install - plus or minus 15mins.

Why do people make installation comparisons on such a regular basis?

I think the installation process only really matters to those completely new to linux. First distro I used was mandrake because I heard it was really easy to install. A GUI install vs. a text based one for someone who has never seen DOS can make a difference. Once you're comfortable with linux, then it doesn't really matter.

Also worthy of note is that some distros put a lot of extra effort into hardware support and detection. It's more than just detecting and having the right drivers - it's what happens when it hits a snag. How easy or difficult will it be to workaround something like a RAID card that fails detection.

It's no fun when a user goes to install a shiny new distro only to have it completely hang up on some oddball hardware or because it's setup in a non-standard fashion.

As ubien said, it really does make a difference to new users. (experienced ones, too!)

I don't consider myself anything but a newbie still, but I have done a few installs and such. The roughest one for me was the Debian install. It seemed geared alot towards prior Deb users rather than someone with general linux knowledge.

I do understand that it may seem that it makes very little difference once the system is up as to how graphical the install was or whatever, but in fact it does. Most of the time, yes just for newbies, but sometimes for more advanced ones as well. If I can see a graphical representation of what I am installing, or how much hd I am going to be using up and so forth, then I am a little better off knowing what I am installing. That along with being able to look back and see what I have checked off and if I missed something specific that I wanted (such is the case in the Mandrake/RH installers).

I think install is very important, it's the first step in making or breaking someones will on forging on with Linux (for the newbies);
and it can also determine whether the experienced user will simply continue with their "Tried and True" distro, or experiment with another.

Cool

I think the greatest strength to an installer is the hardware detection. It solves a lot of problems for a new user. My father-in-law installed winXP and was having all sorts of hardware probs. I was able to get online and download 6 different drivers for him and get everything configured. Then for fun, I did a lnx4win install on my father-in-law's computer with the mandrake 9.0 distro, and he was amazed at the ease of installation. He had no need for any extra drivers, everything was there. Now things could have been tweeked a little for performance.

As far as an gui vice text, it makes no difference to me. However, to a first-timer, gui's look like a more polished product. It's not just the gui, but a good druid (wizard) is essential. Hand holding someone through an installation process reduces errors. Also, I think the less you type, the less chance for errors.

Just my opinion,
Pete

The install is important - it tends to be the first time you see what the distro can do. Also, I was put off for a long time by the fact that most reviews said something like "after a really quick install I was in. Of course, I then had to hack the kernel to get the soundcard, graphics card, etc to work". A lot of work has gone into making the install quicker and easier - thankfully.