The first time Debian booted, it took me by default to a graphical desktop. One of the questions I'm considering while I use Debian is what the typical Windows user feels when he or she switches to the "spiral system". In terms of putting a friendly face on the evil that is a computer processor, Debian is equivalent to its Redmond competitor. It may not start up initially with the prettiest desktop, but it's a desktop, and that means the user gets the certain comfort: he knows what he is doing with his computer. When my Debian first booted, it showed me its sober, sparse GNOME desktop, with all of the components you would see on a fresh Windows install... and more. But note that I don't put "more" on the same axis as "good". More could be better; it could be worse. And then: Debian's "more" is much, much different from Microsoft's "more". In this case of default desktop though, it didn't much matter.

It didn't matter because, despite the fact that Debian's default desktop reassured me that I had succeeded my installation, I had an immediate problem: my desktop was about two thirds of my screen. I suddenly had a big black border at the edge of my already-small laptop monitor. And, my initial foray through the Debian menus (which look like the Windows Start menu, only with "more"), did not yield results. I found some menus that seemed to mention screen size, but nothing changed the fact that my display was tiny.

I gave in almost instantly. Since I had performed the install at work (this was a smart move), I could go talk to B_____ about this problem. B_____ has Debian installed on several of his machines at work, and I get the feeling he knows what he's doing. In this case, he proved my feeling right.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you how B_____ fixed my small display problem. I couldn't follow neither his keystrokes nor his explanation, although I retained two things:

1. He said very clearly "All laptops have this problem, including when you install Windows".

2. He edited some text file and manually added a high screen resolution to several lists of screen resolutions in this file. If my memory serves me, he found lists that looked something like this:

   • 480x600

   • 840x960

   And he changed them to:

   • 480X600

   • 840x960

   • 1200x1648

   (I'm totally making up these numbers.)

So, considering point 1), I don't feel so bad that I didn't solve the problem myself, since I would have had the same problem on Windows. And, considering that I retained a few details of point 2), I think a quick google will probably direct me to the solution that my dear admin guy implemented, should I ever need it.

I now had a full sized desktop with a classy dark blue spiral background, and a couple of familiar-looking icons. My installation had worked.