return to the future - installing debian

I'm currently having troubles setting up the linux to become the real-time-OS for bruce. First, burning the installer CD failed. Then the installer crashed, until I found out that I had used some unstable one. Then the selected mirror (which was charite, the famous Berlin hospital I can actually see from my window) wasn't reachable. Doh. I presume real-life proximity doesn't correlate to much with network connectivity...

So overall this feels a bit like the first linux installation troubles back in the mid 90ties, when I started using it. Oh well.

Hopfully installing the RTAI-kernel will go somewhat smoother. I need a new 2.6-one, because I want WIFI on the robot - and from my sparse, but really annoying paste experiences with that under linux, I doubt I should try anything but the latest and greatest.

If anybody has a tip on what networking card to use - I'd be all ears.