Today I had to install a new Debian server, and the only CD-ROM drive on a 5km radius decided to die on me. However I have my trusty 64MB no-brand taiwanese USB flash drive with me, and I turned to http://d-i.pascal.at/ to find out how to perform the lifesaving miracle of installing Debian from said $25 piece of silicon (I bet it goes for less than $10 these days). The server refused to boot from USB the first time, and after repeating the process a couple of times I gave up and repartitioned the whole drive, did yet another install-mbr and repeated the process. Instant gratification. The base system is being installed as I type this. BTW, I went with the most recent Business card CD Image in http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/.