For desktop, why Debian over Ubuntu or MEPIS?

[adasiak]

If your only concern is running a desktop, is there any reason to prefer Debian to one of the more "newbie-friendly" distros, like Ubuntu or SimplyMEPIS?

I'm currently running SimplyMEPIS 6.5 and loving it. (Also tried Kubuntu and didn't love it so much.) But it's "based on" Debian. I understand that MEPIS and Ubuntu are easier to install for newbies, require less command-line futzing, and ship with certain non-free software. All that sounds to me like strikes against Debian (or at least points for the others).

So, if you prefer Debian as a desktop, what are your reasons? What does it do, or let you do, that the others don't? How does it behave differently?

(One kind of answer seems to pop up frequently in these forums: "Just try a few out and see what you're comfortable with." I hope anybody answering can be more specific: what in particular suits you?)

--Paul

[oz]

If your only concern is running a desktop, is there any reason to prefer Debian to one of the more "newbie-friendly" distros, like Ubuntu or SimplyMEPIS?

I could tell you which distro I like best, but that doesn't mean that you'll like it best, or that you'll even try it for that matter. I don't personally find Debian any less user friendly than the other two distros you mentioned so it all once again boils down to a matter of personal preference, meaning your own personal preference, not someone else's.

The main thing is to have fun with Linux!

[adasiak]

I realize that it all comes down to my personal preference; that fact underlies any "which distro" discussion. However, there may be aspects of Debian (or whatever distro) that I didn't become aware of in my brief distro-sampling. I'm looking for what those concrete things are that you like, fully aware that I may not give a rip about them -- but also aware that I may.

Here are some sample answers:

• "Debian has a fantastic community of support."
• "Somebody cracked into my system every time I used any other Debian-based distro, but with Debian it's remained secure."
• "I'm a firm believer in the principles of free, open-source software, and Debian upholds those like no other distro."
• "Debian KDE ships with some rad screen savers that make Kubuntu and MEPIS pale by comparison."

For the moment, as I said previously, I'm impressed with the ease of SimplyMEPIS -- everything "just works", even better than Ubuntu. Is there anything that impresses you about Debian more than about its descendants?

Or, put another way, what besides inertia keeps you from sticking with Debian (as a desktop), rather than switching over to MEPIS, Xandros, Kanotix, Linux Mint, or Ubuntu Muslim Edition?

--Paul

[oz]

Here are some sample answers:

• "Debian has a fantastic community of support."
• "Somebody cracked into my system every time I used any other Debian-based distro, but with Debian it's remained secure."
• "I'm a firm believer in the principles of free, open-source software, and Debian upholds those like no other distro."
• "Debian KDE ships with some rad screen savers that make Kubuntu and MEPIS pale by comparison."

All of these are matters of opinion only, so it's your own experiences that should matter to you in the end.

I could say "Debian has a fantastic community of support.", but you might think that the Debian community is really lousy once you get involved.

I could say "Somebody cracked into my system every time I used any other Debian-based distro, but with Debian it's remained secure.", but you could find that things work out just the opposite for you.

I could say that "I'm a firm believer in the principles of free, open-source software, and Debian upholds those like no other distro.", but that would be just my opinion and you might think some other distro upholds those standards better.

I could say that "Debian KDE ships with some rad screen savers that make Kubuntu and MEPIS pale by comparison.", but that would again be just my opinion and you might think those same screensavers totally suck.

When you ask someone what's the best and why it's best, you are basically asking them to convince you that what they tell you is correct for them and why it will also be so for you. The thing is, we all have different tastes, we have different hardware, and we have different potentials for learning.

In the end, if you really want to know the real truth (the truth for you) about any distro and how they compare to others, you have to try them yourself, and it might take more than one trial period to get a real feel for any particular distro. Believe me when I say that we've all been right where you are now, but sooner or later we all began to realize that what I've said above is the truth.

That's not to say that you shouldn't ask for opinions, but you've got to keep in mind that opinions are all they are, and even if 300 users should reply saying that one distro is better than the others, it might not work out that way for you.

Experiment heavily, form your own opinions, and above all, have fun with Linux!

[jledhead]

and lets not forget your first point, all of the distros you mentioned are debian based, meaning they are continually built off of debian src, not a snapshot a long time ago and now they are their own completly unique distribution.

but like said above, linux comes down to preference and personal choice, thats why there are so many flavors.

why do you choose simplymepis over fedora, mandriva,..<insert other names here>

my opinion, everytime debian releases a new version, apt-get dist-upgrade and I have upgraded to the newest usually completly pain free. almost every time I have done that with (K)ubuntu its broken my install. so thats one of my opinion.

but I do really like the looks of gutsy (another of my opinions)

[rcgreen]

They are so close that you will be hard pressed to even notice
the differences. You will notice more difference between releases (over time)
than between parent and derivative distros. I use Debian for my
personal workstation, but have installed Ubuntu for other people.
I guess installing a "user friendly" distro is just following the
general trend of advice, and trying to help a new user. Whether it
makes a difference, I don't really know.