What's so great about Debian?

[DarkMassacre]

I've been using Ubuntu for a couple of months now and I have to say I love it. If I could game in Ubuntu and if my volume wasn't so quite when maxed (less than half of what it's like maxed in XP) I'd rid my hard drive of XP and never look back. Anyway, I've done normal things with Ubuntu such as messing around on the internet and such, but I've also been tinkering a bit, using GNOME and KDE to see which I like better, trying to get acquainted with the terminal (I really would like to learn more about CLI, I only know basic commands such as how to install things, create and delete folders and such, I really don't know what can really be done with it). Debian seems pretty popular too, and I want to know why. I know Ubuntu was based on it which makes it that much more cool, but what does it offer that Ubuntu does not? Why is it so revered? I'm all for trying out new things and I've been thinking about giving it a try. One thing I'm not a fan of is the really basic look of it (from freshly installed screenshots anyway), I do like some eye candy, I don't have to be able to paint fire on the screen like with Ubuntu though, that's just a perk. Anyway, I imagine I can snaz Debian up quite a bit.

[Segfault]

Debian is less bloated compared to mainstream desktop Linux distributions. Using netinstall you can install the base system and start adding only the software you need, customizing the installation to suit your needs. Eyecandy? The beauty of Debian is at CLI. Sure, you can install all the bells and whistles, why not. Only you don't need Debian for that.
I used Debian for many years, it was definitely a positive experience after Red Hat.

[oz]

Welcome to the forums!

There's nothing at all so great about Debian for some people.

It all really boils down to personal preference because different people like different things in a distribution. Having run Ubuntu and Debian many times in the past, I've always been just the opposite of the title of your thread and have continually wondered what's so great about Ubuntu?

Plenty of experience with both makes it easier to know which one you really prefer, and why. In the end, I think it's kind of nice that they both exists so both user groups are happy.

Hope you have lots of fun with whichever one you prefer.

[DarkMassacre]

I'll end up trying out Debian once I get a new hard drive. That and SUSE and Gentoo and probably many more.

[Dapper Dan]

Apt-get and you get that neat swirly looking emblem.

[GNU-Fan]

Hello,

here are my reasons why I stuck with Debian GNU/Linux.
Disclaimer: I'am not saying other distros can't deliver the same.
Debian just happens to be the first one I came across meeting these criteria.

- Debian Stable was the first distro I found that gave me a complete self-containing and useful operating system from the day I installed it.
Of course I could and did tweak it to my personal tastes (later), but not because I had to in order to get it working it the first place.

- I like the philosophy and the spirit of community of the Debian homepage.
The blurring of edges between developers and users. I am always impressed how many people make great efforts to help others just for the sake of community. In the Debian domain this is very distinct.
Not to mention the Free Software stuff


- All servers I administrate run Debian. It is easy and secure to do so. And most knowledge I gain about Debian (Home or Work) is useful in both domains.

- The base system is very stable. And slim.
No squeezing in of last minute packages just for the sake of features.
If I need an application to be more up to date, I do install it myself but I do not need to tamper with the base system. Works out pretty well.

PS: Oh, the GNOME community bears considerable account for these things too.

[IsaacKuo]

The usual reason why someone prefers Debian over Ubuntu is that they try Ubuntu and love it until some updates break something...after enough times updates break something, they get frustrated with the quality of Ubuntu's updates and try out Debian. They find out Debian is actually a lot more like Ubuntu and easier than they heard, and updates don't break things.

Personally, I like Debian Stable because it does NOT tend to update the kernel. This means that I can freely implement netbooting and RAMbooting without constatly dealing with kernel updates.

Also, there are some things which are functional in Debian which don't work in Ubuntu--or at least in some versions of Ubuntu. One that I've been struggling with is the Debian "menu" package.

[edit: added]
Aaaarggggghhhh!!!!! Ubuntu 7.10 just had another kernel update. This means another annoyance about Ubuntu which I have to deal with again. Out-of-box, Ubuntu uses this dumb graphical splash screen which doesn't work on many laptops. It just gives me a blank console and makes boot-up take ten minutes (during which time it looks like the computer has hung). Every time I install Ubuntu or the kernel updates, I have to go back into /boot/grub/menu.lst and deactivate that useless splash "feature".

[jledhead]

They find out Debian is actually a lot more like Ubuntu

your funny

its true what the say, emulation is the best flattery. Debian is emulated and copied for many distros. ubuntu was not just based off debian one time and from then on its its own thing, for every build of ubuntu its built off debian. why not just go straight to the source (I do like ubuntu just making a point)

my reasons for liking debian.

apt-get and its 21000 packages VS about 6000 in the default RHN repository for redhat and centos

stable is really stable, but if I want to experiement I can upgrade to a more bleeding edge version, that is still quite stable, and from there I can go even further and get as bleeding edge as it gets

I can download a netinstall and only install what I want and not install all this extra fluff.

for servers those above 3 things gives me a very powerful setup. for a desktop user it gives me complete control without to much difficulty (like gentoo, which I love but hate to compile so much)

[wesley_morris2000]

I personally use Debain for servers with no x system...only cli. They are very stable and hardly ever have problems. I like ubuntu on my personal boxes because it is better suited for desktop and notebook use.

My love of debian comes from the power of apt-get, ease of managing system from cli, and no commercial interest.

You mentioned gaming. I used to think that linux sucked on gaming, but it truly doesn't. If you look, there are a lot of games out there. I play UrbanTerror, Cube, Nexuis, and x-plane. I always make sure to buy a copy of x-plane at walmart since the developers go out of their way to port it to all the platforms.

[newage123]

First of all Linux is more stable than windows then it is a free software and open source. what do we really concentrate on is being free so instead of paying around 700$ for windows Vista ultimate he will pay only 5$ for the disk of Linux and you can use it. The same way you used the windows plus most and not all viruses are made for windows or for mac so no viruses so far for Linux and if you could adjust with it.