Debian... again
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| sbergman27 Jul 08, 2006 7:41 AM EDT |
From time to time, Debian raises enough of a stir to pique my curiosity. All the backlash against Ubuntu that I have noticed lately... the subtle (and not so subtle) insinuations that Debian is "Da Best" and Ubuntu is just ruining it have gotten my attention. So... it's time to try out Debian again. This is not the first time. I've tried it a few times, both stable and testing, in the past, and it's never lasted more than 24 hours on my machine. But it's Q3 2006, and I have a bit more familiarity with a Debian based OS, through my recent experiences with Ubuntu, which to my surprise, I actually like. (I'd about given up on Debian based OSes before.) This time, though, I'd like to ask for advice first. Here are some of the things I'm interested in seeing for myself: 1. How good is it as a desktop OS? Attention to detail? Integration work? 2. How current are the packages? In the past, I've been horrified at the collection of "moldy goo" (good one,TC2) in Debian stable. That said, I've been quite pleased with the package levels in Centos4/RHEL4 (based on FC3), so I don't absolutely require cutting edge. 3. How stable is it? I have heard over and over again that you can just run Debian Testing and it's more stable than everyone else's stable releases. That Testing is more cutting edge than other distros that are supposed to be bleeding edge. And also that the word "release" has little meaning with Debian because you can mix and match packages as much as you want and it always "just works" because it's Debian. (I've heard all three of these claims again, recently.) So which should I install today, in July of 2006? Stable? Testing? Any hints, tips, tricks, or traps I should be aware of to give Debian the fairest shake? It has quite a reputation to live up to. My initial plan is to run Testing, as I've recently heard that it is currently very stable. I have a 9mbit internet connection and normally do network installs of other distros, where possible. Any problem with doing a network install from the minimal CD image and then just adding the packages I need? Or is there a better way? (I prefer Gnome, just in case that has a bearing.) I normally run x86_64. But I figure maybe I should run regular x86 to give Debian a fairer shake. Suggestions? |
| jimf Jul 08, 2006 8:38 AM EDT |
Suggest you install from the latest testing netinstall. Just select the desktop install which will put in gnome and gdm as the default. I'm on IRC pretty much 24-7 as R0nin if you have questions, though you probably know more thain I do about Gnome :). Server: irc.oftc.net Channel: #debcentral Oh... netinstallis on this page: http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/ We do have one experienced user who is running 64bit testing/unstable, so feel free to go that route. |
| sbergman27 Jul 08, 2006 8:56 AM EDT |
Thanks, Jim. It looks like I have three choices: Beta2 Testing (March 14, 2006) Weekly Testing Snapshot Daily Testing Snapshot with, it appears, a newer installer. Are you recommending the daily? I take it the newer installer is the GUI one? I do feel better running x86_64. And a very good argument can be made for the lack of Flash and Java plugin being "features". ;-) Besides, I can try out nspluginwrapper. |
| jimf Jul 08, 2006 9:09 AM EDT |
Probably the weekly. As for flash, java and so on, there are repos for practically everything now. First thing though is to get in a solid basic install. The guy running 64bit goes under the nick of 'jackiebrown', he should be on about 10-11pm central. |
| sbergman27 Jul 08, 2006 9:24 AM EDT |
OK. Actually, it turns out the weekly doesn't offer netinst. I suppose they apt-get from the same repo, so after the first update, they'd be the same anyway. After thinking about it a bit more, I think the x86 install would be the fairest test. Also, I've found that even when one is experienced with a particular distro, it's easy to fall into 32/64 bit library traps and confusion. Wasn't there some news a while back about amd64 not being officially supported under Debian's new trimmed down architecture list or something? I remember being surprised to read that somewhere. |
| jimf Jul 08, 2006 9:31 AM EDT |
> Wasn't there some news a while back about amd64 not being officially supported under Debian's new trimmed down architecture list or something? I remember being surprised to read that somewhere. I had not heard that, and, I'm sure Jackie would have mentioned it. Anyway, 32bit is fine to start on, and you're right, it's probably more straight forward. |
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