Ubuntu or Debian Dilemma

[Tom Adelstein]

(reply -bottom posted)

On Sat, 2005-07-16 at 10:13 +0500, Mustafa Abbasi wrote:
> i recoomend ubuntu (but then again you asked on an ubuntu mailing list
> so thats probably the most likely answer)
> but still ubutu is easier by far than debain, its harder to install
> and takes longer too.
> consider this analogy.
> ubuntu is a nice clean GUI.its not as powerfull but perfect for noobs
> as well as pros.
> debian is like the command line, more powerfull more features but lot
> harder to figure out and 
> use.
> both are good.
> and since ubuntu is based on debian most of the software is shared.
> one lasr thing the ubuntu community rocks while the debian irc channel
> is known to drive away begginners.
> i advise ubuntu if only for the community help.
> 
> On 7/16/05, Bernie Betlach <bernie at betlach.com> wrote: 
>         I'm new to Linux but have a little programming experience.
>         Which should I install Ubuntu or Debian???
>          
>         Thanks....   I appreciate your opinions and advice.
>          
>         Bernie
>         

I agree with Mustafa and would like to build a little on his points.

I use debian for servers - but then most Linux server administration
needs to be 100% command line interface. debian is rock solid and if you
decide to learn administration - all the debian based distros will look
the same (generally - I haven't seen one that wasn't). Whereas, RPM
based distros require a serious learning curve on each distro to do
administration. IMHO that's where the forking exists. It may also be the
reason mandriva has considered using debian as its core.

For a laptop or desktop Ubuntu offers an excellent user experience of
the debian group and it's easy to learn. It's not so dumbed down that
you can avoid the command line and that's a good thing. Linux noobies
should learn the command line IMO.

An annoyance for me right now is the last of instant support for
Thinkpads. I'm confident this will change. Many people claim Mandriva
has the best distro for Thinkpads, but not in my experience.

I'm on a think pad mailing list that's almost as active as this one. 


Ubuntu has a way to go to be ready for everyone - I expect next May the
distribution will arrive. 

Ditto on the community. Also, you have someone with a benevolent spirit
putting money into the community and that's something you can't dismiss
casually. Without Mark and the code of conduct, Linux communities were
heading for a glorious crash.

Tom