Author Topic: Linux Mint Goes Debian  (Read 900 times)

Offline SteveOll

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Re: Linux Mint Goes Debian
« on: September 07, 2010, 11:17:21 pm »
Debian is very solid and is constantly in evolution, every so often they freeze the development at a point and call it a release. There is no fixed timing on this they just make sure everything is right before calling it stable. Ubuntu and other distros piggy back off Debian but rather than focus on stability (IMHO) they focus on a fixed release schedule and making it more amenable to the general public. Debian is a b1tch to install - Ubuntu is a breeze. Now, if Mint have made Debian more accesible then that's great news. I've also been following AuroraOS which again has ditched Ubuntu as it's base and gone back to Debian.

I don't know the ins and outs of it, but I know a lot of folks seem to be unhappy at how Ubuntu is evolving - it's priorities etc..

I have used Debian in the past and the install is not too bad if you are connected by ethernet to internet. If you don't do this and you can't get your wireless card/usb dongle enabled then it installs a very basic setup - Not even including Synaptic - as I recall. You also have to manually setup the mirrors and PPA's if this happens - a nightmare if you don't have another internet connected machine nearby.

I must admit I may go back to Debian when 6.0 is released as stable later in the year. Ubuntu is changing, and whilst it is making Linux more accessible to non-techie types, it is also slowly removing the included apps that allow for greater customisation (e.g. GDM login editor circa 9.04/9.10 release and Aptitude/Synaptic is to go in 10.10, etc.) Also they are going to start tracking OEM installations most likely to start paying royalties for the MP3 codecs that are offered for the Ubuntu One iTunes Clone.

I can see Canonomical posturing to become the third dominant desktop OS after Windows and OSX