n01getsout

Debian is the basis for many popular Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Mepis, Damn Small Linux, Knoppix, Xandros, Linspire, etc. I think that if so many others see Debian and a solid foundation to build from that it must be good, and indeed it is.

I prefer to grab the Net Install CD and download everything I use after I have it up and going. This ensures that my system is free of unwanted software (bloat) and the slowness that comes with it. One of the first things I do with Debian is install a kernel optimized for my machine. This is a painless process by using apt-get as it will automatically configure grub or lilo with the new kernel (it leaves your old one, just in case). I really do think that Debian is the best distro there is, but since Mepis is easier for Linux newcomers and is still based on Debian, I recommend it for most novice users.

Debian has three different package repositories - stable, testing, and unstable. Unstable is the latest builds of software, stable has been tested extensively (perhaps more so than any other Linux distribution) but is somewhat outdated, and testing is somewhere in between. I run unstable myself and have never had any problems. Debian uses the apt-get package manager to make installing new software a breeze. For instance, to install Pidgin, you just have to type in the command "apt-get install pig" as root. It will automatically install everything needed (even dependencies) and will also put it in your applications menu.

The application menu may seem more unorganized than in some other distributions, but this is actually a great example of the care that the Debian developers put into the Debian Operating System. They created a utility that will provide a standard way to integrate menus with the 30 or so different window managers in the Debian repositories. All packages in the Debian repositories are built to conform to the Debian Social Contract. While the Social Contract is rather short, it provides all of the power behind Debian.

To learn why the their philosophy gives Debian so much strength, I recommend that you read The Debian System: Concepts and Techniques by Martin Krafft, a Debian developer. His book helped me understand why every other operating system is inferior. The book also covers installation and maintenance of Debian on your computer, how the Debian organization is structured and operates, and how to create and maintain .deb packages. This book is much less of a reference manual than it is an enlightened insight into the decisions made by Debian.