It’s one of the most well established and highly respected distributions available, and the praise that Debian has earned is well deserved. While it has been less popular with those seeking frequent new releases and cutting edge features pre-installed, it’s been a favorite workhorse system for those those requiring a solid, dependable system. (Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from installing all the bells and whistles if you want to.)
Historically, it’s also been less friendly to install than other distributions. I’m pleased to say that the latest version (still in testing phase, as of this review) changes that.
For this review, I used the new “Debian Installer” (linked below), and burned a single ISO ‘net-install’ disc (about 200 MB, if I remember). This installs a base Debian 3.1 (“Sarge”–testing) system, and downloads the rest by FTP.
The most difficult part of a Debian install for new users–partitioning the hard disk–has been simplified by a new install option that makes it completely automatic should you feel too intimidated to try.
If I have one complaint about the default install, it’s that it is almost too automated. It installs both the Gnome and KDE Desktop environments and their associated browsers (plus Mozilla!), a bunch of ‘Edutainment” software (math, science, language, and teaching tools), and some other bits of fluff and duplication, while failing to install staples like K3B (CD/DVD burning front-end). However, this is easily corrected by Debian’s excellent APT Package Management System. I quickly added K3B, dumped Mozilla and Galeon for Firefox, and made a few other personalizations to my own taste. Because Gnome is the default desktop for Debian, its display manager ‘gdm’ remains to greet users who login… even if they select KDE as their desktop environment. I prefer KDE, and disliked the system booting up to a Gnome login window. Again, this is easily corrected by downloading a package (“kdm”) and replacing gdm.
If you are unfamiliar with Debian, you might question the logic in installing a pre-release version of a Linux distribution. I have three things to say in response. One: version upgrades are completely automated through Debian’s APT manager, just as application software installations are. Two: As one of only two distributions (that I am aware of) with a “Social Contract” to its users (the other being Gentoo), I don’t have to worry about free upgrades disappearing, or being replaced by a pay system later. Three: Recall Debian’s reputation for rock solid releases. A “testing” release from Debian stands head and shoulders above official releases of less sturdy distributions.
If you’ve heard people rave about Debian for years, but felt like it sounded too hard to get running, the time to install is now. Try it. You don’t have to wait for the official release. Just upgrade later from inside your working system.
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