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Annotated edit history of Debian version 15, including all changes. View license author blame.
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10 CraigBox 1 Debian is a [GNU]/[Linux] distribution. The name comes from the founder of the project, Ian Murdock, and his wife, Debra. Hence "Deb" and "Ian".
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3 If you use Debian, you tend to love Debian. Why?
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5 __Non-commercial__ :
6 It's not controlled by a corporate entity.
12 CraigBox 7 __Huge package archive__ :
8 Debian packages over 11,000 pieces of software. You can install almost anything by just typing <tt>apt-get install ''package''</tt>, with package dependencies handled for you. No more rabbiting around the internet for an [RPM] that might do what you want it to do!
10 CraigBox 9 __Runs on ''lots'' of platforms__ :
15 IanMcDonald 10 i386, AMD64, Motorola 68k, Alpha, Sparc, PowerPC, ARM, MIPS, HP PA-RISC, IA64 (Itanium) and S390.
10 CraigBox 11 __Incredibly easy to maintain__ :
12 <tt>apt-get upgrade</tt> every night and you'll be running the latest versions of everything.
13 __Very true to Linux__ :
14 Some purists dont like RedHat's directory structures. It's also pragmatic __and__ ideological; what you know as Debian today is Debian GNU/Linux, and they are also looking at Debian GNU/HURD.
12 CraigBox 15
16 Often imitated, never beaten.
10 CraigBox 17
11 CraigBox 18 There are some reasons not to like Debian, the most obvious of which is that the "stable" distribution, while historically __very__ stable, achieves this by being up to three years 'out of date'. [Ubuntu], a derivative of Debian, addresses this by having regular (six-monthly) release cycles. Also, Debian has a mentality of "we have official packages for everything", meaning that $new_thing has to be uploaded into the repository before you can get it. However, more people are packaging things in third party repositories that you can add to your AptSourcesList, and you can always install things from source.
14 CraigBox 19
20 Read about the different FlavoursOfDebian.
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22 !Packaging in Debian
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15 IanMcDonald 24 The Debian PackageManagement format is [.deb|Deb]. See DebianPackaging on how to create these, or DebianPackageTools for how to use [dpkg(8)]/[APT]/other programs that install .deb packages.
14 CraigBox 25
26 !Acquiring Debian
11 CraigBox 27
28 See NewZealandLinuxMirrors for places in NewZealand to get [Deb]s/[ISO]s.
10 CraigBox 29
14 CraigBox 30 !Learn more
10 CraigBox 31
14 CraigBox 32 There are a LOT of great Debian web pages on the internet. Here are but a few...
10 CraigBox 33
14 CraigBox 34 * WLUG's DebianNotes
35 * [ Debian's official FAQ | http://www.debian.org/doc/FAQ/];
10 CraigBox 36 * [ Debian Wiki | http://wiki.debian.net]
14 CraigBox 37 * [ #debian FAQ wiki | http://www.linuks.mine.nu/debian-faq-wiki/ ]
38 * [ Debian Administration | http://www.debian-administration.org/ ]
10 CraigBox 39 * [ A Debian Grimoire | http://deb.riseup.net/ ]
40 * [ Debian Help (UK) | http://www.debianhelp.co.uk/ ]
14 CraigBox 41 * [ Planet Debian (blog aggregator) | http://planet.debian.org ]
10 CraigBox 42
43 ----
44 Part of CategoryDistribution and CategoryDebian