On Sat, Jul 16, 2005 at 07:11:55AM -0700, Bernie Betlach wrote: > I'm new to Linux but have a little programming experience. Which should I > install Ubuntu or Debian??? The main difference between the two is the installer, I think. Any Linux distribution will give you the same components: GNOME desktop (though Debian also gives you the option of using KDE), OpenOffice, Gnumeric (spreadsheet), AbiWord (my favorite graphical word processor), gaim (instan-messaging client), Evolution (mail, calendar, etc.), Firefox (web browser), Thunderbird (another mail client, from the same people who brought you Firefox), etc. Ubuntu offers shorter release cycles (it comes out every six months) and an orientation toward consumers. It can be less stable than Debian, because Debian waits until it's rock solid before releasing a new version. Recent experience with Sarge suggests that Debian may fall behind the curve, but what you get is incredibly solid. That's because Debian has been focused on servers, or at the very least has had split loyalties -- it's not clear whether Debian is a server OS or a desktop one. Ubuntu is more clearly focused on desktop users, so it allows them a little more freedom. -- Stephen R. Laniel steve@laniels.org +(617) 308-5571 http://laniels.org/ PGP key: http://laniels.org/slaniel.key
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