Re: Somewhat outdated info in /intro/why_debian
On Wed, Mar 14, 2001 at 03:51:15PM +0100, David Martinez CSIC RedIRIS wrote:
> Hello. In the "Lack of popular commercial software" paragraph, we say:
>
[snip]
Thanks for reporting this. It is so easy to let information get out
of date. I just committed an updated version. You can use the
changelog below (darn. Put the files in the wrong order so the
plus and minus are reversed) to see the modifications or check
the website in a few hours.
--- why_debian.wml Wed Mar 14 11:50:51 2001
+++ why_debian.wml.orig Wed Mar 14 11:50:47 2001
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@
<DD>If you have heard that Linux is difficult to install, then you
haven't tried Debian lately. We are constantly improving the
installation process and already have zero floppy installs. You can do
- the installation directly from DOS, a CD or even over the network.</DD>
+ the installation directly from DOS or a CD, or even over the network.</DD>
<DT><B>Incredible amounts of software.</B></DT>
- <DD>Debian comes with over <A HREF="../distrib/packages">3950 different
+ <DD>Debian comes with over <A HREF="../distrib/packages">2500 different
pieces of software</A>. Every bit of it is <A HREF="free">free</A>. If
you have commercial software that runs under Linux, you can still use it
- in fact, there may even be an installer in Debian that will
@@ -39,9 +39,8 @@
plenty of tools and code suitable for use in proprietary projects.</DD>
<DT><B>Easy upgrades.</B></DT>
<DD>Due to our packaging system, upgrading to a new version of Debian is
- a snap. Just run <tt>apt-get update ; apt-get dist-upgrade</tt> and you
- can upgrade from a CD in a matter of
- minutes or point apt at one of the over 150 Debian
+ a snap. Just run dselect and you can upgrade from a CD in a matter of
+ minutes or point dselect at one of the over 150 Debian
<A HREF="../misc/README.mirrors">mirrors</A> and upgrade over the net.</DD>
<DT><B>Bug tracking system.</B></DT>
<DD>Debian's <A HREF="http://bugs.debian.org/";>bug tracking system</A>
@@ -84,8 +83,8 @@
<DT><B>Security software.</B></DT>
<DD>Unknown to many, anything sent over the net can be seen by any
machine between you and the receiver. Debian has packages of the famous
- GPG (and PGP) software which allows mail to be sent privately between users.
- In addition, ssh allows you to create secure connections to other machines
+ PGP software which allows mail to be sent privately between users. In
+ addition, ssh allows you to create secure connections to other machines
which have ssh installed.</DD>
</DL>
@@ -93,7 +92,7 @@
causes of complaints:
<DL>
<DT><I>"<A HREF="../releases/stable/i386/dselect-beginner">Dselect</A>
- (the front-end to Debian's packaging system, dpkg) is confusing to learn."</I></DT>
+ (the front-end to Debian's packaging system, dpkg) is confusing to learn."</I></DT>
<DD>This is an active area of work. Debian's new package manager, APT,
was designed as the foundation for a better frontend, and is already
receiving rave reviews -- no other Linux distribution has anything like
@@ -102,13 +101,11 @@
user-friendly interfaces to APT are being developed.</DD>
<DT><I>"Lack of popular commercial software."</I></DT>
<DD>It is quite true that popular software, such as Excel, is not
- available for Linux (try gnumeric and you'll be amazed at it's power.
- It even loads Excel files). Commercial software is coming out in greater
+ available for Linux. Commercial software is coming out in greater
numbers, though, as more companies discover the power of GNU/Linux and
its largely untapped market with a rapidly growing user base
- (Since linux is freely distributable, sales figures can't be used for
- user estimates. Best estimates are that linux has 5% of the market,
- giving 15 million users as of early 2001). For example, Netscape and Sun's JDK are
+ (conservative estimates put the number of installations between 5-10
+ million as of February 1998). For example, Netscape and Sun's JDK are
available for Linux. Lack of office suites should no longer be a problem
as there are now a number available: <A HREF="http://www.applix.com/";>
Applixware</A>, <A HREF="http://www.sun.com/staroffice/";>StarOffice</A>,
@@ -116,11 +113,10 @@
WordPerfect Office 2000</A> and
<A HREF="http://linux.corel.com/products/wp8/index.htm";>Corel
WordPerfect 8</A> (WordPerfect 8 even has a PowerPoint replacement).
- For those interested in databases, Debian ships with the popular database
+ For those interested in databases, Debian ships with popular database
- (Since linux is freely distributable, sales figures can't be used for
- user estimates. Best estimates are that linux has 5% of the market,
- giving 15 million users as of early 2001). For example, Netscape and Sun's JDK are
+ (conservative estimates put the number of installations between 5-10
+ million as of February 1998). For example, Netscape and Sun's JDK are
available for Linux. Lack of office suites should no longer be a problem
as there are now a number available: <A HREF="http://www.applix.com/";>
Applixware</A>, <A HREF="http://www.sun.com/staroffice/";>StarOffice</A>,
@@ -116,11 +113,10 @@
WordPerfect Office 2000</A> and
<A HREF="http://linux.corel.com/products/wp8/index.htm";>Corel
WordPerfect 8</A> (WordPerfect 8 even has a PowerPoint replacement).
- For those interested in databases, Debian ships with the popular database
+ For those interested in databases, Debian ships with popular database
programs <A HREF="http://www.mysql.com/";>mySQL</A> and
- <A HREF="http://www.postgresql.org/";>PostgreSQL</A>. Of course, if
- your boss forces you to use a commercial application, Oracle and
- Informix are available for Linux.
+ <A HREF="http://www.postgresql.org/";>PostgreSQL</A>, and others being
+ prepared.
</DD>
<DT><I>"Linux is hard to configure."</I></DT>
<DD>Note that this says configure, not install, as many people find the
--
James (Jay) Treacy
treacy@debian.org
Reply to: