Re: Debian vs. SuSE 8.1
geno said:
> A 7-disk set of Debian costs approximately one-third the $50. price of
> the comparable low-documents SuSE package.
> Other than price, what is the attraction of Debian over Red Hat, SuSE or
> Mandrake?
1. Political points about being truly free may not matter that much but
for many it is one of Debian's attractions that we a volunteer community.
No take-overs, no clubs to avoid bankruptcy, no messy upgrades that force
you to buy new disks every year. Debian is permanent - it will always be
there and that';s nice to know when you choose a distro.
2. Related to this is that if you install Debian and have a decent
connection, the software is always up to date. apt-get update && apt-get
upgrade is all it takes. I run it once a month.
3. As that ease of management makes clear, Debian is a quality effort.
IMO, the volunteer spirit helps here. If you do something as a volunteer
and your goal is to help others, you won't waste time on creating complex
upgrade paths that force people to give your employer money. You will
want to produce something that is good and will last.
4. A final point also relates to the volunteer spirit - Debain development
is slow. Getting CDs in the shops for Xmas just doesn't matter. Having
software that meets the standard you set for yourself matters more. In
real terms, this means that bleeding edge stuff doesn't get into Debian
until Red Hat users have done a lot of the bleeding.
There's more but the most important is...
5. This list. Have a problem, post it and answers come in thick and fast
(well, more fast than thick). Who else has that level of free support?
Best of all, you get to share your experience and be part of the community
by helping.
Good lord, its ten past six - time to leave work!
--
Patrick
GSM: 07876 560 646
Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie" until you find a rock
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