On 20 Jan 2013, berenger.morel@neutralite.org wrote:
[snip]
If you uncheck them all, as I usually do, you start with a system
with almost nothing. Even "less" is not present in such an
installation :D
I keep a list of all the packages I normally use and then get the same
ones when I install on a new computer. (Obviously this doesn't work for
your very first install.)
[snip]
For a normal usage, testing is better, even if the project claims it
is not for production environment. More recent kernels and drivers
which means more supported hardware, and updated web browsers are
some obvious interesting points here. They are simply the most
obvious.
[snip]
I'd say you are generally better off using Sid. The name "Unstable"
unfortunately gives the impression that it is unsafe, but this is
misleading. A quick search for "debian unstable vs testing" will produce
plenty of discussion, mostly favouring Sid. See for example
http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-faq/ch-choosing.en.html and
http://raphaelhertzog.com/2010/12/20/5-reasons-why-debian-unstable-does-not-deserve-its-name/
Quotes from the second of these:
"High impact security vulnerabilities will usually be quickly fixed in
Stable and Unstable. The stable upload is done by the security team
while the unstable one is made by the maintainer. Testing will usually
get the fix through the package uploaded to Unstable, so testing users
get security updates with a delay."
"For less serious vulnerabilities, it’s entirely possible that stable
does not get any update at all. In that case, unstable/testing users are
better served since they will get the fix with the next upstream version
anyway."
I've been using Sid on all my computers for many years, except for one
which I use for lectures and cannot risk falling over just before it's
needed. It's been a long time since I encountered a show-stopper after
an upgrade.
"In most cases, you can save yourself by downgrading to the version
available in Testing. Or by finding a work-around in the bug tracking
system. Or by not upgrading because you have apt-listbugs installed and
you have been warned about the problem."
This is what I do too.
AC