Re: Debian stable - updates
On Friday, June 25, 2021 7:19:34 AM CDT Christian wrote:
> Hi altogether,
>
> as I´m a newcomer to Debian and coming from Lubuntu I searched for
> information as far as the release model is concerned.
>
> I learned that there are three different releases: stable, testing, and
> unstable.
>
> I know I´m not supposed to post any links here but for the sake of
> reference I´ll still do it this time (sorry).
> I´m referring to the article "Debian vs Ubuntu" on
> https://linuxconfig.org/debian-vs-ubuntu .
>
> I quote:
>
> "Debian's stable release is insanely stable. There are few distributions
> in the same league when it comes to rock solid reliability.
>
> [...] There is a tradeoff, though. The software in Debian Stable is
> usually fairly outdated.
> In fact, it's usually outdated when the distribution first ships. Now,
> that's not much of a problem for servers, but it's awful for desktops. "
>
> Despite reading through the entire article I couldn´t really understand
> why the author refers to Debian stable as being "awful" for desktops.
>
> So I have a question in order to be clear about the matter.
>
> Is Debian stable safe to use - I mean in the sense that it gets security
> updates for the installed packages?
>
> I don´t really care about updates which would introduce new features of
> programmes. All I´m concerned about is getting security updates so that
> I can use Debian stable as my daily driver.
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
> Many greetings
> Rosika
Hi, Rosika! Welcome to the community. I hope you will enjoy your time here.
Yes, Debian Stable is very stable. It is not perfect, but then no OS is. The
best endorsement that I can give any Linux distribution is that it is stable
and well maintained. Debian is certainly that.
Debian Stable gets regular updates from the Debian Security Team, a group that
does not nearly get the credit it deserves. You can use Debian Stable with a
reasonable assurance that you will receive patches as needed.
If you need newer versions of software for some reason or another, you can
always use Debian Backports. You can also use Snap, Flatpak, and AppImage
archives. Please be aware that Debian does not patch third party packaging. So
use them at your own risk. If you have skills as a coder, you can create your
own packages from any of the Debian source trees.
So the arguments against Debian being outdated are pretty much moot and
misinformed, in my opinion.
Take care, and once again, welcome!
T.J.
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