jonathan carter

Why I love Debian

// August 9th, 2011 // 10 Comments » // Free Software

Now and again, someone asks me “Why do you use Debian?” or “What’s so great about it? Why don’t you use (insert any other Linux distribution here)? I never quite know what to say. I’ve gotten so wrapped up in why Debian is great that it has become hard to imagine how someone else couldn’t see what I admire in it.

So.. what IS so great about it?

It’s great for similar reasons as Wikipedia. Wikipedia builds this huge collection of free articles, pictures and videos and assimilate it by making sure the content is free, that statements are properly backed, that there are proper links between articles and probably a few dozen really big things I haven’t even  ever thought about.

Great community. Debian has some parallels to Wikipedia. It’s almost like a Wikipedia but for software instead of articles. It assimilates free software and makes it easy to use on a very wide variety of systems. It does so better than any other system that exists (at least IMHO, I list just some of the reasons for saying that below). Packagers are like editors on Wikipedia. They integrate all kinds of free software into the system, making sure it meets the project’s quality standards and that the licensing is sound.

Operating system support. You can run Debian with a Linux, FreeBSD or GNU/Hurd kernel. FreeBSD and GNU/Hurd is admittedly not as rounded as Linux in all situations, but just the fact that you have a choice of operating system kernel and that the project supports 3 of the most well known ones is amazing. I can’t even think of one other system that actively works on supported different kernels.

Desktop support. Some systems focus on Gnome, KDE or in the case of Ubuntu, Unity. Debian supports a really wide variety of desktop environments. Gnome, KDE, Xfce, LXDE, Fluxbox and more are all fully supported and in the main archive.

Architectures. It runs on a really amazingly wide range of hardware. It runs officially on i386, amd64, armel, sparc, powerpc, ia64, mips, mipsel, and IBM/s390, but you can also run it unsupported on alpha, armhf, avr32, hppa, m68k, powerpcspe, sh4 and sparc64 architectures. Debian scales from some of the tiniest computers that can run an operating system to the world’s most powerful super computers.

The Debian Social contract. Many distributions exist to make profit. There’s nothing wrong with that and I fully support that people use free software to make a living (I’d be a hypocrite if I said otherwise). Unfortunately, many distributions also base their choices on their profit motives. Decisions are often made based on “What’s going to make us profit right now” as apposed to “What will be best for our users now and in the long term?” (I’ll stay away from specific examples for now because this blog post is about Debian and not Oracle, Novell and similar companies). Debian exists for its users. It’s mission is defined in the Debian Social Contract. Decisions are made based on what’s best for the user and not to maximize benefits of the project sponsors.

If I don’t stop here I’ll go on all night. And I haven’t even started talking about how great APT is yet or that Debian has pretty much the largest collection of high quality packages available. Or how reliable upgrades are. But this blog entry isn’t about convincing people to use Debian, it’s about expressing why I like it so much and I’ve probably expressed that sufficiently already.

But.. But…

Oh yeah, I get some uphill from people for liking Debian, I can deal with it.

What about Ubuntu? There are some shortcomings in Debian that can’t really be fixed due to its public commitments, or at least, fixing them would break things in Debian. Apple has created a huge eco-system around the Apple App Store. It’s how people buy applications now on most Apple systems. It’s been so successful that Google has used the same concept on the Android Marketplace. Many other systems are doing it too, Ubuntu is promoting free software and non-free software alike in it’s Software Center. Ubuntu will be making it easier for people to buy and install non-free software. Some critics might say that Ubuntu is promoting non-free software that way, but it’s a good experiment and it’s great that it can happen without having to be part of the Debian project. There are more things that Ubuntu does that would be really difficult to get into Debian, but I don’t want to focus on that because Ubuntu is really a *great* Debian derivative. It has delivered Debian (in some form) to more users than Debian itself has by relentlessly working on making it as easy to install and maintain as possible. On top of that, Ubuntu does a great job of submitting their fixes and improvements back to upstreams and to Debian itself. I use Ubuntu on my home desktop and some servers and support it at clients on a daily basis. I think it’s a worthy project and it’s great that it exists. So why do I sometimes use Debian instead of Ubuntu? On servers, stable releases of Debian and Ubuntu LTS releases are quite close to each other. Debian provides more testing before releasing and only releases when the system is ready, where Ubuntu sticks to a committed release time. Ubuntu’s release cycle also has it’s own benefits, but recently I’ve come to prefer Debian Squeeze on my own machines (I don’t even have to use Plymouth!) and I know many people feel differently about it and that’s fine. On my laptop I’m a bit more risky.. I want new, cutting edge, I don’t mind if there’s some problems now and again and I’m happy to fix it when it does pop up. I run Debian Unstable on my laptop with packages from Experimental. It works great for me. I’ve been running it again (used to do it before Ubuntu started) since late last year and besides a transition to /run that caused dbus to break and gdm not to start for one evening, I haven’t any problems worth mentioning. On development versions of Ubuntu the ride is typically much more bumpy. That’s not a problem for most Ubuntu users since users usually stick with with stable releases, and Ubuntu releases often enough (way more than Debian) so that they could still have newest software on a regular basis. There are many views on Debian and Ubuntu, in my opinion Ubuntu is an important and relevant derivative and even though it’s goals are somewhat different, it compliments and promotes many of the Debian ideals.

It’s old!  Debian’s release cycle isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. I’ve mentioned some of the benefits of releasing when ready above. On top of that, Debian has also made its backports repository an official resource, which makes it easier to get newer software on stable releases. There are also micro-sites like mozilla.debian.net where users can get some specific backports for certain types of packages. I guess Debian could really benefit from  something similar to PPAs for this. Unfortunately Launchpad.net doesn’t support Debian builders (understandably so since waiting times on Ubuntu packages can already be quite high). The concept of another PPA implementation has been bought up on the Debian lists before and I have a lot to say about it, but that will be another blog entry. Also, Debian has something in between stable releases (which can get quite old on desktops) and unstable/experimental (where all the active development is taking place). When a package has been in unstable for a while and doesn’t do harm to your system, it’s promoted to an repository called ‘testing’. In testing you get a good combination of stability and new software. Admittedly you probably don’t want to deploy testing in large corporate environments since it’s officially unsupported, but for personal machines and for the typical hacker, it’s known to work great.

Choose 10 completely random numbers! 4. 4. 4. 4. 4. 4. 4. 4. 4. 4. (I never claimed that Debian is perfect)

In Summary

Debian has a large and vibrant community with a big eco-system around it. It has many derivatives, some of them extremely high-profile and special in their own right. The whole effort is spectacular and awesome- and it’s all from a completely distributed world-wide self-governed community project. Sure, it’s not perfect, but I can’t help to look at it and admire it as one of the wonders of the age of information.

And now I have something to point to when people ask me, “Why do you like Debian?” :)

Totally getting a GNUphone

// September 23rd, 2008 // 7 Comments » // Free Software, Humour

While some people are getting all excited about the Google Android-based phones, I’m going to opt for something way cooler:

The Free Software Foundation (NASDAQ: RMS) has announced the Free Software alternative to the evil, DRM-infested, locked-down, defective-by-design iPhone: the GNUPhone.

The key technical innovation of the GNUPhone is that it is completely operated from the command line. “What could be more intuitive than a bash prompt?” said seventeen-year-old Debian developer Hiram Nerdboy. “The ultimate one-dimensional desktop! Just type dial voice +1-555-1212 –ntwk verizon –prot cdma2000 –ssh-version 2 -a -l -q -9 -b -k -K 14 -x and away you go! Simple and obvious!”

The phone should be able to make actual phone calls by 2011 to 2012.

Microsoft signs another Linux distributor

// June 14th, 2007 // 7 Comments » // Free Software

For those who haven’t quite caught up, last year Microsoft signed a broad-collaboration deal with Novell that included a patent covenant. Since then, Xandros, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and now also Linspire, another Linux development and support company.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they target the cellular handset manufacturers as well. Both Nokia and Motorola have a lot invested in Linux as a platform, and they have existing agreements with Microsoft, so they would be easy targets.

Today, Aaron Toponce, and Richard Johnson (both Ubuntu members), urged Mark Shuttleworth (founder of Ubuntu), to make a public statement about where Ubuntu and Canonical stands with regards to Microsofts new partnerships.

In a recent interview, Mark was asked whether he would sign such an agreement, and his response was:

“No, absolutely not. But the time will come when the folks at Microsoft who have a clear vision for the company as a participant in this community, rather than as a hostile antagonist, will win. At that point I’d love to work with Microsoft. It’s not an evil empire. It’s just a company that is efficiently grounded in the 1980s. New leadership and new thinking might make it a more effective partner for us.”

By that, I understand that Mark has already stated that there won’t be a Microsoft-Ubuntu cross-patent deal. Mark has also previously expressed that he is against software patents. It does sound like he’s quite keen to be doing work with Microsoft though, and I don’t think that’s necassarily a bad thing, as long as Ubuntu doesn’t give Microsoft more FUD mud, I think I’ll be fine with that.

However, what IF Ubuntu would sign a patent covenant with Microsoft? Would I still advocate Ubuntu? I honestly can’t say. I certainly won’t like it, and I admit that I would also feel more comfortable if Canonical would make a statement on where they stand on this. I have lots of trust in the Ubuntu project though, and I’m very confident that the right choices will be made.

Novell invites local users to information session on Microsoft deal

// November 29th, 2006 // 2 Comments » // Free Software

Tonight I received this e-mail. It’s an invitation to a session explaining the Novell-Microsoft deal from Novell’s side. I’m thinking of going, I’ll try to take some pictures or even videos. Either way, I’ll report back on what they say…

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	FOSS Workshop - 7 December 2006
Date: 	Wed, 29 Nov 2006 16:29:45 +0200 (SAST)
From: 	Leigh Holt 
Reply-To: 	leigh.holt@citi.org.za
To:   Jonathan Carter 

Dear Jonathan

*FOSS Workshop (7 December 2006)*

The Novell Microsoft deal is causing ructions throughout the OSS
community. Is this going to encourage companies to move to Linux, as
Novell says, or is this a deal with the devil signifying the death of
small OSS companies everywhere? Well, ask Novell yourself.

Peter Hunter, Cape Regional Manager for Novell will deliver a
presentation that will cover the key aspects of the agreement reached
between Novell and Microsoft, as well as why Novell pursued such an
agreement with Microsoft, and the implications of this agreement for
customers and the open source community.

If you have any thoughts you would like to share about the latest move
in the OSS community, please be there and make yourself heard.  We will
also so be presenting our draft declaration for the FOSS Forum and would
appreciate feedback on that also.

Please feel free to share this invitation with anyone you feel would be
interested, but be aware that seating limited, so RSVP soon.

There will be a limited amount of time at the workshop for OSS companies
to present innovative, new product offerings. Should you have an OSS
product offering, please submit a short summary on the product and its
relevance to the OSS sector to leigh.holt@citi.org.za  and we will
select companies to present their products at the workshop.  If you have
registered yourself for the event, well done!  My apologies if you are
receiving this invitation for a second time.

*Programme*

/08h00-08h30/ - Registration

/08h30/ -          Welcoming address
Viola Manuel, Executive Director, CITI

/09h00/ -          Understanding the Collaboration Agreement between
Novell and Microsoft
Peter Hunter, Cape Regional Manager, Novell

/09h45- 10h15/ - Tea break

/10h15/ -          Company presentations

/11h15/* *-          The FOSS Forum
Viola Manuel, Executive Director, CITI

/11h30-12h00/ - Discussion on ways forward for the FOSS Forum in 2007

*Event Details:*

*Date:* Thursday, 7 December 2006
*Time:* 08h00 - 12h00
*Venue:* 44 Wale Street, Cape Town
*RSVP:* email leigh.holt@citi.org.za , 021-409-7000 by
no later than Tuesday, 5 December 2006

-------- End of Message --------

In other local news: University IT chief vows to dump Novell

OpenSUSE vs Ubuntu

// November 26th, 2006 // 6 Comments » // Free Software

I’ve been pondering whether I should say something about Mark’s reachout to the OpenSUSE community or not, but decided that it couldn’t do much harm to add my 2c.

I think Mark had the best intentions with that mail, I also think it was done in a bit of a rush. I don’t think the problem is much with what he did, but how he did it. I think that reaching out to other projects and building bridges are great, but the tone of the mail was a bit divisive, and dismissive of the OpenSUSE distribution, which is in my opinion a fantastic distribution (even though it’s been a while since I’ve used it). While I agree with Corey’s apology, and Matthew’s backing of it, I don’t feel a specific need from my side to apologise, but I will say that not everyone in the Ubuntu project feels the same way about OpenSUSE like Mark does. In fact, you will find that a large percentage of Ubuntu contributors are good at working in teams, and enjoys collaboration and working together with different projects.

Something good is coming out of this though. There seems to be a ever greater awareness of the proprietary drivers included in Ubuntu, and a greater awareness of Ubuntu’s reliance of proprietary tools such as Launchpad, and new proprietary software coming from Canonical, like the mysterious Landscape. Some are saying that now is a good time to put more pressure on Canonical to release more of their code under a free software license. I doubt they will budge though. I hope that Canonical will learn that “freeware != free software”. Just because Ubuntu is free of charge doesn’t mean that it’s free software.

At least there’s projects like Gnewsense that are working on cleaning up Ubuntu. Hopefully they will release a meta-package at some point that I can just install that will remove all the proprietary software from a standard Ubuntu installation, which I can use on my desktop systems that doesn’t need wi-fi drivers, proprietary display drivers, etc.

Some are suggesting that they’ll switch to Debian Etch. I haven’t used Debian since just before Warty was released, so I’m not sure how it stacks up to Ubuntu, but it certainly seems worth the try.

I think this post started off more diplomatic, and I do admit that I’ve edited it down a bit afterwards. I really feel that Canonical should review their free software policies, or follow the current philosophy and policies more closely. I don’t mean to be mean, I applaud the work and funding that Canonical has put into Ubuntu, but at the same time there’s a growing level of frustration among community members, and it’s early enough to fix this.

These are just my thoughts on this, it’s not authoritative and it’s open to correction.