How does Debian Compare Vs. Red Hat or Slackware or Ubuntu or another distro in your opinion ?

Thanks.

Vijay

compare how?
Thats a broad question.

Imo,they all work the same basically...speedwise=similar....pakage handleing=debian rules
bundled packages=same or very similar among the top 10 distros
all function as they should unless its a fairly new distro in testing.

Yes, it is a broad question. SO everyone is welcome to compare those features that are essential to them in Debian and other Distros. One important aspect is that other Distro users say that Debian is slow with updates etc., This for me is a concern.
Also, I would appreciate some clarification in this regard.

Vijay

Debian's testing and unstable branches are not as conservative as it's stable release, woody. Of course, the slowness of updates is compensated for by being extremely stable. If you want something more bleeding-edge, compile it yourself, use the testing/unstable branches, or switch to Ubuntu

How does Ubuntu compare with Debian ? Also, why was Slackware selected as the most popular distro ? What makes it so popular ?
To me for waht it gives Debian seems great.

Vijay

Unbuntu is debian based...just different as far as what packages its packed with.Its primarly gnome based so dont expect kmail....although a simple apt-get will eliminate gnome and grab kde if need be.


Im not sure how unbuntu fares as far as install to HDD options,but let me break it down slightly;
knoppix=mixed stable,testing,unstable,and who knows what
mepis=im not sure but I believe sarge based maybe mixed
kanotix=100% unstable(sid) and works

kanotix...has options;
debian based install(recommended)
beginner-most hardware detection(i never got that one to work,im useing raid though)
kanotix install-basically this is the copy the live cd structure to hdd

kanotix just released 2005.4? and rocks...much better fonts and vid drivers and updates as well as Kano's scripts for fixing almost anything.

Knoppix...as much as I love it...just isnt the best for HDD install but an excellent live cd.
apt-get dist-upgrade with knoppix isnt the same anymore and breaks things

unbuntu....i cant comment on but im sure others will.I belong to a forum heavily liking unbuntu



slackware the most popular?
says who?
Oldest distro maybe.

As said above debians slow updates make for a very secure update...they are extremely thorough.
sid is by far as stable as woody...maybe not as secure but im not in a crucial server enviroment in an important corporation.Im home with an excellent firewall box doing my debian boxes work


Enlightenment...there are approximately(spelling) 128 distros out there based on Debian.....should say something huh?

lil bit of trivia...Debian's name came from the origionators names....husband and wife team Debbie and Ian(forgot last name)

Great detailed/helpful response thanks.

Vijay

How does Debian compare with other distros interms of packages repository ? Which distro has the best packges repository ?

Thanks.

Vijay

Both Debian and Ubuntu (especially Debian) have gigantic repositories that are easy to get at. Honestly, I challenge you to find any piece of software besides the most obscure that isn't in one of the debian repos.

Here is what is challenging:
Red Hat is a commercial company. Their manuals are huge like 300 pages long and in great detail. So I expect them to have the best software repository.
Need to check on it tho.

Vijay

Not always true... Granted, you can get manuals for any distro and that's a good thing. However, the distro that's strongest for you far outweighs any printed manual. I use and still use both Redhat and Debian based; each have their advantages.

I haven't studied computer science or anything that would make my trip into linux any easier or anything, this is how it goes:
I think that for some time I've been looking for something else rather than Windows, maybe I didn't know exactly what, but in the back of my head the possibility of tweaking and fiddling and DOING WHATEVER I WANTED inspired me...
It took me a long time, and after a long study I decided to start my linux trip with SuSE like four years ago. After that I got into Mandrake first 8.0, and then 10.0. After that I decided to get into something more, and I went into Debian. I can say that I'm fully satisfied. The truth is that I'm still learning and that every thing takes a time of learning and when you add up all the hours it's not minor, but I enjoy it. And that what it is!
The guys in charge are doing a great job! they are giving me a lot more than what I can expect, and when I'm into it I don't have the feeling that I'm into windows with a different name.
I don't know what woody is, but sarge is not hard to install and have working at all. So all I can say is try it! give it a try and your expectations will be more than satisfied! If you need help you will have tons of great documentations and people would help you over IRC. And it's also the principles that lay beneith the Debian comunity that makes you feel good about it.
But one thing is true, it doesn't matter if I think Debian is great, what matters is what you think, just try it, downloading sarge is really easy and fast, you hardly need doing any configuration, and you get great manuals! take it for a spin and see if it's right for you!

Sarge is testing, woody is stable

Ian Murdock

slackware is the most popular on this forum because there aren't really that many other forums for slackware. where many other distros have their own official forums. it doesn't mean slackware is more popular. just that the forum is more populated by slackware users. like me..