Know your distro
Debian Wheezy A little Debian history If at first you don’t succeed, call it version 1.0.
jboydt :: csci 26 | debian Where does Debian come from?
● Project started in 1993 by Ian Murdock
● The name “Debian”? ○ Ian, whose wife is Debra -> “Deb” + “Ian” = “Debian”
● First major release ○ 1996, Debian “Buzz”
jboydt :: csci 26 | debian Pros and Cons of Debian I started Linux as a desktop operating system. And it's the only area where Linux hasn't completely taken over. That just annoys the hell out of me. - Linus Torvalds
jboydt :: csci 26 | debian Key features of Debian, pt 1
● Releases ○ stable, testing, unstable, backports
● Packages and package management ○ online repositories ○ dpkg and APT
● Support for many CPU architectures
jboydt :: csci 26 | debian Key features of Debian, pt 2
● Relatively easy to install
● Stability ○ mature, actively maintained, and reliable
● Security is a priority
jboydt :: csci 26 | debian What do I have to give up?
● Most commercial software ○ fortunately, the open source community creates many alternatives for most popular applications
● Easy configuration ○ installation, not such a big deal ○ configuration -- you need to know what you are doing
● Drivers for some proprietary hardware ○ sometimes, a piece of hardware (such as a wifi card) are not supported and there is very little you can do about it
jboydt :: csci 26 | debian Debian as a Linux (sub)Culture
jboydt :: csci 26 | debian Is Debian a culture?
● Debian Free Software Guidelines
● Debian Constitution ○ “The Debian Project is an association of individuals who have made common cause to create a free operating system.”
jboydt :: csci 26 | debian Let’s install Debian!
jboydt :: csci 26 | debian jboydt :: csci 26 | debian