Debian Linux Turns 25 (betanews.com) 111
BrianFagioli writes: Debian is one of the most important open source projects ever. The Debian Linux operating system is extremely popular in its own right, but also, it is used as the base for countless other distributions. Ubuntu, for instance -- one of the most-used distros -- is Debian-based. Even Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu, also has a Debian edition. Not to mention, Raspbian -- the official Raspberry Pi OS -- which is based on Debian too.
Today, Debian is celebrating a very important milestone -- a 25th birthday! Yes, it is seriously that old -- its development was announced on August 16, 1993. When the late Ian Murdock announced 25 years ago in comp.os.linux.development, the imminent completion of a brand-new Linux release, [...] the Debian Linux Release', nobody would have expected the 'Debian Linux Release' would become what's nowadays known as the Debian Project, one of the largest and most influential free software projects. "Its primary product is Debian, a free operating system (OS) for your computer, as well as for plenty of other systems which enhance your life. From the inner workings of your nearby airport to your car entertainment system, and from cloud servers hosting your favorite websites to the IoT devices that communicate with them, Debian can power it all," says Ana Guerrero Lopez of Debian. Further reading: Slackware, Oldest Actively Maintained GNU/Linux Distribution, Turns 25.
Today, Debian is celebrating a very important milestone -- a 25th birthday! Yes, it is seriously that old -- its development was announced on August 16, 1993. When the late Ian Murdock announced 25 years ago in comp.os.linux.development, the imminent completion of a brand-new Linux release, [...] the Debian Linux Release', nobody would have expected the 'Debian Linux Release' would become what's nowadays known as the Debian Project, one of the largest and most influential free software projects. "Its primary product is Debian, a free operating system (OS) for your computer, as well as for plenty of other systems which enhance your life. From the inner workings of your nearby airport to your car entertainment system, and from cloud servers hosting your favorite websites to the IoT devices that communicate with them, Debian can power it all," says Ana Guerrero Lopez of Debian. Further reading: Slackware, Oldest Actively Maintained GNU/Linux Distribution, Turns 25.
Thanks (Score:5, Insightful)
Debian is an amazing distribution. Thanks to everyone who has worked on it over the years.
RIP Ian.
Re: (Score:1)
And special thanks to Lennart Poettering for ruining it.
Thanks to all... (Score:3, Informative)
Thank you Ian, Deb, and the countless volunteers for the years of hard work. You've changed an industry.
Re: (Score:3)
Yes yes! Thank you thank you!
yeesh (Score:3)
Debian is a huge time saver. (Score:5, Interesting)
One of the things I _hate_ about computing is the need to constantly upgrade. Upgrade your OS from this version to that version. I just want the damn thing to work and I don't want to screw around with it. So many years ago when I found out Debian allows you to just upgrade the system in place from one release to another, I was ready to see how well it worked.
At home I have a couple different servers, a mix of Debian and CentOS. The Debian server is my file/print/Plex server, that I've been running for about 10 years now. It's gone through multiple installs of Debian. apt-get dist-upgrade has worked with only a couple minor flaws for 10 years now, and made it so I don't have to spend my afternoon every 2-3 years recreating a server. It just works!
So thanks Debian for making my life easier.
Re: (Score:2)
Ditto. I am still using oldstable, Jessie v8.
Hip, hip ... (Score:4, Interesting)
I am proud to say that Debian has been my distro of choice for 20 of those 25 years.
Happy, happy birthday, Debian! Here's to 25 more!
Re:Hip, hip ... (Score:5, Interesting)
Debian died for me when it went to SystemD. I dropped it like a box of rocks.
Re:Hip, hip ... (Score:4, Informative)
Devuan
Getting ready to switch to Devuan.. (Score:2)
I have been on Mint XFCE for many years now, and systemd has been poking me with a stick, trying to get me to leave.
I wanted to try out Devuan, so I fired up a kvm and installed it. I had a list of things that I have setup now that I wanted to make sure worked and I got them up and running in a relatively short amount of time. I would have to do these things if I reinstalled Mint anyway. (with the latest release, I don't get a good feeling that I can do it trouble-free as I have in the past) I hadn't p
Re: (Score:2)
Only two years less here, after a couple years in RPM hell. My first Debian install was Potato, and that install is still running today, continuously upgraded to buster and having been moved to a bigger disk four or five times, once needing a ddrescue. Some of those version upgrades were a lot less than smooth, needing fiddling with low level dpkg details, even including editing apt db files a couple times. Upgrading is a lot more robust these days.
Today, that server is still 32 bit, it was migrated to 64 b
Re: (Score:2)
I am proud to say that Debian has been my distro of choice for 20 of those 25 years.
Happy, happy birthday, Debian! Here's to 25 more!
Hear, hear!
I haven't been using Debian as long as you (only ~20 years), but I'm happy to say it's still my OS of choice... and the one I'm using to type this post.
Donation link. (Score:5, Interesting)
Debian is one of the good guys. In a world where more and more software scrapes your data and monetizes you out the rear, Linux distros like Debian are trying to hold the line of keeping YOU in control of your computing experience, rather than a huge multinational in control.
I'm sure someone will point out they are not perfect, and that is true, but compared to Windows, Android, iOS, and others, Debian does a damned fine job of keeping your computer, your computer.
I donate to them once a quarter, to try to tilt the balance away from user-hostile software, hyper-monetization, and corporate spyware everywhere.
Donatiions. [debian.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for the donations link!
RIP Ian Murdock (Score:5, Insightful)
And think you for all of your contributions.
Re: RIP Ian Murdock (Score:3)
Re: (Score:1)
I believe he was abused and persecuted by the police. I also believe he killed himself.
Apt and the App store. (Score:2)
I have always found it interesting the hatrid towards other OS's App stores for Apple and Microsoft, While Apt is in essence is the same concept but is warmly loved.
A location where you can get trusted application, setup to easily install on your environment.
Re:Apt and the App store. (Score:4, Insightful)
I have always found it interesting the hatrid towards other OS's App stores for Apple and Microsoft, While Apt is in essence is the same concept but is warmly loved.
People love apt-get and hate the app store because apt-get does not attempt to lock you into anything. There is no 30% cut of anything being skimmed off by middlemen. There is no iOS-like "put the user in a jail cell and tell them what's acceptable to run".
It's the difference between a tool that preserves your freedom while making your life easier, and a tool that tries to lock you into an ecosystem and control your behavior for the benefit of your corporate overlords.
Re: (Score:3)
Well no not really. The counter argument is based on only one app store iOS. There is one for Mac, that you are not so locked in. And Microsofts and Google has one as well which isn't as stringent as iOS is.
Most apt repositories are for Open Source software so they are not charging for it. If you are going to be charging for your software, why shouldn't the store take a cut of your profits? They are putting your software in a place for millions of people can see, they are handling a bunch of billing fea
Re:Apt and the App store. (Score:4, Interesting)
People love apt-get and hate the app store because apt-get does not attempt to lock you into anything. There is no 30% cut of anything being skimmed off by middlemen.
Well 30% of $0 doesn't work out to much, Debian doesn't want paid apps in their repository. Meanwhile "people" leave $60 billion dollars in Apple and Google's app store. I like open source, but if you want/need some kind of COTS software open source doesn't like you. Not even Steam managed to turn that ship around, Linux is 0.5% of their market and dropping. It's a smashing success for cloud servers where you can just clone up a thousand instances without worrying about licensing but on the desktop it's still 1% hippies and tin foil hats. I'll be joining you once Win7 goes out of support, but sigh... it's not exactly with great love anymore.
Re: (Score:2)
Well 30% of $0 doesn't work out to much
Indeed it doesn't when you ignore the initial fee. 30% is just on the profits, it doesn't get you into the app store.
Re: (Score:2)
I like open source, but if you want/need some kind of COTS software open source doesn't like you.
I think you got that backwards... COTS doesn't like you if you use open source, especially if you tie yourself to MS and/or Apple.
Re: (Score:2)
Try to add an additional alternate to apple store or google play and have it treated on an equal footing with the mainline... in Debian it's as easy as adding some repo tags/keys.
That's one critical difference.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
There's nothing wrong with the concept of the app store. There's is a problem with rent-seeking, and exerting excessive control and censorship on your platform.
Apt does none of that, most critically because apt is not an app store. It's an open package manager which you can link to any repository you damn well please.
Likewise you don't see people complaining about F-Droid [f-droid.org] either.
Important milestone? (Score:3, Interesting)
An important milestone is something like definitively switching to systemd [in.waw.pl] and excluding any alternatives but 25 years is merely an arbitrary slice of time.
Re:Important milestone? (Score:5, Insightful)
An important milestone is something like definitively switching to systemd [in.waw.pl] and excluding any alternatives but 25 years is merely an arbitrary slice of time.
Holy smoke that's a scary graph.
If our issue open / closed list looked like that for that long, we'd be out on our ear and the client moved on to something / someone else!
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
It would look scary until you actually look at the bug reports, or are they pull requests, or are they silly opinions, or even general bitching. I don't even know anymore since the bug tracker on systemd is a cesspool or irrelevant garbage with a few serious bugs actually mixed in.
That's before you consider scope. On the front page of the bug tracker there are only two bugs related to systemd rather than optional extra software that has been only recently developed and won't hurt your system if you leave ou
Thank you, developers! (Score:2)
I stand and applaud for those who have contributed to Debian for 25 years. Thank you!
(from someone who first ran Consensys SVR4 Unix on a 386 before Linux arrived))
Re: (Score:2)
I ran Coherent on a 286
(with a 6 -> 10 MHz Turbo button. That got it up to 1 MIPS)
And then... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: And then... (Score:2, Informative)
Indeed, long live devuan, rip debian.
Re:And then... (Score:4, Informative)
And then systemd arrived.
And then Debian was forked to make Devuan [devuan.org].
Re: (Score:1, Insightful)
Just face it, we're stuck with systemd for the foreseeable future. People who whinge about systemd and saying they're going to stop using Linux or whatever, clearly do not deal with Linux systems on a professional basis. As a professional, you're likely going to get stuck with systemd whether you like it or not. Best to just learn how to deal with it, even if it is a flaming pile of poo.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
It's not about rolling over on it, it is facing reality. If you've got to deal with RHEL/CentOS 7 servers, you're stuck with it. What are you going to do, go and install sysvinit on your production servers? No, you're just going to deal. Same with Ubuntu and Debian systems. I'm a sysadmin, it's my job to understand how to configure and operate these systems. In this case, it means learning and understanding systemd.
Don't get me wrong, I think systemd is a solution looking for a problem. I run Devuan
Re: (Score:1)
An untested pile of garbage pushed by a company whose primary business model is selling Linux support. Hmmm.....
Re:And then... (Score:4, Insightful)
I do hate this defetist attitude. You use Debian without systemd [debian.org] (I do). You can turn to Devuan [devuan.org] Or Slackware [slackware.com]. In any case, if you characterize yourself as "professional", contribute to one of those options if you want to keep systemd-free Linux distros viable, instead of whining.
That's how it works around here.
Re:And then... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:And then... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Debian died the moment they picked up systemd.
Yeah look how dead it isn't.
Re:And then... Hm.. not my take... (Score:2)
I've been using Linux user for 20 years now, from RedHat (5.2) / Mandrake / *buntus / Mint. I have been looking at systemd-free options for a while now, and seriously considered FreeBSD. I read lots of blog posts, pros/cons, and I even read the FreeBSD Handbook! I get that it can be very stable and can meet nearly all my needs, but it just can't meet them all. I am not a hardcore gamer, but I've bought quite a few Humble Bundles over the years and have enjoyed many of the games. I have an Nvidia video
Re: (Score:2)
Re: And then... (Score:1)
And despite all the hate It gets I only had good experiences with SystemD.
Debian can power it all (Score:1)
> From the inner workings of your nearby airport to your car entertainment system, and from cloud servers hosting your favorite websites to the IoT devices that communicate with them, Debian can power it all
That is, Debian can capture everything except for the home computer market. And that's sad.
With more and more people claiming that what OS you're running is irrelevant nowadays, you'd think it would've made some headway.
Re: (Score:1)
With more and more people claiming that what OS you're running is irrelevant nowadays, you'd think it would've made some headway.
Knowing that Windows comes pre installed and most people lack the desire and/or ability to fuck with their PC because "It's already working",
I would not expect Linux to make any headway on the desktop now, or at any point in the future unless it comes pre installed.
The only consumer platform where Linux is dominant right now is on phones, because it came pre installed with Android.
Typing this on Linux Mint because I replaced Windows the day I got this laptop.
If a majority of "average" PC users were to do th
Debian is better than... (Score:2)
Once upon a time my wife hated it when I downloaded five floppies worth of Debian over a 28.8kbps dialup using the only telephone line we had.
22 years later, Debian is still here but that wife is not. :-)
Re: (Score:2)
The "Deb" of Debbie and Ian is long gone too.
Re: (Score:2)
I actually missed that... so he got drunk, broke into a place, and then assaulted the police officer? then after being jailed got all pissy he was being "abused" and hung himself?
Re: (Score:3)
I'd expect that history books about computing would more than passingly mention the internet, where Linux and BSD have always run the majority of servers.
My first ever distro (Score:2)
Update jokes (Score:2)
The "Year of the Linux Desktop" was 1994 (Score:2)
I've been using Linux exclusively on all of my own computers since 1994. I've never owned any computer that ran a Microsoft or Apple OS as it's primary OS. Ever. I went from TRS-80/Commodore/Atari to DOS-based IBM PC, to OS/2 Warp in the '92/'93 time-frame, then Linux in '93/'94 and never looked back. The Year of the Linux Desktop came a long time ago.
Re:Lixux, son of Unix (Score:5, Funny)
And on Nov. 3, UNIX will turn 47.
Yes... and on Jan 19th, 2038, it turns -68!