[Nottingham] Debian devotion [was: OE Reply Fixer]

[.waffle]

Two words for you, well one if you count hyphens and word-joiners. APT-GET.
Advanced Package Tool. The greatest tool since the invention of duct tape.
Yes, that's right, this is practically the only reason I love it. Imagine
wanting a program - like the latest xfree86. Uh oh, you don't have a copy
installed, so what do you do? You download it, compile it, install it, test
it, configure it, test it, curse, swear, rant, run. But what if it didn't
have to be this way? What if I could just type ONE command and it be set up
properly? That's where apt-get comes in.

I type "apt-get install xfree86" and it gets installed, no questions asked.
The latest secure version. Now. With all dependencies. It's great! Sure, you
still have to specify the graphics card and all for xfree86 using xf86config
or whatever, but the point is - you didn't have to locate where xfree86 is
stored, you didn't have to download it, or extract it, or compile if
necessary, or even worry about where to install. It's done, no worries.

Sure, Debian has many other redeeming features, but this is surely the
greatest? Oh, and yeah, it's free, and maintained by geeks, not corporate
types.

.waffle

James Gibbon <james.gibbon@virgin.net> wrote:
|
| So I'd be interested to hear why Debian devotees are so fond of it
| - is it the pure no-profit motive or something inherent to the
| actual product?  If it's the latter, what does it give you that
| you can't get from Mandrake, RH or Suse (say)?
|