[clue-tech] Debian musings [was installfest]

[Collins Richey]

Extracted from another thread
From: David L. Anselmi <anselmi at anselmi.us>

[...]
>> From a Kubuntu (Dapper 6.06) viewpoint, Etch is just a little
>> downlevel for the packages I am accustomed to (KDE, Postgres, etc.).

> That's interesting.  I don't see a package list for flight 7, but beta 2
> has the same KDE (3.5.2) that I'm running from Etch.  Of course flight
> 7 is really more like Sid (unstable) and Dapper will start to age relative
> to testing as soon as it releases.

Yep, you're right about KDE, but I'm running Postgres 8.something on
Dapper. I haven't brought the Etch distro up to the same level package
wise, so it's hard to say. It could well be that most of what I'm
seeing on Dapper is in essence Debian unstable.

> They say "With a predictable release cycle [...] Kubuntu is the
> GNU/Linux distribution for everyone".  Not for me though.  I prefer no
> release cycle at all.

I would say Kubuntu is the Linux distribution for everyone since I'm
not too fond of that particular Debianism. OTOH, I agree with you. No
release cycle at all was  one of the things I liked about Gentoo. The
only question is: can a binary distro really avoid disruptive
upgrades? What happens when (it's when not if) glibc and gcc screw up
everything in sight? Or when Gnome and KDE change the rules for all of
their existing apps?

> (Yeah, you'll probably get tired of me saying  that before I get enough
> experience to make a comprehensive case.  But I think that Free
> Software makes it possible to avoid disruptive upgrades and that will be
> the new paradigm in system administration.  Prophet or fool?  Place your
> bets now and tune in at 10.)

Cerainly not a fool, but the jury is still out on that one.

One question: has Debian Testing allowed continuous upgrades through
the glib/gcc and 2.4/2.6 and Xfree/xorg disruptive cycles? I got
rather mixed results dist-upgrading from Ubuntu Breezy to Dapper, so
that's my only comparison, even if that's really Debian Unstable. I
found major breakage in xorg (got that fixed in a few days) and one
irritating problem with locales that disappeared after I reinstalled
from Flight 5.

I'll keep pestering you with questions as I progress with Debian Etch.

One other question: is Etch the same as Testing? I see both in various
discussions, and I'm never sure whether the two terms are the same.

-- 
Collins Richey
     If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries
     of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for.