Debian "Pure Blends" Concept

[ziggybopbopdoo]

but with pure Debian solutions (or solutions that could ultimately get rolled into Debian)?

Maybe Tanglu meets your requirements for something pure or maybe Point linux, Progress linux, and GRML. I think all of those projects are run by debian devs or at least have debian devs participating. I know GRML even has packages/tools in the official debian main repo.

Of course nothing stops any solution from any distro getting rolled into debian.

[OmegaSW]

I think one of the underlying assumptions I'm making that may not be universally accepted is: "Are more users better?" Is it to the benefit of Debian to grow its user/install base? I suppose this is debatable, though my personal position is that new users, even less experienced ones, is a good thing. From an ideological perspective, more Debian installed on more machines for more users is a net positive thing for the world and those users. From a more pragmatic project-oriented perspective, a growing user base attracts the attention of the best and brightest developers, which will keep the Debian Project vibrant. Perhaps this is arguable in the FOSS world though; while certainly true in the proprietary world where the goal is to make money selling apps on hot new platform XYZ (Windows, iOS, Android...), perhaps user base alone is not as relevant for attracting developers as opposed to, say, ideological and altruistic fulfillment of dedicating your time and code to a project like Debian.

I believe welcoming new users into Debian is a net positive thing, and a "pure blend" that makes a few superficial tweaks to open Debian to the less technically-inclined could be useful.

More users in the term of Debian not necessarily, but more Linux users in general means better support from hardware and software vendors.

Here's a case scenario:
Developers won't make Linux port of games if the user base isn't there.
You may not play games, but this user base still benefits you since this could be the only reason your wifi vendor provides drivers for you.

[Alad]

Debian Stable for the desktop has lots of rough edges yes, and it can be a tight rope to walk. But when you see it isn't affected by all the unexplicable crashes and other issues hard to diagnose in Ubuntu&Co, you know what to give your poor user.

Following an anecdote here, if your friend is on the other side of the globe, why don't you learn how to make a "pure blend" yourself, with everything preconfigured to his use?

[Norwegiancod]

More users in the term of Debian not necessarily, but more Linux users in general means better support from hardware and software vendors.

Here's a case scenario:
Developers won't make Linux port of games if the user base isn't there.
You may not play games, but this user base still benefits you since this could be the only reason your wifi vendor provides drivers for you.

I think this is reasonable; more Linux users in general is good for hardware support in particular. I would argue that Debian-specific user base would be double plus good, especially for software package support. I think Debian (and Linux in general) will certainly benefit from the better driver support that SteamOS will push for. That said, Ubuntu got the first Linux-native Steam app by virtue of its user base, so having those users does have benefits.

Following an anecdote here, if your friend is on the other side of the globe, why don't you learn how to make a "pure blend" yourself, with everything preconfigured to his use?

I think that would be an interesting project, but I'm honestly not sure where to start

[Felix Carbury]

one stumbling block that steers interested users away from Debian and towards other choices is the perception of at least some level of user-unfriendliness.

Yes, that is so obviously true. For example, having to edit the /etc/apt/sources.list by hand to get updates, having to install the time daemon to get the correct time, and the whole check list. It is the price we have to pay for freedom and knowledge.

So then, do you want to be told what to do? Do you want everything done for you? I think it is a fact of life that Debian and Fedora Linux will never be suitable for your grandma. Just the way it is. Might as well learn to live with it.

[Randicus]

having to install the time daemon to get the correct time

I have never had to do such a thing on any system, including Debian.

[dotlj]

I've tried a few other distros every so often, to see what the alternatives are like. I've never got past the installation on any of them, although I have only tried the top ten or twelve.

The main problems for me are the latest seem to want to do everything and give no options; useless for people who want to be able to do disk partitioning, use LVM and cryptsetup in the installation.
By comparison, I've set up Windows 8 and 8.1 on friends computers and that takes longer than setting up Debian. I lost count of how many times it rebooted.

Debian stable works. You want stability, security, reliability and something that works, get Debian. Install it and enjoy it.
I think that many of the derivatives are probably due to desire to personalise more than improve. Of course, with it's popularity and the number of users,there are going to be many varying thoughts about which way to progress.

And for those who don't feel comfortable with Debian, there are hundreds of other distros; probably enough to suit everyone. If not, then you can join the growing number rolling their own.

[alderaan]

I think the OP (Norwegiancod) has some thoughts in the right direction but on the other hand arguments have been posted above showing alternative ways to explain the situation in which we find ourselves: mainly Mor's post (from page 2) with wich I totally agree as well as some posts by kedaha.

This post is just to say that the Debian-Desktop blend (mentioned already once or twice in this thread) is not 100% dead! The mailing list (https://lists.debian.org/debian-desktop/) has a few mails per month and I think that they are in the direction the OP would want them to be.