Debian User Forums

Debian is the most stable operating system I've used thus far, and I've tried lots of distros over the years. Freebsd is the only other operating system I use in my day-to-day life.

I am not really sure why I started using Debian.

I was a lifelong Windows user and after much suffering I decided 'enough!'. I switched to Linux Mint and started to learn all I could about Linux. I got a Raspberry Pi4 for myself late last year but I did not at all like the Raspbian OS that came with it, so I started to search for other options. I ended up going with Manjaro i3 and have been very happy with that choice. The Pi makes it easy to run other operating systems, and I tried a few others, but Manjaro was tough to beat.

As a challenge, I wanted to try a more advanced distro, and came to Debian. After install, I had a working CLI and internet, but that was all. I slowly learned and gradually built up my Debian system to a full working XFCE DE. Full disclosure, there were a couple of Noob screw ups that set me back, but in the end I got a working system.

I did not do a perfect job. I borked my wifi somehow and cannot get it back, and I cannot get my dual displays to work at all. These setbacks are a little disappointing, but are a result of my failings, not Debian's! Notwithstanding, ethernet works great and one display is enough!! I feel a great sense of accomplishment every time I log in to Debian, and know that I built this up from scratch. It is still a work in progress, but it does what I need it to do.

So I log into Manjaro and have my lovely extended dual displays and wifi as well as all the latest iterations of software. Yet, I keep coming back to this Debian install. There is something about opening Xterm, neofetch running and seeing that soothing, happy Debian swirl rendered. It means stability, it means freedom, it means I accomplished something by getting here.

Manjaro worked 'out of the box', I had to make Debian work. It took work, effort, RTFM and more RTFM!! Also RTFF (Read The F***ing Forum). This platform here was very helpful to me and I learned much just reading threads here. Let's be honest: sometimes the Man pages are dull, esoteric, and unhelpful. I want to thank all the experts on here who helped me without even knowing it.

This Forum is NOT the touchy - feely Manjaro or Ubuntu Forums. While there is a collegial feel of community here among the experts (well, mostly anyway ), I would not be comfortable posting questions here yet as a neophyte. I have read lots of rather supercilious rhetoric aimed at dumb noobs like me. (OK, some of it was extremely entertaining... ). Still, this forum is a goldmine of information and expertise about Debian and Linux, and I am grateful to all the experts who make it so; even the ones who are maybe not so nice! I will not post much here, so forgive this post for being rather prolix, but I wanted to write a note of appreciation to Debian and to this community.

Noobs - do some homework (RTFM, RTFF, Google)
Experts - show some patience and humility (all were noobs at one time).

Finally to answer the question: I use Debian because it makes me happy!! Yeah, that!

CrackedShell wrote:This Forum is NOT the touchy - feely Manjaro or Ubuntu Forums.

People here are usually nice if you have done your homework and made an effort to solve your own problems. This forum is also more honest than the fake courtesy and fake "community spirit" you'll find other places.

Hallvor wrote:

CrackedShell wrote:This Forum is NOT the touchy - feely Manjaro or Ubuntu Forums.

People here are usually nice if you have done your homework and made an effort to solve your own problems. This forum is also more honest than the fake courtesy and fake "community spirit" you'll find other places.

Agreed!! I do appreciate that, even if it can be little intimidating...

I will say that it makes for much more entertaining reading than many other forums!!

Hi all
This will be my first post in this forum and my English is not the best and my irritating dyslexia isn't directly to my favor either. Hahaha
I ran into this thread when I was looking for information on an effective firewall.

Why Debian .. It's unfortunately not completely voluntary..... I escaped from windows when win7 reached EOL2020 and win10spyware is not an option and replace all my computers to Apple is way-way to expensive.. I have to many of them
After around 30 years with windows and Microsoft ms-dos since 1987, Linux it is not an completely painless experience.
First I tested all flavors of ubuntu, but it just felt wrong in some mysterious way that can't put my finger on. Then I switched to Mint18.3 which worked fine with win/linux network and all, but when I had to switch to Mint19 some things stopped working, so I switched to LMDE3 Which worked well and was super stable.. just a BIG downside with LMDE... it had a short life before EOL

So Debian seems to be the only distribution which is a LTS version with a little longer life before EOL.. which I am used to from Windows, I really hate to install and tweak computers from core more than once during a computers lifetime. (after installations, setups, tweaks and configurations, I create a recovery partition and a imagebackup of each computer to my server to avoid doing new core installation on each computer ever again.. just a 15min recovery and some security updates and the computer is fit for fight again.)
There is one downside with Debian and that is it's lack of user-friendliness. After 30 years with windows, used to GUI's since the mid/late 90s is the gui-lackiness the only disadvantage i have notised.. otherwise Debian seems to be a good, stable, reliable and promising distro to have on my work-machines.
I have now used Debian in almost 2weeks and I have not managed to configure the 1st computer completely yet.. and I have 6 more computers standing in line. But I'm working on it and I have notice that my microsofts/windows knowledge is my nemesis. I am used to spending a maximum of 3-4 hours/computer on the first install to finished computer with a recovery partition.. I am used to GUI's since the 90s, so Linux feels like a time travel 25 years back in time to ms-dos and win 3.1 And a big downside.. the terminal doesn't have spellcheck for dyslexics hahaha

But it will be fun to learn Debian and to see how Debian develops over time and attracts more and more users, so Debian can compete on the market against wincrap and apple.

I wish you all a nice day and take care of you and your loved ones in these covid times
//Marie

Marie SWE wrote:So Debian seems to be the only distribution which is a LTS version with a little longer life before EOL.. which I am used to from Windows, I really hate to install and tweak computers from core more than once during a computers lifetime...snip...and a imagebackup of each computer...snip...spending a maximum of 3-4 hours/computer on the first install
//Marie

Something that really doesn't follow from windows ways is the idea that each computer is somehow a unique install. With windows everyone thinks that is the case, we were brainwashed by product id's. With linux the system is more fungible. A Debian system can easily graduate to a new system, and ultimately, it is the OS that should outlive the hardware, not vice versa.

So you might want to polish this first computer to your liking, then simply image it and run it it in each of those other 6 computers... in whatever way it can be done...that is more than one way...you don't have to be concerned with 'uniqueness' until you get them talking to each other.

Enjoy.
oh, and the cli is a necessary evil, implying no - we're still not done.

CwF wrote:

Marie SWE wrote:So Debian seems to be the only distribution which is a LTS version with a little longer life before EOL.. which I am used to from Windows, I really hate to install and tweak computers from core more than once during a computers lifetime...snip...and a imagebackup of each computer...snip...spending a maximum of 3-4 hours/computer on the first install
//Marie

Something that really doesn't follow from windows ways is the idea that each computer is somehow a unique install. With windows everyone thinks that is the case, we were brainwashed by product id's. With linux the system is more fungible. A Debian system can easily graduate to a new system, and ultimately, it is the OS that should outlive the hardware, not vice versa.

So you might want to polish this first computer to your liking, then simply image it and run it it in each of those other 6 computers... in whatever way it can be done...that is more than one way...you don't have to be concerned with 'uniqueness' until you get them talking to each other.

Enjoy.
oh, and the cli is a necessary evil, implying no - we're still not done.

Hi and thanks for your reply
Yes and no
Yes I know that it is possible to clone and run a linux install on a totally different hardware. I discovered that by mistake a year ago when I swapped a HDD on a laptop.
and No part... my computers have different tasks and therefore different software installed. I see no reason to have freeoffice, gimp, Krita or an email client on a computer that's not use those programs. Some of them have different resolutions, one or up to three monitors, different settings for mouse sensitivity, shared folders and partitions different networkdrives from my server and so on. So tweaks and software is different on them.
Just a basic Debian install without tweaks or customizations, that is only 10min work. so it's no need to clone that part... it is the other part that is the pain in the butt part. hahaha.
But yes I can clone two of my laptops that is almost mirrored of two of my desktops for portable work.. then only tweak [Fn]keys and mouspad settings and resolutions and shared resources.
My so far two first weeks with one of my desktops I see as the learning curve.. Setup Debian network win/linux took 1½days, now I can do it in 15-20mins... so some progress. (the same networksetup takes only 3-5mins in windows)

I've moved over due to Apple's increasing mobile focus for MacOS - that, and the deprecation of the entire 32bit software world I didn't find endearing. High Sierra just went out of LTS, and my plan was always to move over to Debian. Treated myself to a new SSD for the mac as I did it, so loads of storage to play around with interesting packages !