Debian is a GNU/Linux operating system. It probably has the longest release cycle of any distro, but counts rock-solid stability as a key feature.
Origin - Home Page: USA - Debian
Desktop: Gnome desktop
Price: Free and Open Source
Comments: With Debian, you have the choice of a menu-based installer (the default) or a GUI installer. The GUI installer is much better (especially for noobs), and we think that the Debian team should make it the default. To use the GUI installer, type guiinstaller or expertgui at the boot prompt.
LVM is supported, but it is not the default partitioning scheme. There is the additional option to configure encrypted LVM. Of all the (Linux) distros that support LVM partitioning, Debian is the only distro that can generate a “server-style” LVM partitioning scheme, that is, having separate /home, /var, /tmp, and /usr logical volumes. With distros like Fedora and openSUSE, you will have to manually create those logical volumes if that is what you want.
Debian comes with a full office suite - OpenOffice.org, and the full range of multimedia, Internet, and desktop utilities that you expect in a modern (desktop) operating system. Epiphany and Iceweasel (rebranded Firefox) are the two options for a browser, with Epiphany as the default. Out of the box, both browsers can handle quicktime files, but not flash. Iceweasel, however, makes it easy to automatically install the flash plugin.
Sound Juicer is the default audio player, but it does not have the audio playback features of Rhythmbox, which is also installed. Because libdvdcss is not installed, Totem, the movie player, is unable to play commercial (encrypted) DVD videos. However, adding the VideoLan or Multimedia repository to /etc/apt/sources.list will take care of that minor problem.
This distro does not ship with an integrated firewall. It also does not have a GUI tool with which - if you configured LVM - to manipulate logical volumes and perform other LVM-related tasks. Fedora and openSUSE are the only distros that have this feature.
Download/Buy:: DVD/CD iso images are available for a range of architectures, including x86, ia64, AMD64, PowerPPC, SPARC, etc. Unlike most other Linux distros, Debian provides - for each supported architecture - just one iso image with which you can install a desktop, server (DNS, Mail, Print, and Web), or laptop-optimized operating system. The iso images are available for download from a download mirror nearest to you.
You may also buy a PC with Debian pre-installed from any of the vendors in this list.
Tutorials/Tips: A collection of Debian docs and general help links are available at the Debian support page.
