Version 6 of Debian GNU/Linux, the popular open-source project that bills itself as “the universal operating system,” hit the Internet on ‘Superbowl Sunday’, packing a trove of updated applications and a pair of new editions to burnish its universal billing.
The distribution, which already stands out for its broad processor architecture support — spanning 12 architectures — branches out in version 6 with 32- and 64-bit editions based on the FreeBSD kernel. These new editions, while rough around the edges, open new opportunity for technology sharing among separate open-source operating systems and indicate that the project that gave birth to Ubuntu Linux continues to drive open source in new directions.
This latest release, which is also known by the Toy Story-inspired name “Squeeze,” will play well in server deployments that draw on open-source components, which the Debian project has a knack for packaging up for easy installation over one of the project’s repository mirror sites.
Debian 6.0 can also work well in a desktop role, particularly for users who wish to closely control the versions and configuration of the software on their machines. Debian is known, in its stable branch, for lagging behind the cutting edge in the versions of the software it ships, but once you become familiar with the distribution, it’s possible to mix in applications from the project’s testing, unstable and experimental branches to tune one’s environment.
GNU/Linux and most Unix-style operating systems, including those distributed under an open-source license, tend to be licensed incompatibly with each other, which has kept nifty, open-source software advances, such as Sun’s DTrace instrumentation framework and ZFS storage system, from making their way into Linux-based operating systems, even as these features have spread into more compatibly licensed Unixes, such as FreeBSD.
Debian’s kFreeBSD flavour works around these licensing issues by marrying the GNU C library and userland with the kernel from FreeBSD 8. As a result, this version of Debian inherits the kernel features and hardware support of FreeBSD, while maintaining compatibility with most of the Debian software package catalogue.
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Nice take on Debian 6 because you 're focusing more on the kFreeBSD side. Really good review in my opinion, thanks.
Your problem with firmware is not Debian fault but yours, because you must read the install notes before installing.
In doing so you learn that there's a netinstall CD (amd64 in your case) with firmware.
This is the official page with all install possibilities:
http://www.debian.org/releases/squeeze/debian-installer/
Debianero says "Your problem with firmware is not Debian fault but yours, because you must read the install notes before installing."
Why?
There are enough Debian-"based" distros in the Linux world, and they are much more user-friendly than Debian. You don't need to see Debian 6 by ONLY installing it, but by downloading the Debian 6 Live DVD, but the ONLY problem is that the Debian Website WON'T tell you such a thing is there, so most of the people had (and still do) downloaded the Netinstall, CDs, DVDs, but not the Live CD. Sort of a ploy by the Debian elders!
Even the Distrowatch release announcement on the 6th didn't even mention that, and there was NO additional announcement of such a release!
Why should any ordinary user bother about downloading and installing from those 'install' CDDVDs? When you look at the size of the DVDs, Debian becomes another distro, NOT an operating system!
Ubuntu is a perfectly excellent distro than "the rock that Ubuntu stands on". Aptosid, Saline OS Crunchbang are much more worthwhile and useful than "raw' Debian 6!
Before jumping at my throat READ the Debian website, and specially the http://www.debian.org/distrib/ and further. If you find ANY mention of Live DVDs, just like in ANY available distro in the Linux world, I'd take my word back, other wise I maintain that Debian is for geeks and other brainy developers, BUT not for the ordinary end-users!
W
While Debian's approach to the non-free hardware is a little rough around the edges, it clearly is the proper way to go.
The reason it is the proper way to go, is that eventually the non-free software will become a big issue that will threaten to stop the unpaid distribution of Linux, UNLESS the distribution is easily possible without the non-free software.
There are things that are not under a free license because no one that is in the position to change it are aware that it is non-free.
If you remember all of the derogatory things said about Debian for rebranding firefox iceweasel, you may not be aware of the fact that the ubuntu repositories include abrowser which was ubuntu doing the exact same thing as debian, until Mozilla backed down.
You can complain about the lack of polish, of removal of non-free software from the core, but, realize that the only way that this is going to get fixed, and the other linux distributions are going to stay easy to install is by debian making it an issue, and other distros following debian's lead.
Debian makes mistakes, but generally their policy and copyright/trademark stances tend to be much better thought out than other distributions.
Think of it as taking a long view, rather than a short term view of things.
This is one of the reasons that debian is so easy to upgrade, because the foundation was laid a long time ago.
Debian offers unofficial Debian 6.0 'Squeeze' network installation CDs which do include all the non-free firmwares. So if Debian installer asks you to provide some firmware then you might want to use those CD images intead of the default images. Those netinst CD images including non-free firmwares are avauilable from the Debian's main server.
http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/
Those images imclude the same stuff as official netinst images + non-free firmwares.