Most Stable Linux

[aykoola]

OK, as for compatibility: I never had any issues with hardware with any other distro i tried (Ubu, OpenSUSE, Fedora, Chakra...) but here only problem was wireless. But with the help of my roommate i managed to install Madwifi drivers and now everything seems to be in order.
As for other impressions: if you're an ordinary user like myself, then there might be no point in switching to Debian. It's more robust in appearance, you have to put in more work to have everything the way you want it, so when it all comes down, only thing that really means a difference is philosophy. If you really like Debian's philosophy (like i do), then this is something you'll really feel at home at. I currently feel great. But will see in the future tho. Combined with switching to duckduckgo, ixquick and lavabit mail, i finally feel completely free (if that's possible at all).

Bless you all for your help and advice also!

[husnos]

I've recently installed debian 6 and I use it as my main desktop with xfce. Unfortunately, compiz has lately been crashing at login. And I cannot change the number of workspaces. The gui does not work. I also tried to change the number by editing the settings file and no luck.

Other than that, everything works fine and is very fast. But I might switch back to xubuntu 12.04 because I don't see much advantage in using debian, especially that the software is outdated.

I think debian is very stable for servers, but when you add extra stuff to convert it into a desktop, the stability is not much different from other debian based distros.

[iponeverything]

Hi!

I'm using my linux distro of choice as a decision for my desktop.

What i'm wondering, is Debian a way to go? Is Debian really the most stable linux distro? THak you-1

Any of the base distributions that have a spawned derivatives are probably good choices -- Fedora and Debian both good choices IMO.

[buzzingrobot]

One reason a release like Debian Stable is stable is that is made up of well tested and debugged software. The flip side is that the newest code in Stable dates from well before its release date, so it is never the place to go for the latest. Sometime we need the latest because the old stuff can't do what we need it to do. Also, bug fixes don't do anything for software that is basically inadequate in the first place.

I've used Slackware a great deal. It's lean and solid. However, it does not provide repositories and dependency resolving software. That means if you install ABC from source and it complains about missing library XYZ, it is up to you to find and install that library. If you do give it a try, I recommend counting the first couple of installs as a learning experience. If you want to learn the fundamentals of Linux/Unix without the intricacies of distribution-specific addons and code getting in the way, it's your best bet.

Centos and Scientific, both based on RHEL -- they compile Red Hat's source -- are probably at least as stable as Debian Stable. For that matter, you can still buy RHEL for the desktop, if you want, at Red Hat's online store.

[aykoola]

So Debian is more stable, but it has worse hardware compatibility?

[lykwydchykyn]

So Debian is more stable, but it has worse hardware compatibility?

That's an over-generalization, but not too far from the truth. The kernel (and thus drivers) are older, and proprietary drivers are not as simple to install.

The former is going to be true of any "stable" distro.

[aykoola]

So when the new version of Debian is out, it should work (as far as drivers go) normally with the same computer i'm using now?

TY

[lykwydchykyn]

So when the new version of Debian is out, it should work (as far as drivers go) normally with the same computer i'm using now?

TY

Sure, in theory. You want to read the release notes before you install, sometimes there are known issues with certain hardware or dropped support for older stuff (usually VERY old stuff). It's not usually a big concern, though.

I don't expect a new version of Debian for at least another year, maybe longer.