Benefit to using Debian over Ubuntu?

[cAlpha]

I've been using Ubuntu successfully for about six months or so now. It works, I enjoy the vast improvement in interface over Vista and deal with the occasional glitch or headache that you'd expect from a do-it-yourself OS like Linux.

With that, I've started thinking about other distributions, specifically Debian, given the fact that I've been largely pleased with Ubuntu.

Is there any good reason to switch, temporarily or more permanently, to the Debian OS? Are there any obvious ways in which Debian is better than Ubuntu? My general sense is that Ubuntu is a more polished version of Debian geared more to the general public and thus, Debian would be better than Ubuntu in some of the same ways that Linux is superior to Windows (ie, greater control of the OS and its functionality).

I primarily use my machine (OS) for programming and general use (docs, web browsing, etc.) stuff. Are there any good reasons for me to switch to Debian?

[HappyFeet]

Debian takes a bit longer than ubuntu to setup, but once it is, it is pretty much the same. You will not get the latest and greatest apps with debian though. If ubuntu works good for you, I don't see much reason to switch.

[abaden]

I'd stick with Ubuntu for desktop purposes. You'll enjoy the quicker development cycle (compiling is a pain, and newer versions of software make their way into apt faster on the Ubuntu side).

For a server, Debian might be a good choice. I used to use Debian, but mostly use Ubuntu now, because of (a) the excellent community support (between these forums and the documentation/wiki...) and (b) the newer releases that allow me to deploy my dev servers (and even some production servers) with the "latest and greatest" to see how well it all works.


Alex

[cAlpha]

Good stuff, thanks for the replies.

I'll probably just stick with Ubuntu then, though perhaps update to Ubuntu 9.04 from 8.04 at some point in the near future.

[Jazzy_Jeff]

Good stuff, thanks for the replies.

I'll probably just stick with Ubuntu then, though perhaps update to Ubuntu 9.04 from 8.04 at some point in the near future.


I would wait until 9.10 due out in October. You might want to also back up all your important things and do a clean install to save yourself some problems.

[cAlpha]

I back up regularly, so that won't be a problem.

Good thought regarding the clean install using 9.10, thanks for the heads up.