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View Full Version : Which one is more recent: Debian testing or Ubuntu?



capink
November 18th, 2007, 03:15 PM
I just want to know which of these two distros have more up to date software.

The only distro I have been using is Ubuntu. But from what I have read about Debian testing, I imagine that it might have more recent software compared to the latest Ubuntu.

Maybe Ubuntu would be more recent only in the first couple months of it's release cycle. Am I right in this supposition? Can someone provide an answer to how they compare regarding software versions?

Atreus12
November 18th, 2007, 04:55 PM
I think ubuntu is still more up to date. I am still waiting for openoffice 2.3 debs from Debian (unstable).

stmiller
November 18th, 2007, 05:44 PM
There are different kinds of Debian, depending on how bleeding edge you want to be:

stable (etch) - testing (lenny) - unstable (sid) - experimental

Ubuntu Gutsy packages were fetched from Debian unstable (Sid) at the beginning of Gutsy development several months ago (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GutsyReleaseSchedule). So Ubuntu is basically Debian unstable.

Miguel
November 18th, 2007, 06:11 PM
Right now they are basically on par. Some tools are newer in Debian, while others are newer in Ubuntu. The main packages are listed in Distrowatch (yes, of all Debian versions and flavours), and you can probably compare them.

On the desktop side, Lenny doesn't have (as mentioned) OOo 2.3, and although most gnome is 2.20, some parts (more noticeably, gnome-control-center, gnome-terminal and probably gnome-panel) are still 2.18. The next few months will be renewing Debian testing packages, and so will be more "bleeding edge". This will hold until someone decides it's time to release Lenny as the next debian stable. At that time, the packages of lenny will freeze, and you might be seeing the same dektop packages for like 4 months easily. This was apparent with etch, which was released basically on par to Feisty, but had a mix of gnome 2.16 (edgy) and 2.14 (dapper!!!).

I've been using Ubuntu since November 2004 (laptop) and Debian Testing since September 2006 (on my office PC). I'm happy with both, and although stable ubuntu releases are quite comparable to Debian testing, Ubuntu pre-releases are way more exciting (and buggy! that's why they come from unstable!).

PS: If you are running and keeping an up-to-date debian testing, I'd advise you to read through aptitude documentation, since breakage can occur.

PS2: I actually switched to Debian Testing on that PC because Sarge, although working perfectly since it's release on june 2005 was starting to bore me. Am I the only one who needs something unstable with a beta/alpha label to feel my computer is alive?

capink
November 19th, 2007, 11:49 AM
thank you all for the clarification.