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New debian-mentors Public .deb Repository Available

JohnKFisher writes "For anyone who has ever put together a .deb package, but didn't want to bother with the hassle of setting up their own repository, or trying to get your package added to the official one, the Public Package Repository is up and running. I wonder if this means someone can finally add a version of KDE not dating from late in the Carter administration."

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  1. Re:Debian: abandon ship? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful
    With hindsight, it's clear that trying to support too many architectures was a mistake.

    That's no mistake, when you understand Debian's primary motivation: manifest destiny. Why eleven architectures? So that Debian can run on anything. Why does Debian have a text based installer? Because it can install on anything.

    Suppose someone owns a toaster that they can't install Debian on. The problem becomes that of the Debian project to update their systems to support that machine. If Debian only had one architecture, adding more would be difficult since it would be adding shedloads of infrastructure.

    Or suppose someone has a highly unusual installation, say an embedded 386 that most installers won't function on. When the user complains to the mailing list, it's the job of bootfloppies folk to make it right. Nobody wants to do their job twice, so they make certain the design is flexible from the first.

    I'm disappointed by the amount of flak that the Debian developers take for their design decisions. Just because non-x86 architectures aren't important to you doesn't mean that they're not important.