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Debian Linux Turns 25 (betanews.com)

Posted by msmash on from the long-long-journey dept.

BrianFagioli writes: Debian is one of the most important open source projects ever. The Debian Linux operating system is extremely popular in its own right, but also, it is used as the base for countless other distributions. Ubuntu, for instance -- one of the most-used distros -- is Debian-based. Even Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu, also has a Debian edition. Not to mention, Raspbian -- the official Raspberry Pi OS -- which is based on Debian too.

Today, Debian is celebrating a very important milestone -- a 25th birthday! Yes, it is seriously that old -- its development was announced on August 16, 1993. When the late Ian Murdock announced 25 years ago in comp.os.linux.development, the imminent completion of a brand-new Linux release, [...] the Debian Linux Release', nobody would have expected the 'Debian Linux Release' would become what's nowadays known as the Debian Project, one of the largest and most influential free software projects. "Its primary product is Debian, a free operating system (OS) for your computer, as well as for plenty of other systems which enhance your life. From the inner workings of your nearby airport to your car entertainment system, and from cloud servers hosting your favorite websites to the IoT devices that communicate with them, Debian can power it all," says Ana Guerrero Lopez of Debian. Further reading: Slackware, Oldest Actively Maintained GNU/Linux Distribution, Turns 25.

10 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Debian is an amazing distribution. Thanks to everyone who has worked on it over the years.

    RIP Ian.

  2. RIP Ian Murdock by greenwow · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And think you for all of your contributions.

  3. Re:Apt and the App store. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have always found it interesting the hatrid towards other OS's App stores for Apple and Microsoft, While Apt is in essence is the same concept but is warmly loved.

    People love apt-get and hate the app store because apt-get does not attempt to lock you into anything. There is no 30% cut of anything being skimmed off by middlemen. There is no iOS-like "put the user in a jail cell and tell them what's acceptable to run".

    It's the difference between a tool that preserves your freedom while making your life easier, and a tool that tries to lock you into an ecosystem and control your behavior for the benefit of your corporate overlords.

  4. And then... by AlanObject · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And then systemd arrived.

    1. Re:And then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Just face it, we're stuck with systemd for the foreseeable future. People who whinge about systemd and saying they're going to stop using Linux or whatever, clearly do not deal with Linux systems on a professional basis. As a professional, you're likely going to get stuck with systemd whether you like it or not. Best to just learn how to deal with it, even if it is a flaming pile of poo.

    2. Re:And then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I do hate this defetist attitude. You use Debian without systemd (I do). You can turn to Devuan Or Slackware. In any case, if you characterize yourself as "professional", contribute to one of those options if you want to keep systemd-free Linux distros viable, instead of whining.

      That's how it works around here.

    3. Re:And then... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's not about rolling over on it, it is facing reality. If you've got to deal with RHEL/CentOS 7 servers, you're stuck with it. What are you going to do, go and install sysvinit on your production servers? No, you're just going to deal. Same with Ubuntu and Debian systems. I'm a sysadmin, it's my job to understand how to configure and operate these systems. In this case, it means learning and understanding systemd.

      Don't get me wrong, I think systemd is a solution looking for a problem. I run Devuan on my own systems.

      I leave my anti-systemd zealotry at the front door of the office.

    4. Re:And then... by Seven+Spirals · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A lot of people are stuck in the same situation as you. I take support calls for systemd all the fucking time from them. I'd say about 40% of my Linux calls are systemd-related now. Before 2015 there was maybe one call a year where someone had horked their init scripts or whatever. I've had to learn systemd quite well to support it. Before I knew Kerberos, I was a bit afraid and put off by it. However, once I learned it I could sorta-kinda understand why they made it so over-complicated. I still don't like Kerberos, but after learning it thoroughly, I do like it more than I used to. With Systemd it's been exactly opposite. The more I learn about it (and that's a lot at this point) the more I think it's the biggest pile of shit I've ever seen. Pulseaudio is also amazing in that it's everywhere in the distros, but it still sucks so badly it's amazing. GNOME used to be a laughingstock. Now it's just an outrage and an unwelcome influence (spawning DBUS, Systemd, Pulseaudio, and other horrors) on Linux. Nonetheless, I get it. You can't make arbitrary decisions about your company infrastructure. Just understand that those of us who consult and professionally support Linux thank you sincerely for staying with a systemd-distro. It keeps us in the $$$.

  5. Re:Important milestone? by neilo_1701D · · Score: 4, Insightful

    An important milestone is something like definitively switching to systemd and excluding any alternatives but 25 years is merely an arbitrary slice of time.

    Holy smoke that's a scary graph.

    If our issue open / closed list looked like that for that long, we'd be out on our ear and the client moved on to something / someone else!

  6. Re:Hip, hip ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Did you even try to use it or just read all the bitching and get too scared to look?

    I never even noticed when Debian switched over and nothing has ever stopped working because of it.

    I am surprised that some of you are still peeing yourselves at the mention of it's name.