Etch

[blu at vl.com (Tom Metro)]

James Kramer wrote:
> Tom Metro wrote:
>> Anything in particular compelling you to do so?
> 
> I will use the software for the desktop also. 

OK, so are there particular new desktop features in Etch that you are 
anxious to try?


> I use Ubuntu Edgy which I realize is near the cutting edge...

My understanding is that regular Ubuntu releases fall somewhere between 
Debian stable and Debian testing. They're not beta, so it should be 
stable in general, but are on a more frequent release cycle, and thus 
have newer versions of the applications which may lead to some instability.


> It works OK but not like Debian Sarge. 

In theory the "LTS" - Long-Term Support version of Ubuntu is the 
equivalent to Debian stable:

https://help.ubuntu.com/6.06/ubuntu/about-ubuntu/C/about-ubuntu.html#lts

   Every Ubuntu release is supported for at least 18 months with security
   and other updates. Ubuntu 6.06.1 LTS is a special enterprise-ready
   release, and is supported for 3 years on the desktop, and 5 years on
   the server. The development process of Ubuntu 6.06.1 LTS was slightly
   longer than usual to concentrate on a number of areas:
     * Quality Assurance
     * Localisation
     * Certification
   As a result, it will be possible to rely on Ubuntu 6.06.1 LTS for a
   longer period than usual. Therefore this release of Ubuntu is referred
   to as "LTS" or "Long-Term Support".


It's the long term nature that interests me when it comes to setting up 
a base system for virtualization. It's fairly easy to recover from an 
upgraded virtual guest, but more of a pain to deal with upgrades to the 
base system, so it'd be nice to have something that can be set up and 
left alone, aside from security updates, for several years. But as I 
mentioned last time, with so much new development going on in the area 
of virtualization right now, it might end up being frustrating to have 
to wait for new functionality to be backported to the older, stable OS.

Most of the above applies to Debian stable as well, except Ubuntu has a 
more rigidly defined release schedule, a more polished installer 
(haven't tried Etch's yet), and you can fall back on commercial support, 
if that's something you care about.

I've only been using Ubuntu since last Fall, so not quite enough 
experience with it to compare the support community with Debian, but so 
far I've found the Ubuntu developers to be a bit more responsive to bug 
reports and less abrasive.


> I also only have one computer that I use for my web service, mail
> server and desktop so I need to make compromises. 

Then of the Ubuntu family, the LTS release is probably a good pick. 
Whether it offers you any advantage over Debian stable is another matter.

  -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/

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