Is Debian better than Fedora ?

[ieeestd802]

Hi, All:

No offense to anyone.

I just want to know if Debian is better than Fedora. (Since my last Fedora installation had some troubles, I am thinking about installing Debian instead).

What is the ratio of users of Debian vs. Fedora ?

Thanks.

[imdeemvp]

is all about your needs.....

i my point of view i find fc2 a little slow compared to slackware, i've never used debian but i am experimenting with slackware now and noticed some fast responses from some apps

its hard to say one is better than the other, some people will say Gentoo, others slackware, others mandrake, others debian, but i've started using rpm distros since rh8 so i feel more comfortarble with fedora....i have to admit i also like the simplicity in which mandrade is setup.

[superbnerd]

you really can't say debian is better unless you specify what category your talking about. fedora is a cutting edge distro mainly for linux "enthusiest," and it moves very fast. consequentialy, it doesn't care much for those who want a stable linux distro to stich with for life. debian, however, is a very mature and stable linux distro that uses well tested packages thus making it ideal for servers. it down side is that its update cycle is much slower so you often have to wait a long time before you get the latest and greatest software. its all about your needs. if you want a distro that keeps you interested and constantly learning, fedora is your ticket, but if you want a distro that is slow to change on you and rock solid, debian is your cup of tea. what fortunate is that both have repo based package management and excellent communities, so the cjoice is up to you.

[Harryc]

What is the ratio of users of Debian vs. Fedora ?
Thanks. I haven't seen any recent user counts/statistics for distro users. If you go by download ratio, it is currently almost 2 to 1 in favor of Fedora.

http://distrowatch.com/

[jzke]

Aren't the stats on DistroWatch just going by how many hits the website receives?

[Harryc]

Aren't the stats on DistroWatch just going by how many hits the website receives?Yeah it's page hits for each distro's main and download mirror/s page/s. Minimally, it shows twice as much interest in Fedora vs Debian. One might make some reasonable assumptions based on that.

[Shadow Skill]

Personally the answer is a resounding no, the installer for debian needs serious work, the mouse on my laptop right now decides to constantly send right click keystroke signals every time I move the freaking track ball, and it [I'm using Sarge, Woody won't work for me.] didn't detect my resolution properly and over all was a pain to install..Woody more so than Sarge since Sarge has some semblance of autodetection.(It's a good thing I found a webpage that some Gentoo user put up that happens to deal with my laptop and has the nessecary specs I need to get both the mouse and monitor behaving.)

If you want the benefits of Debian without the hassle I would suggest you do a hard disk install of Knoppix. (I would do this to if I could ever figure out how..it's changed since I used it last.)

[jcstille]

Well Fedora def has its positive sitdes, but debian does too. So I would use distrowatch and the two package feature pages from the respective download sites and check what you need.

http://fedora.redhat.com/projects/package-list/

vs.

http://packages.debian.org/stable/

[Ug]

Moved to Linux Chat.

[ghenry]

Debian by far, has many many more users than Fedora. It's much older, has a much bigger repository of apps and yes, the install is a pain, but apt is so fast (in it's native distro). There are something like 13 CD's to download for a full official install.

Sarge is the cutting edge.

[vinu]

You'll be hard pressed trying to find an answer to a question like "Debian vs. Fedora - which is better?". The only way you could get an answer to this question is to try the two distros and see which you like better. But do remember that what is better to you may not be applicable to another person.

The advantage you have with linux is the freedom of choice - you can choose between not two but a multitude of distros, all of which cater to specific niche areas. Try as many as you like, and feel free to use the one you like the most.

[pigpen]

with the exception of the brilliant debian based 'knoppix' I stick with the usual cliché:
debian is for servers - suse/mandrake/fedora is for the desktop.

[Shadow Skill]

None of these are for the desktop although the three mentioned come close. All four of these are for the brave amongst us in the computer world who are probably coming from a windows background depending on how old we are and how long we have been using computers. Having to manually edit various configuration files because of broken as all hell GUI config programs, is not for the faint of heart.

[AliOop]

I have to admit I was first attracted to Linux because of it's cool factor. Another contributing factor was how MS conducts it's business. All that and the fact that linux is free has keep me in the Linux camp. Now as to which distor is better? That question can't be answered. But if you take into account easy alone, Fedora Core wins hands down. At least for me. Which is faster? Slackware, Gentoo, Debian? I have to say my Slackware is very speedy. But even with a 550 Mhz processor and 256 m of ram, Fedora 2 is quick enough for me. One of these days I'll get me a better PC and won't have any speed problems to speak of. With the user base and commuity Fedora has, plus the easy of installtion, Fedora ranks at the very top. I think I'll be with it for sometime to come.

[GreyGeek]

Many folks are citing speed as a predominate reason why they run one distro over another. However, speed is mostly affected by the desktop you are using. If you run a lighter desktop, like ICE or Enlightenment, or even fwm, you will notice a remarkable increase in speed. Some even allow kparts, etc..., to function and run KDE components, without having to run the entire desktop. Give one a try. You might be suprised!

[inha]

that's very true graygeek. one other thing you can do to improve the performance on any distro is to compile all software from source. wether that's worth the time it takes is up to one's own preferences though.