path: root/english/intro/why_debian.wml

#use wml::debian::template title="Reasons to Choose Debian"
#include "$(ENGLISHDIR)/releases/info"

<p>Thank you for considering using Debian to run your machine.
If you aren't quite convinced why you should try Debian, consider the following:
</p>

<dl>
<dt><strong>It is maintained by its users.</strong></dt>

    <dd>If something needs to be fixed or improved, we just do it.</dd>

<dt><strong>Unparalleled support</strong></dt>

    <dd>Mail sent to the <a href="$(HOME)/MailingLists/">mailing lists</a> often
    gets answers within 15 minutes (or less), for free, and by the people
    who developed it. Compare that to typical phone support: hours spent on
    the phone, for money, only to get someone who doesn't know the system
    well enough to even understand your question.</dd>

<dt><strong>You wouldn't be alone in your choice</strong></dt>

    <dd>A wide range of organizations and individuals use Debian.  See
    our <a href="$(HOME)/users/">Who's Using Debian?</a> page for a
    description of some high-profile sites which use Debian, and have
    chosen to submit a short description of how they use Debian and
    why.</dd>

<dt><strong>The best packaging system in the world.</strong></dt>

    <dd>Tired of old files from software three versions old cluttering your
    system? Or installing a piece of software only to find it causes your
    system to crash because of software conflicts? Dpkg, Debian's endured
    packaging system, takes care of these issues for you.</dd>

<dt><strong>Easy installation</strong></dt>

    <dd>If you have heard that Debian is difficult to install, then you
    haven't tried Debian lately. We are constantly improving the
    installation process. You can do the installation directly from CD, DVD,
    Blu-ray, USB stick or even over the network.</dd>

<dt><strong>Incredible amounts of software</strong></dt>

    <dd>Debian comes with over <a href="$(HOME)/distrib/packages"><packages_in_stable> different
    pieces of software</a>. Every bit of it is <a href="free">free</a>. If
    you have proprietary software that runs under GNU/Linux
    or GNU/kFreeBSD, you can still use it
    - in fact, there may even be an installer in Debian that will
    automatically install and set up everything for you.</dd>

<dt><strong>Packages well integrated</strong></dt>

    <dd>Debian surpasses all other distributions in how well its
     packages are integrated. Since all software is packaged by a
     coherent group, not only can all packages be found at a single
     site, but you can be assured that we have already worked out all
     issues regarding complicated dependencies. While we feel that the deb
     format has some advantages over the rpm format, it is the integration
     between the packages that makes a Debian system more robust.
     </dd>

<dt><strong>Source code</strong></dt>

    <dd>If you are a software developer, you will appreciate the fact that
    there are hundreds of development tools and languages, plus millions of
    lines of source code in the base system. All of the software in the main
    distribution meets the criteria of the
    <a href="$(HOME)/social_contract#guidelines">Debian Free Software Guidelines
    (DFSG)</a>. This means that you can freely use this code to study from,
    or to incorporate into new free software projects. There are also
    plenty of tools and code suitable for use in proprietary projects.</dd>

<dt><strong>Easy upgrades</strong></dt>

    <dd>Due to our packaging system, upgrading to a new version of Debian is
    a snap. Just run <tt>apt-get update ; apt-get dist-upgrade</tt>
    (or <tt>aptitude update; aptitude dist-upgrade</tt> in newer releases)
    and you can upgrade from a CD in a matter of
    minutes or point apt at one of the over 300 Debian
    <a href="$(HOME)/mirror/list">mirrors</a> and upgrade over the net.</dd>

<dt><strong>Multiple architectures and kernels</strong></dt>

    <dd>Currently Debian supports an impressive number of CPU architectures:
    alpha, amd64, armel, hppa, i386, ia64, mips, mipsel, powerpc, s390, and
    sparc. It also runs on GNU Hurd and FreeBSD kernels besides Linux, and with
    the debootstrap utility you will be hard-pressed to find a device
    that can't run Debian.</dd>

<dt><strong>Bug tracking system</strong></dt>

    <dd>Debian's <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/">bug tracking system</a>
    is publicly available. We don't try to hide the fact that software
    doesn't always work the way users want. Users are encouraged to submit
    bug reports and are notified when and why the bug was closed. This
    system allows Debian to respond to problems quickly and honestly.</dd>

</dl>

<p>If you are not already a Debian user, you may also enjoy the following
benefits:
</p>

<dl>

<dt><strong>Stability</strong></dt>

    <dd>There are many cases of machines that run for over a year without
    rebooting. Even then, they are only rebooted due to a power failure or
    a hardware upgrade. Compare that to other systems that crash multiple
    times a day.</dd>

<dt><strong>Fast and easy on memory</strong></dt>

    <dd>Other operating systems may be as fast in one or two areas, but
    being based on GNU/Linux or GNU/kFreeBSD, Debian is lean and mean. Windows software run
    from GNU/Linux using an emulator sometimes runs <strong>faster</strong> than when
    run in the native environment.</dd>

<dt><strong>Drivers for most hardware is written by GNU/Linux / GNU/kFreeBSD users, not the manufacturer.</strong></dt>

    <dd>While this can mean delays before new hardware is supported and no
    support for some hardware, it enables support for hardware long after
    the manufacturer has stopped producing it or gone out of business.
    Experience has shown that Open Source drivers are usually much better
    than proprietary ones.</dd>

<dt><strong>Good system security</strong></dt>

    <dd>Debian and the free software community are very
    responsive to make sure that fixes of security problems get into the
    distribution quickly.  Usually, fixed packages are uploaded within a few
    days.  The availability of source code allows the security in Debian to be
    evaluated in an open setting which prevents poor security models from being
    implemented.  Also, most free software projects have peer-review systems,
    which prevents potential security problems from being introduced in
    essential systems in the first place.</dd>

<dt><strong>Security software</strong></dt>

    <dd>Unknown to many, anything sent over the net can be read by any
    machine between you and the receiver. Debian has packages of the famous
    GPG (and PGP) software which allows mail to be sent privately between users.
    In addition, ssh allows you to create secure connections to other machines
    which have ssh installed.</dd>

</dl>

<p>Of course, Debian is not perfect. There are three areas that are common
causes of complaints:
</p>

<dl>

<dt><em><q>Lack of popular commercial software.</q></em></dt>

    <dd><p>It is quite true that some popular software is not available for
    Debian. There are, however, replacement programs for most of those,
    designed to mimic the best features of the proprietary programs, with
    the added value of being <a href="free">free software</a>.</p>

    <p>Lack of office programs such as Word or Excel should no longer be
    a problem, because Debian includes three office suites composed entirely
    of <a href="free">free software</a>,
    <a href="http://www.libreoffice.org/">LibreOffice</a>,
    <a href="https://www.calligra.org/">Calligra</a>, and
    <a href="https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GnomeOffice">GNOME office applications</a>.
    </p>

    <p>Various proprietary office suites are also available:
    <a href="http://vistasource.com/index.php?id=applixware">Applixware
    (Anyware)</a>, 
    <a href="http://www.hancom.com/">Hancom Office</a>
 and others.
    </p>

    <p>For those interested in databases, Debian ships with two popular database
    programs: <a href="https://www.mysql.com/">MySQL</a> and
    <a href="https://www.postgresql.org/">PostgreSQL</a>.
    <a href="https://www.sap.com/community/topic/maxdb.html">SAP DB</a>,
    
    <a href="https://www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/technology/informix/">Informix</a>,
    <a href="https://www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/technology/db2/db2-linux-unix-windows.html">IBM DB2</a>
    and others are also available for GNU/Linux.
    </p>

# This figures need to be updated:
    <p>Various other proprietary software is coming out in greater
    numbers, too, as more companies discover the power of GNU/Linux 
    / GNU/kFreeBSD and
    its largely untapped market with a rapidly growing user base
    (since GNU/Linux and GNU/kFreeBSD are freely distributable, sales figures can't be used for
    user estimates. Best estimates are that GNU/Linux has 5% of the market,
    giving 15 million users as of early 2001).
    </p>
</dd>

<dt><em><q>Debian is hard to configure.</q></em></dt>

    <dd>Note that this says configure, not install, as some people find the
    initial installation of Debian easier than Windows. A lot of hardware
    (printers for example) could be made easier to set up, though. Also,
    some software could have a script that would walk the user through the
    configuration (at least for the most common setups). This is an area
    that is being worked on.
</dd>

<dt><em><q>Not all hardware is supported.</q></em></dt>

    <dd>Particularly, really new, really old, or really rare hardware. Also
    hardware that is dependent on complex <q>driver</q> software that the
    manufacturer only supplies for Windows platforms (software modems or some
    laptop wifi devices for
    example). However, in most cases, equivalent hardware is available that
    does work with Debian. Some hardware is not supported because the vendor
    chooses not to make the hardware specifications available. This is also
    an area that is being worked on.</dd>

</dl>

<p>If the above isn't enough to convince you to use Debian, consider the
following: low cost (as little as the cost of a network connection), easy
installation, and true multi-tasking that could easily double your
productivity. How can you afford not to try it?
</p>

# <p>Related links:
# http://alexsh.hectic.net/debian.html