The big deception of #Ubuntu against #Debian

I have been using #GNU and #Linux since at least tenyears, my very first distro was Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon, I still remember the sound of the drums at my very first installation, it was amazing and it was when I fell in love with the #floss. I was even more amazed by Hardy Heron, simply perfect in every shape. I used to have a #Gnome, #Compiz and a wonderful desktop that looked like a paper comics, super cool and super exciting, fortunately ten years later I still continue to be excited for any improvements.

However, back to these days, I learned about the meaning of #BDFL, and my flirt with Ubuntu started to crumble, actually the idea of community with on top a dictator, even if benevolent, didn't sound very exiting for me, never. This is the reason why I left Ubuntu to jump in Debian.

Debian is a true community of volunteers, it is the backbone of everything is #deb based, without Debian we would not have Ubuntu, #Mint, #Elementary, etc... Even if today Ubuntu might be build totally in upstream with Snap it will never have the same manpower and talents that Debian has. In ten years the main investment of Canonical/Ubuntu has been in marketing and PR. While #RedHat invests a lot of resources in engineers stuff Ubuntu invests the majority of its effort in marketing, and it really works

In lesser than four years Ubuntu become the OS leader in the #web #sever #market, a place historically belonged to Debian:
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=139372#p687205

Today Ubuntu is almost a leader in the Linux realm but is it really worth of this title?
Ubuntu stated to make a lot of improvements on itself however it reduces dramatically the amount of packages under its control and leaves the majority of them on the hands of the communities, that makes Ubuntu quite unsafe every time you grab a package outside the main repo.

I was saying Ubuntu patches and improves itself to be better than Debian, actually the latter is a collection of packages: it fixes bugs, it does the minimal and everything is almost 99% upstream. Because the premises Ubuntu must be better. Actually Ubuntu has a better installer however Debian support many more architectures, that means changing the installer to make it more friendly might be a worthless task if you are going to break something that actually works, Ubuntu has a better theme, Debian uses the one of free contributors it does not contract professionals. But is Ubuntu very much better than Debian? Is everything that Ubuntu does worthy?

If you are Debian user you do not need to read anything about it, but if you don't then apparently not!
**
A recent article by [b]Phoronix mainly, based on giga ethernet test, shows how Debian constantly performs better than Ubuntu (which usually ships always a newer kernel than Debian). Someone can argue that this test is not indicative because it is strictly related to the hardware in use but if you read regularly the phoronix's article **always[/b] Debian performs better than Ubuntu.

Hence if every tweaks of Ubuntu to be better than Debian is actually ineffective, I can deducted that everything is basically vaporware just a marketing trick.

Today Canonical makes a lot of money with Ubuntu, you are free to use Ubuntu but is not better than Debian, it is not lead by true community, it is sponsored by a BDFL with a clear scope since the beginning. He did a lot of mistakes (Ubuntu Phone, Unity, etc...) but eventually he got what he was looking for. But the days when Ubuntu meant I can not install Debian are finished long time ago, today Ubuntu surpassed Debian in every field but not for technical reasons.

I will never be tired to repeat it: support only true community distributions of volunteers!

#floss #opensource

Elementary OS – Fast, open, privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS

The fast, open, and privacy-respecting replacement for Windows and macOS
Article word count: 601

HN Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18472018
Posted by diggernet (karma: 789)
Post stats: Points: 168 - Comments: 97 - 2018-11-16T21:14:40Z

\#HackerNews #and #elementary #fast #for #macos #open #privacy-respecting #replacement #windows

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Article content:



\* 

\* [1]Support
\* [2]Developer
\* [3]Get Involved
\* [4]Store
[5]Generic laptop computer [6]elementary OS 5 Juno desktop

elementary OS 5.0 Juno | 1.48 GB (for PC or Mac)

[7]“a fast, low-maintenance platform that can be installed virtually anywhere”

Stop waiting around for your computer to load. elementary OS starts fast and stays fast. Apps are lightning quick to open and remember where you left off. Even better, elementary OS doesn’t slow down with updates.

We respect the rights of our users. All of elementary OS is available for review, scrutiny, modification, and redistribution by anyone. Which improves security and privacy for everyone.

[8]Learn More

We’re built on GNU/Linux, one of the most secure systems in the world. It’s the same software powering the U.S Department of Defense, the Bank of China, and more.

[9]Security Notices

git clone https://github.com/elementary/website

[10]music screenshot
[11]music icon

Organize and listen to your music. Browse by album, use lightning-fast search, and build playlists of your favorites.

[12]epiphany screenshot
[13]epiphany icon

Surf the web with a fast & lightweight web browser. Epiphany lets you use modern websites and web apps while being lighter on battery life.

[14]mail screenshot
[15]mail icon

Manage multiple accounts quickly and effortlessly with conversation-based email, fast-as-you-type search, new email notifications, and more.

[16]photos screenshot
[17]photos icon

Import, organize, and edit photos. Make a slideshow. Share with Facebook or Flickr.

[18]videos screenshot
[19]videos icon

Smart and simple video viewing with a library, thumbnail previews on the seekbar, playlists, subtitle support, smart fullscreen, and the ability to resume what was last playing.

[20]calendar screenshot
[21]calendar icon

Easily view and create events. Sync with Online Accounts like Google.

[22]files screenshot
[23]files icon

The smart pathbar makes it easy to browse with breadcrumbs, search, or path completion. Quickly navigate with the column view and enjoy browser-class tabs with smart features like tab history.

[24]terminal screenshot
[25]terminal icon

Switchable color schemes designed to prevent eye strain, browser-class tabs with history and smart naming, task-completion notifications, natural copy & paste, backlog search, paste protection, and more. Who says you can’t teach an old app new tricks?

[26]Code screenshot
[27]Code icon

Tailor-made with autosaving, project folders, Git integration, multiple panes, smart whitespace, EditorConfig support, Mini Map, Vala symbols, and extensions like Terminal, Web Preview, and Vim Emulation. Code will be the last editor you’ll ever need.

[28]camera screenshot
[29]camera icon

Easily snap pictures or video from your webcam.

Applications

Display all your apps in an alphabetized grid. Flick through and find the one you want.
Categories
View your apps automatically organized into categories. Perfect for large collections.
Search
Launch apps, open settings panes, run commands, and more from the lightning fast search view.

[30]elementary OS Parental Controls

Set per-user time limits for weekdays, weekends, or both.
Internet Use
Manage allowed websites. Rules affect all apps for the user, even if they use a different web browser.
Manage Apps
Choose just which apps are safe for your child to access. Plus, optionally allow access with your password.

[31]elementary OS Keyboard Shortcuts

elementary OS is designed to be easy to understand and pick up as a new user. But that doesn’t mean it’s dumbed down; powerful, customizable keyboard shortcuts ensure you’ll stay productive whether it’s your first day or your thousandth.

elementary OS helps you keep tabs on what apps are up to. When an app is using your microphone, we display an indicator to let you know. When an app is using a lot of energy, we tell you in your power indicator.

When an app wants access to your location, it has to ask. We show you a prompt telling you which app, and how precise it’s asking. And you can always revoke access later in System Settings → Security & Privacy.

elementary OS can automatically keep your temporary and trashed files tidied up. Not only does this keep your device’s storage free, it can help ensure your private data doesn’t come back to haunt you.

[32]Pay What You Want Download elementary OS Purchase elementary OS
\* [33]Press
\* [34]Brand
\* [35]Privacy
\* [36]Team
\* [37]Open Source
References

Visible links
1. https://elementary.io/support
2. https://developer.elementary.io/
3. https://elementary.io/get-involved
4. https://elementary.io/store/
7. http://twitter.com/home/?status=“a%20fast,%20low-maintenance%20platform%20that%20can%20be%20installed%20virtually%20anywhere”%20—@MacLife%20https://elementary.io
8. https://elementary.io/open-source
9. https://usn.ubuntu.com/releases/ubuntu-18.04-lts/
32. https://elementary.io/#
33. https://elementary.io/press
34. https://elementary.io/brand
35. https://elementary.io/privacy
36. https://elementary.io/team
37. https://elementary.io/open-source

HackerNewsBot debug: Calculated post rank: 144 - Loop: 96 - Rank min: 100 - Author rank: 33