by Nick_Djinn on Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:59 am
I dont think the Debian edition is meant to be as good for most users as the main edition is initially.....I mean, we should probably let him speak for himself, but the rationale seems to be that he.....
1. Wants to prove that they are real developers, and not just doing a cosmetic job on Ubuntu.
2. Wants to prepare an alternative base in case Ubuntu goes in a direction they dont like.....which is entirely possible. Ubuntu could feasibly go in a direction that could alienate a portion of their user base, perhaps violating privacy or going commercial......so far so good, knock on wood, but its good to have an insurance plan. The Debian edition wont be as polished for a while, but if a transition needs to be made, they wont be starting completely from square one.
3. Debian is faster....I dont know if its faster than just using one of the light weight distros they already have, but its an option for advanced users and those who want to use it for servers.
I think that if Mint keeps their Debian based distro focused on the end user experience, they could potentially make a better distro than Ubuntu which sometimes sacrifices end user speed and functionality for things most end users dont need.......Its not like I really understand the full implications of what I am saying since I am not a developer, but this is my guess based on what I have heard. A distro that is based almost entirely on the end user experience from start to finish, with Mint polish and taste, could become a better distro than Ubuntu.