use Linux Mint Debian Squeeze for productivity

[livram79]

I have noticed that not many Mint users switched to Mint Debian and I was wondering why. In case you did not switch to it because it is based on Debian Testing (which is not stable enough for productivity) I have a good news for you: it is possible to use Linux Mint with Debian Squeeze (stable) if you want. I recommend using Linux Mint Debian Squeeze instead of Mint based on Ubuntu because it is "rock solid", very well tested.

In case you want to give a try to Linux Mint Debian Squeeze please read my tutorial about how to install it, here http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/378

I have posted this message just to make sure that Mint users now about the option of using Linux Mint with Debian Squeeze.

[TBABill]

While it's true that a user can switch from LMDE based on testing to LMDE based on stable, it becomes a non-rolling distro. Squeeze is a release that will be replaced when Wheezy is ready, which will force an upgrade or new install. Users will still get updates to Squeeze as Debian releases them, but those are normal updates, not rolling ones. No upgrade kernel versions will be introduced and 2.6.32 will be the same throught the lifespan of Squeeze (minor updates will occur, but not upgrades).

You're correct, though, that users will have a great stable base with all the Mint goodies if they change the repos to stable or Squeeze before updating the system. Nice work spreading the word to others, but I would caution a bit how it is presented so there is no confusion about rolling and non-rolling. While testing and Sid are rolling (Sid more than testing IMHO), stable is not.

[dungbeetle]

I have been running Debian Testing for 2 years now with varying degrees of success, or lack thereof, and very much looked forward to squeeze becoming stable. I have always thought that default LMDE should have been based on Debian Stable, with instructions for anyone who wanted to run it as Testing or Unstable. I changed my sources.list to Squeeze when I installed lmde and feel sorry for the many users have got into quite a mess with upgrades since squeeze went stable and the new stuff started rolling in. I am very happy with my Squeeze based lmde so far, and I have the option to "roll" to some degree by using backports, and I can upgrade to newer liquorix kernels if I want, with the option of rolling back to a previous kernel if something breaks.

Although not strictly a rolling release, Stable can be upgraded to Testing or the next stable release by following Debian instructions, so in theory, you should never need to re-install, which I reckon is the main reason for using a rolling release. At the very least, I think the install iso should be frozen at the Stable/Squeeze stage, and instructions for running lmde as Stable should be clearly given in the welcome screen. The only problem I can see with this approach is that the first major upgrade could be tricky, but users would have to weigh up the risks of upgrading to a "Testing" system before they take the plunge.
EDIT: Maybe Clem plans to keep the iso frozen anyway. If so, the first upgrade could be tricky anyway for anyone who decides to run lmde as it is currently intended. Maybe Clem could comment on that?

[elav]

Greetings:
Debian Testing can be more stable than any Ubuntu distribution. If we were talking about Sid or Experimental, as would be nothing but Debian Testing (wheezy) is stable enough for use in production environments.

[malligt]

A thought:



LMDE was announced as a rolling release based on debian testing. At the time of LMDE's initial release, debian testing was named "Squeeze".

Compared to a frozen version of Linux Mint which changes very little once it’s publicly released, it’s not as stable. Things are likely to break more often but fixes can also come quicker. For this reason, LMDE requires a deeper knowledge and experience with Linux, dpkg and APT.

In February, 2011, Debian announced "Squeeze" was now their stable release, and "Wheezy" was named as the testing release. But nowhere in conjunction with that was there a mention of LMDE being anything but it's original mission--- ie,LMDE is still based on Debian Testing.

A quick review of past postings in the vicinity of January 2011 to February 6, 2011 range...you'll find many posts of how to freeze LMDE as "stable"---- prior to all the new wheezy packages being released.

To my knowledge, there was never a promise or commitment to have LMDE be a stable release. One posting I recall mentioned running BOTH LMDE (Testing) (and running Debian stable (LXDE I think?) in a virtual box). Best of both worlds.

If you want to run a server, Debian Squeeze (debian stable) would be very suitable.

Hope this helps.

[livram79]

Thank you guys for your comments. I thought a rolling distro means that you do not have to install a new ISO, isn't it? Is upgrading the same with installing a new ISO? I can see only one difference between Debian Stable and Testing:
-when using Testing you get the new packages before they are well tested.
-when using Stable you get the new packages later, after they are well tested (the new stable release)
Please correct me if I am wrong.

[MALsPa]

-when using Testing you get the new packages before they are well tested.
-when using Stable you get the new packages later, after they are well tested (the new stable release)

That's true, but there are a lot of Testing users who feel like it's fine for productivity... I normally use Stable myself, but I did use Squeeze for about six months before it moved to Stable, with virtually no issues.

[friTTe]

I agree with the above, used Sid before the recent Squeeze release without any problems at all, awesome speed and stability.
Guess the name sounds scary but for me Debian has always been more effective and stable than Ubuntu, so i would go for it

[dungbeetle]

I agree with the above, used Sid before the recent Squeeze release without any problems at all, awesome speed and stability.
Guess the name sounds scary but for me Debian has always been more effective and stable than Ubuntu, so i would go for it

Sorry, I just do not believe that you can run Sid with no problems. You may have the knowledge to fix whatever went wrong, and you did not consider those breakages to be a problem, but I think that you must be looking at this from the perspective of someone with a good knowledge of running a linux system. Most Mint users have relatively low knowledge levels and would not be able to run Sid or Testing as a production OS without coming across problems that they do not know how to fix.

[TBABill]

Thank you guys for your comments. I thought a rolling distro means that you do not have to install a new ISO, isn't it? Is upgrading the same with installing a new ISO? I can see only one difference between Debian Stable and Testing:
-when using Testing you get the new packages before they are well tested.
-when using Stable you get the new packages later, after they are well tested (the new stable release)
Please correct me if I am wrong.

@livram79: You're correct that a rolling distro means you do not have to install a new iso. Upgrading is sometimes used interchangeably for two different purposes when people use the word. When you perform an upgrade in the Ubuntu sense of moving from one version to another, such as from 10.04 to 10.10, you are moving from one distro version to the next newer. But you also perform an upgrade when you do a normal daily/weekly system "update" because your commands are

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

and you can also add to the end of that

Code: Select all

...&& sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

What the term upgrade means is to bring your packages up to the most current version, thus "upgrading" them. The dist-upgrade pulls in additional upgrades that the normal upgrade will not, such as new kernels, headers, etc. and add new dependencies. However, in the case of Ubuntu and regular Mint, in order to actually upgrade from one version to another with the dist-upgrade command, you still have to point your /etc/apt/sources.list to the new repositories to pull in the new system. Otherwise you'd cause all kinds of conflicts with dependencies since they would obviously change as newer packages are introduced.

With Debian Testing, however, those new files are dumped into the same repo, as happened when Squeeze went stable. The new Wheezy packages were placed into the Testing repository and everyone who upgraded got a lot of new packages and essentially a new OS, all without doing anything except an update. But you will see a lot of recommendations to update manually with apt-get or aptitude, and they normally suggest doing update, upgrade and dist-upgrade (or full-upgrade with aptitude). That pulls everything in and keeps you current, or "rolling".

I hope I said all that correctly. Jump in and fix anything I may have stated that needs an edit.