[Fsf-friends] Libranet 2.7 - Debian Made Easy

[Tarun Gaur]

hi friends,

Cool article 
----------------

Libranet GNU/Linux, a commercial Linux distribution
based on Debian, has been given increasingly positive
coverage in Linux media. Its recipe for success is
simple - it attempts to remedy some of the often cited
shortcomings of Debian proper, by providing a simple
installer, user-friendly system configuration tools
and up-to-date selection of software packages. Combine
that with a friendly user community and you have a
winner. Let us investigate what Libranet is about and
why you should give it a serious thought when choosing
your Linux distribution. 
 
The Great Divide - APT vs. RPM 
One of the greatest strengths - and also one of the
greatest weaknesses - of GNU/Linux is the way that
numerous developers have taken the OS and molded it
the way they like it. Occasionally this produces a
"fork" - two (or more) camps of devout users, both
vehemently insisting that their way of doing things is
best. The most prominent example of this is probably
the great GUI debate (Is KDE or Gnome better?).
Another equally important divide exists over the
seemingly mundane issue of package management. The two
biggest contenders are the Red Hat package manager
(RPM, as it is popularly known) and Debian's Advanced
Package Tool (APT, or apt-get) system.

Until late 2002, it seemed as if the debate was all
but over - RPM was winning by a landslide. All the
major Linux distros - including but not limited to Red
Hat, Mandrake, SuSE, Caldera, and Conectiva - were RPM
based. Furthermore, the LSB (Linux Standard Base)
project endorsed RPM. To add insult to injury, the
big-three Debian-based commercial distros failed in
the marketplace - Stormix, Corel and Progeny.

Debian users had their loyalty tested when Linux
kernel 2.4 was released in January, 2000. Within four
months of the release, all the major RPM-based distros
produced sets of nicely packaged CDs based on the new
kernel. But for Debian users, the process of migrating
to the new kernel took more than two years. During
this interval, Debian was falling seriously behind the
other well-known distros in terms of features.

Of course, one could argue that by constantly
downloading the "testing" and "unstable" packages,
Debian users could in fact enjoy the latest and
greatest that the RPM-based competition had to offer.
But "testing" and "unstable" are just what the names
imply. Whether they wished to admit it or not,
Debian's loyal fans were pining for the day when the
new stable release would hit the ftp servers.

Debian 3.0 (code-named "Woody") was released on July
19, 2002. It was an occasion for much rejoicing - at
last, Debian users had an up-to-date stable distro. Or
did they? Stable, yes, but up-to-date was debatable.
Linux development moves at nearly the speed of light,
and by the time Woody was released, RPM-based distros
were offering new features that Debian still relegated
to the testing branch (now code-named "Sarge"), or the
unstable branch (known as "Sid"). Furthermore, Debian
continues to suffer from a relatively difficult-to-use
installer, mediocre hardware detection, and somewhat
complicated system administration.

None of the above should be taken as a fatal flaw of
Debian - indeed, Debian's slowness to market might
even be considered a "feature". The Debian philosophy
has always been "release when ready". As a result,
Debian has bragging rights as one of the most stable
distros around. Furthermore, Debian also can boast
about being the largest Linux distro in existence -
Woody includes 8710 packages. Creating and testing
thousands of packages is no mean feat, and made more
difficult by the fact that Debian is a non-commercial
product, created by volunteers who also need to work
day jobs to pay the bills. This is in sharp contrast
to commercial distros such as Red Hat, where full-time
programmers are employed.

Obviously, Debian's fortunes would be improved if
commercial developers decided to produce their own
Debian-based distros with cutting-edge features. And
rather suddenly, this has happened. Following fast on
the heels of Woody, there were milestone releases of
new Debian-based distros - Lindows 3.0, Xandros 1.0,
Knoppix 3.1, and Libranet 2.7. Lindows and Xandros are
both commercial distros, notable for their ease-of-use
that will help Windows users make an almost painless
transition to Linux. Knoppix is a different animal - a
unique non-commercial distro that runs entirely off a
CD-ROM. And then there is Libranet.

Libranet is Debian made easy. The product of Jon and
Tal Danzig - two programmers based in Vancouver,
Canada - Libranet is a commercial Debian-based distro
"that just works". Almost overnight, Libranet seems to
have leaped out of obscurity and is now getting
serious attention as a potential major contender in
the distro wars.  
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regards 
tarun gaur

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