This is a great misconception that is spread very wide. What is "user-friendly"? For me a user friendly OS is an OS that is fitted perfectly for my needs, the way I want it to be, so that I have the best environment I can get. Naturally, this will differ from the way you or any other will work with his OS.
I personally wouldn't consider Ubuntu user-friendly, I would say that it is friendly to beginners and people that come from other operating systems. I don't like the way it works, so for me it is not user-friendly. If it is for you then stick with it, arguing about that is rather pointless.
Yes, Ubuntu helped me with my start in Linux, but it just isn't mine. So I changed. Simple as that.

I personally think that most people that rant about Ubuntu don't really have anything against it. It is more (for me, and no offense meant) the attitude of a part of it's community. They feel elitist because they use Linux and were able to configure compiz to get as many eye-candy you can get. If they try a different distro they rant, because it isn't working exactly like Ubuntu, so it must be inferior. But their real problem is that they mostly know next to nothing about Linux, except how to get screen effects working and theming their OS (look at the Debian forums and search for threads about sudo, and why it isn't configured out of the box. It has to be, because it is so in Ubuntu.).
As stated before, I mean not the whole Ubuntu community, but a small part of it. Sadly, this small part is one of the loudest, and they can be very annoying. And you will have people like that in every distro you can think of. Just fanboys.


Long story short: Am I better than you, just because I use Arch, Fedora, Debian or Slackware? No, I am not. I am just different.

I started using Ubuntu about 9 months ago as my first Linuc endeavor (coming from Win-D'ohs)and I found it very easy to use and it has made my computing life much more enjoyable. I do plan on trying out Debian as an upgrade....but I'd say Ubuntu is great for an average (non-computer geek) user.

I usually feel that whatever the majority says is diametric opposite of what is true. The majority use Win-D'ohs....Win-D'ohs sucks! If they're griping about Ubuntu.....that is to be expected, because Ubuntu is a very good OS!

The majority usually just wants to flock together; they don't want to deviate from the norm; They don't want to try new things if those new things aren't approved of and used by all the other dolts in their large group. They don't want to be the "different" one.....so they ridicule anything that is not popular with the majority.

Like a former post said "I don't let other's opinions influence what I do"- and if I do....I only let it do so in the sense that I can usually be sure that if I am doing the opposite of what is popular, I am probably doing good.

When I sought to move away from New York City, instead of following the crowd or looking for the "richest" or "best" places, I specifically looked for the poorer places (low cost of living; low taxes) and while the majority NY ex-pats all flocked to Las Vegas; Arizona or North Carolina, I went off on my own to Kentucky...and now live like a king where I am very happy, while other ex-pats are going broke in those other places and seeing the very conditions they sought to escape being recreated all around them. Same with operating systems.....

The highlighted section is deliberately highlighted to make sure you understand what I am about to say.

You say you use Ubuntu, if you are using the latest version of Ubuntu moving to the latest version of Debian will NOT actually be an upgrade in the main sense of the word (with regards to the age of the applications used).
Debian 6 uses Gnome 2.30 while Ubuntu 10.10 uses Gnome 2.32
Debian 6 uses Kernel 2.6.32 Ubuntu 10.10 uses Kernel 2.6.35
And the list goes on

Debian 6 is, when it comes to specification level, more like Ubuntu 10.04 so if you are moving from the latest version of Ubuntu to Debian you will be going backwards in many respects. The advantage of moving to Debian is you will have incredible stability and Ubuntu has not been able to offer the same level of stability that Debian has as standard.

Thanks for the info. I am currently using Ubuntu 10.04 (I don't do updates unless I absolutely need to/have a reason to....)

Your info confirms that I am likely making the right choice with Debian- To me, increased stability IS an upgrade...even if it means switching to a less-current distro. It's basically the stability and the ability to configure the OS *my way* (and not have to start out with a bunch of stuff I'll never use) that interests me.

Not to get too far off topic here...but since I've got you.... What are your thoughts on Debian XFCE? (Which is kind of what I was planning on going with. Not that I dislike Gnome...I just heard that Deb was a little slow with Gnome but nimble with XFCE...????

Thanks again, I do appreciate the info. (I'm still a noob)

Debian is fast, regardless which DE you choose.
Because I don't like KDE or Gnome I ran Debian with XFCE until I changed to Slackware (also XFCE), and I was very happy with it. But I have to say that I didn't use the standard-installation, I did a minimal install (CLI only) and then added XFCE and all the apps I need. This way you will get a lean and fast system without any bloat.

@ sumguy, I agree with the basics of what TobiSGD said above.

I have each version of Debian Squeeze on a LiveUSB and while I personally prefer Gnome I find the "lighter" DEs are quite nimble.

@ TobiSGD, I usually do a Mini install (with Ubuntu) but with my current Debian installs I went with a standard Gnome setup and modified it from there. I haven't done a Debian mini yet but will do it for my next install. Looking forward to doing it but because Debian is so stable (even Sid/Experimental) I haven't had any cause to.

can you tell me why do you prefer Slackware?

It gives me more incentive to learn and experiment.

That's exactly what I was planning on doing- going with the net install, so I can avoid all the stuff i never use. Like they say "Less is more". It seems that there is just so much garbage in every OS that I just don't want or need- like 95% of any OS is just bloat to me.

I'm gonna post in the Debian section soon....I think I'm going to try and re-partition my HD so that I can keep my current Ubuntu for the time being, and replace my Vista with the Debian, to start experimenting with it. It's great having these options...as opposed to MS's scant options of Home Basic Bloat...Home Premium Bloat ...and Business Bloat! (My MagicJack expires tonight...so it's bye-bye Windows tomorrow!!!)

I think that you will be quite pleased with Debian.

Ubuntu bases their regular releases on Debian unstable and the LTS releases (like 10.04) on Debian testing. For 10.04 that was Squeeze, the current Debian Stable. Should not come as too big a shock to you at all.

The claim that Debian is harder to configure is, I think, out dated. The only problem you should really have is the /etc/apt/sources.list. This thread will probably be of some use to you;
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...e-list-330913/

Just like old times, lol
Debian Squeeze has a completely "free" kernel so if you have hardware that requires "non-free" drivers then you will have to do a little more work than you would with Ubuntu.

Or you use the unofficial netinstall-CD with firmware

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Yes.

And the non-free repos are on Debian servers now so it is not as hard to dig them up as it was just a few years ago.

The only other thing, besides easier repo setup, that Ubuntu really has over Debian is a slight edge in font rendering. There may be other things that I do not use but I think that most folks use things mainly in the range I do.

Social networking is one I do not do so there may be an advantage in Gossip for Ubuntu to. There seems to be plenty of helper apps in the Debian repos for that too though.

I feel that slackware is "slugware", like a slug.
I prefer ubuntu, click and run.

Thanks, I bookmarked that!

Ditto. I don't do the social networking thing either...no IM/chat...it's all just bloat to me. And the things I do use, I'd like to be free to choose the particular versions that I want. I think Debian and I will get along quite well. (Not that there's anything wrong with Ubuntu- it was sure a great intro to Linux- but I just don't need all the pre-packaged stuff it comes with.)