Re: Replace Ubuntu with Debian

On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 03:04:47PM -0400, Igor wrote:
I just purchased a Dell laptop with Ubuntu 7.10 preinstalled. What I
like about this setup is that all sorts of nifty things like the
wireless card and hibernate/suspend features are automatically set up.
However, I prefer the Debian package selection and frequency of
updates (I usually run unstable).

Historically Ubuntu is sync'd with Debian unstable every six month and
then they apply various and suntry pathes to create their release. This
is the plan for the (current 2000) core packages. Then they try to
integrate non-core packages from Debian by recompiling them using the
Ubuntu toolchain to produce their 'universe' repositories. So you should
be able to get those 'debian' packages from their universe repos.


Can I take advantage of both worlds? That is, can I safely sync all my
packages with Debian's unstable repository while retaining all the
existing configurations?

The obvious thing to do is to change the apt sources and run a
dist-upgrade. However, I'm a little paranoid that this is not entirely
safe and that it may leave my system in a broken state. Does anyone
have experience with this course of action or have better suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

In the beginning, the difference between Debian and Ubuntu was minimal,
but as they progressed, they have diverged in many way. One current
outstanding issue is the init script: they use 'upstart' and we use
sysv. These are not compaible. And we use different toolchains, so their
can be big differences there. Most Debian deriviates are divergent
enough, they it is not worth it. If you can deal with the problems and
don't mind the possible breakage, for a personal system, its your choice,
but if you want stability, its a very bad move that neither group would
recommend.
-K
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