Debian 2.1r2: A First Look

by William Henning
Editor, CPUReview
Copyright August 29, 1999
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Ever since I have been writing Linux reviews I have been receiving requests to review Debian. With each successive review, the requests have been getting more insistent; basically boiling down to "hey, you are reviewing every major distribution except Debian, how about some equal coverage?".

Who am I to argue with the wishes of my readers?

I've actually been looking for a copy of Debian for a couple of weeks; finally it came in... and I purchased it immediately.

[UPDATE: It was pointed out to me that I should emphasize that this review is about the InfoMagic release of Debian; I've updated the review to point this out.]

Richard Stallman must be happy; Debian calls itself GNU/Linux; a name that Mr. Stallman never fails to lobby for. Ok, now I have a copy of Debian, time to see what it has that so enamors its users...

[Editor: This is the sixth Linux review from CPUReview this year; the following links will take you to the other reviews: RedHat Linux 6.0, Caldera OpenLinux 2.2, SuSE Linux 6.1, Mandrake 6.0, and Slackware 4.0]

Test System

• Soyo 5EHM Super 7 motherboard
• AMD K6-2 400 processor
• Sniper 2 AGP Riva TNT2 M64 video card
• Acer PCI NE2000 compatible network card
• Quantum 10.2Gb 5400 rpm hard drive
• Pioneer 6x DVD-ROM
• SoundBlaster Live! Value (OEM)
• Northgate Omnikey Plus keyboard
• generic serial trackball
• KDS VS-195 19" monitor

NEXT: What do you get for your money

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