Many Debian developers, one of the oldest of the Linux distributions, still have trouble dealing with Ubuntu, one of the most popular Linux distributions and also a Debian descendant.

Debian is one of the oldest and most popular distributions among the Linux users. There are probably hundreds of distributions which are based on Debian, or others which are based on distributions which in turn are based on Debian. Although I'm not a Debian developer, I use it for over two years or so, and slowly got to love this OS.

For those of you who have used it, you'll know that Debian is a solid distribution of Linux. Like Fedora or OpenSuSe, it was developed with all users in mind.

For those rare people who don’t know, Canonical’s Ubuntu distribution is basically Debian Sid (the unstable version) plus a few GUI apps and modifications. Debian is one of the most successful community-based distributions. Don’t get me wrong, I use both Debian and Ubuntu, and they both perform well, but here are some reasons to choose Debian over Ubuntu...

Ubuntu is all about fixing bug #1 and I feel it's incredibly successful in that game. Ubuntu gets mainstream press coverage, hardware vendor support and popularity with not-so-geeky but experienced (and potentially influential) computer users to an extend unheard of in the free software world

A look at the roadmap for Ubuntu One reveals the following feature planned for Maverick — Windows file sync: Addresses the needs of the many Ubuntu users who operate in a mixed platform environment of Ubuntu + Windows ... Will support syncing files between Windows desktops and your Ubuntu One personal cloud ...

You can't argue Debian's irrelevance using Ubuntu as an example. If you're using Ubuntu (or Linux Mint, or Mepis...), you're really using Debian with some enhancements. According to a presentation given recently by Debian Project Leader (DPL) Stefano Zacchiroli, only 7% of Ubuntu is directly derived from upstream projects, Canonical's projects, or other non-Debian sources.

There have been reports on the Linux newswires recently of dissatisfied Ubuntu users leaving for one reason or another. I’m not going to jump on that bandwagon here, but instead just point out that in any community, especially an immature one, this is bound to happen. My message is to those who are leaving — you should put Debian at the top of your list of distros to try.

Ubuntu is a very well known Linux distribution. Those who have an interest in those things also know that Ubuntu is based on Debian. Now I am noticing that whatever direction Ubuntu is going, Debian is starting to follow.