"Many Linux newcomers stick with popular distros like Ubuntu or
Fedora and feel intimidated by the likes of Debian. As Linux
evangelist Mark Pilgrim once quipped, Ubuntu "is an ancient African
word meaning 'can't install Debian'".
"But Ubuntu is a Debian derivative. And Debian's reputation for
being difficult isn't nearly as deserved used to be, so if you've
found Ubuntu getting in your way, the latest Debian release is
worth a look - Lenny even offers a graphical installer - which
actually arrived with the previous release, called Etch.
"Still, Debian's main audience is made up of hard-core Linux
users and server admins, many of whom scoff at Ubuntu's decision to
"dumb down" Linux and remove - or make it difficult to - tweak the
distro to suit their whims. Debian, on the other hand, prizes
personalization and customization, not ease-of-use. And fear not,
Lenny still offers the advanced shell-based install with its myriad
of options and packages, as well as all sorts of CLI-only
configuration tweaks."
