From Debian to Ubuntu

2006-11-15 Linux · Me

In the past I have gone from Linux distro to Linux distro, but almost always a result of taking a CD, and doing a completely fresh install. Its been the easiest way. But with my next upgrade I am going to cross from Debian to Ubuntu and keep all my files and information but have the OS do the hard work.

As Ubuntu is based on Debian and use the same package management system I can do this, and reap the benefits of having all my linux boxes running on the same distro.

For the last couple of years I have been running Debian, but Ubuntu is making me switch mainly because on the machine that I need a desktop Linux machine its clearly better, and for servers its updated more regularly which helps with security patching. The company running the Ubuntu project, Canonical, has committed to updating Ubuntu every 6 months and supporting old versions for 5 years, though I am sure that I will upgrade before that time is up!

My new Ubuntu server (actually installed from the server cd) is excellent, and I have just got up and running a (after a while of having this absent) a Ubuntu based MythTV box (using the desktop variant). This box is also useful for web surfing on our LCD tv from a few feet away.

Last night I upgraded the MythTV box to the latest Edgy release, if you are doing the same I would give it a few hours. My web connection coupled with the fact that this hardware is a few years old mean’t that it took along time!

I will create a link to my Debian Ubuntu wiki in this page as soon as I have detailed the procedure.