Few Tips Before Downloading Debian 6 Squeeze CD/DVDs

As a GNU Linux lover ;-) I have nothing but pure respect for Debian. They have one of the best Linux forums in the world in which they cover almost everything you want to know thanks to the expert users, and it is golden!. But sometimes the more deeper and complicated things you discuss, there is a tendency to see a "less" visibility for the most simplest and important things.

Couldn't say no to her beauty ;-)

For instance, when I heard about the Debian 6 release I wanted to download it so bad :). But when I went to their downloading page I couldn't figure out which CD or CDs I should download. I have a reasonably faster internet connection, but still I couldn't figure out what CD/s should I download if all I wanted was to get a decent Gnome desktop up and running (who wants all that 30+ cds .. yikes). 

I tried everywhere, I mean I went to the popular reviewing sites... Google it and heck I even went to the Debian forum but still I could not find out what I could get if I download the first .ISO of Debian Squeeze. This is actually not the first time Debian has done this to me, the last time I tried it was around 2002 or 2003, even at that time I wasn't sure what or what not to download.

Anyhow, if you're wondering which CD/DVD to download to get Gnome, KDE, or Xfce up and running in Debian 6, then below are the details.

*. Note - First I tried the FTP servers which were fast actually, but for some reason around 99.99% the downloading got stopped. And even though the download manager said it was "resume-able" still the FTP server refused to give me that last few kilobytes of data. This happened to me when I was downloading Ubuntu as well (errrrrrr).

So I went for the torrent "version" on both occasions and guess what, it was a breeeze. No interruptions, fast (it took few seconds to get to that point but after that boy .. it was fast) and I can stop, resume... no problems whatsoever. So I highly recommend you to try the Torrents first. If they seem too slow (highly unlikely) then you can try the FTP servers. 


I just want Gnome desktop installed Gayan! ;-) - 

OK then, go ahead and download the first CD (torrent) which should install the Gnome on your PC including few other applications (totem, picture manager, ....) but major Office suits such as OpenOffice or LibreOffice, (no Gimp I think) or other major software are not included in the first CD.

For that you'll either have to download them online or download the other CD (not sure which CDs you should download to install office and other packages).

I hate Gnome, Give me KDE! - 

Okay you KDE geek ;-), download this official Debian 6 KDE image (torrent).

Both KDE and Gnome Sucks >:( give me my Xfce - 

In that case download this official Debian 6 Xfce image (torrent also including LXDE desktop). 

So, I hope this was helpful for anyone who used to live in the darkness created by the Debian CDs ;-).