More here:
http://www.robertpeaslee.com/index.php/shuttleworth-gives-a-nod-to-debian/

In the unlikely event that Debian were to cease to exist tomorrow, and be otherwise completely unavailable, Ubuntu would then become based on another distro.

Someone else mentioned that they like the control that Debian gives them over Ubuntu, and on that point I would agree, hence the reason I use Gentoo. (If it moves, COMPILE IT!!!!) I had Gentoo prior to my Ubuntu flirtations, then went to Sabayon (Based on Gentoo), but am slowly going back to Gentoo.(emerge -av kdebase-meta kdeutils-meta)

User Friendly is ok, but once you’re beyond a certain level of knowledge, you like to poke under the hood. If under-the-hood is where you like to be, then Debian or some other “base” distro, if you will, is for you.

If “It just Works(tm)(r)(c)” if for you, then (E,X,K)Ubuntu, or some other shiny wrapped distro is the path you shall follow.

It matters not how one goes to the mountain, only that one gets there. – An old Proverb I just made up.

@Alan:
It is better now than it was a while ago. There was a decent spell when Ubuntu didn’t say anything about Debian on the information page aside of a toss of the name. After a decent amount of protest, this has been changing.

If debian really feels left out, maybe they should merge more with ubuntu. I am sure the projects could benefit. have two options on install – Debian core, or ubuntu. Or if they want to keep complaining they can just QQ.

My complaint, is like everyone else’s, Ubuntu needs to start giving back to the community.

Reread my comments. I’m not bashing Ubuntu at all, they have achieved their goal and I respect them for that. What I don’t respect are the items I mentioned in my post.

And to say Ubuntu cannot exist without Debian is correct. Ubuntu is based on Debian. If it were based on another distribution, then sure, you’d be correct in saying it could be based on another distribution. But it isn’t, so my statement was correct.

I apologize if I came off as elitist, I never intended the post to come off as such. It is more about bringing about awareness to an issue that has been swept under the table by the Ubuntu devs. And again, I’m not bashing Ubuntu as a distribution. Someone else can have the ‘I bashed Ubuntu before it was cool’ tag – I don’t want it. Open source software should be promoted by everyone, but that promotion should proportionate to effort, and I don’t like seeing Ubuntu get all the press while Debian goes without credit. Color me what you will, it just doesn’t seem right.

@Matt:

Another commenter had the same feelings about the usability of Ubuntu for new users. Kudos for sticking with Linux and trying out different distributions!

@man:

You make an interesting point, but I don’t know if I agree with the analogy. It would be more appropriate to say that Ubuntu and Debian are conjoined twins. Debian has all the organs and the main functioning body, and Ubuntu is the consumer attached to the host. When performing surgery to separate the two, Ubuntu would be the one that dies, while Debian would continue without a hitch. Ubuntu is very much reliant on advances in Debian, as Ubuntus entire substructure is dependent on the Debian project.

@Michael:

I too jumped around a lot of distros before settling down with one :) Perspective is good to have, it gives you the experience necessary to prescribe solutions to different problems, as not all distributions are slated for all tasks.

@Everyone:

This post attracted a lot more intention than I ever thought it would. Thanks for stopping by, and thank you for the comments. They really contribute to the discussion, and I do read them all!

So for newbies, sometimes they get confused and say “Hey, I’m runnin’ Linux!” instead of “Hey, I’m runnin’ Ubuntu!” forgive, enlighten, breathe, move on.

Secondly, Debian is a solid platform. But it’s ugly at installation. There’s no “user friendly” install. There’s no “user friendly” options explanation. Basically, it’s not “user friendly” AT ALL. If you’re not an “experienced user” step back and leave it alone. You’re going to go into convulsions just from trying to set up your NIC.

Ubuntu bridged the gap that the furry toothed developers of Debian never considered important – NEW USERS, and how to get them away from their crappy current OS.

And it’s funny, but the GUI installation setup, the GUI options dialog, the Live CD options…they’ve all been available openly to the Debian developers. How come they haven’t been implemented in Debian? Oh yeah, that’s right, because Debian isn’t USER FRIENDLY. Ubuntu is.

So, my suggestion is to quit being an elitist and recognize Ubuntu for what it has done, and what it has offered – even if those offerings are viewed as a “complete waste of resources” to some.

Just because those who created Debian don’t feel the contributions Ubuntu has made are sizable, doesn’t mean they aren’t.

As for Ubuntu not existing without Debian? Get off your high horse. You don’t think Ubuntu could have been built on the Red Hat, Slack, or even BSD platforms?

Think again.

But hey, if you want to bash Ubuntu, maybe it’ll become popular enough for you to say “Hey, I was one of the first people to bash them when they were just becoming big!” and we can all look at you as some sort of uber god or something.

Whatever4ever.