What is UserLinux?

Bruce Perens posted an early draft of the UserLinux Manifesto late last year. Since then UserLinux has generated considerable press coverage, much of it laced with a profound misunderstanding of what this not yet released distribution is all about. (The first beta release is due out September 1.) So, let's take a look at what UserLinux is, and what it isn't. See also Brock Frazier's definition of UserLinux from his post to the UserLinux mailing list.

UserLinux is not a fork of Debian, it's a Custom Debian Distribution aimed at the business market. UserLinux is currently a subset of Debian Sarge. All packages are taken from main, none from non-free, and where Debian provides a choice of about 9000 packages, UserLinux streamlines that down to one web browser, one mail transfer agent, one desktop, and so on, without a bewildering array of choices. There are currently three different flavors of UserLinux; the enterprise server, the enterprise desktop, and the SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) edition. Each one defines a subset of Debian Sarge packages that will create a simple system tailored to the desired task.

Most experienced Linux users are used to having a wide array of competing packages to chose from, but for most businesses such choice is often confusing and it adds to maintenance costs and security risks. UserLinux chooses packages based on stability, usability, licensing, compatibility and adherence to open standards, to create a distribution that is simple, stable and easy to maintain.

Since UserLinux is Debian Sarge, any sysadmin with some knowledge of Debian will be able to add additional packages or modify the package list, if desired. A business with a skilled Debian sysadmin in-house will be able to download and use UserLinux without any support contracts or licensing fees. Many businesses will not have a knowledgeable sysadmin in-house, and will instead contract with a UserLinux vendor for installation and support. If the customer is knowledgeable enough to have a preference for some package not included the default UserLinux install, they are free to negotiate a modified package list with their vendor. Most customers should find the default UserLinux install to be adequate for their needs.

Will it sell? Only time will tell for sure. Vnunet says: the big companies aren't getting in line to offer support for UserLinux. True enough, for now. What big customer wants to request a pre-beta OS? Bruce Perens wasn't fazed by the article, and for good reason.

The first stable UserLinux release will follow closely on the heels of Debian's Sarge release. After that, who knows.

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