i am trying to download the debian woody ISO's

and in the list it states :

debian-30r4-i386-binary-1_NONUS.iso

wot does this mean.. should i download this or :

debian-30r4-i386-binary-1.iso

and i am not frm USA im in Asia (MALDIVES)

thnks

The NONUS iso contains packages that might have patent or copyright or some other legal issues in the US, so if you are an American, you might want to use the other.

But, Woody is pretty out of date for a desktop, so you should really grab the Sarge or the Sid instead. I reccomend the Sarge net install if you have a fast internet connection. The Net Install CD will install a base system then you can just apt-get your way to a complete desktop and not worrry about installing unnecessary packages.

thanks fur the tip ..Optimistic

but i thiought woody was the latest release

Please check out this page about Debian - Debian releases

3.04 of Woody is the latest Woody release, but Woody is the oldest (and most stable) branch of the Debian tree. Woody frequently is used on servers where you want/need as little to change in its lifetime as possible. The plus side to that is that it is super stable (because the vast majority of the software versions on Woody have been out for a very ling time), and the downside is it has none of the latest and greatest software, as it has to age with few/no errors for the Debian team to include it on the stable branch, named Woody.

The 3 current releases (all on version 3.04) are Woody (aka Stable), Sarge (aka Testing), and Sid (aka unstable). Sid has all the latest versions of everything, and consequently tends to have problems and breaks. If you love the bleeding edge and are comfortable finding, reporting, and fixing bugs, Sid is for you.

Sarge is a nice medium between the extremes of Woody and Sid. I would think most desktop Debian users go with Sarge. It has slightly older versions of apps, old enough that the bugs have been found and corrected/removed. It isn't as concerned with stability as Woody, but isn't as bleeding edge as Sid.

Peace,
JimBass

Woody is considered the Stable release, but it is quite old (3 years?). Sarge is testing and Sid is unstable. The thing about Debian is, well, they test the hell out of the software, so stable is probably the most stable distro out there, but it is old. Sarge (testing) is still more stable than most everything else, so it is a nice choice. I think that Sarge will become Stable soon anyway.

A little about Debian: You 'track' a release (either stable, testing, or unstable). Stable is just that, stable, but you pay for the stability with old packages so it is fine for a server but not so much fun for a desktop. Testing is still quite stable and you get newer packages. Cool. Unstable is even newer than testing but there are bugs and such. If you really know what you are doing Unstable is fine.

"What do you mean track?"

Apt-get is pointed to a release so everytime you update, you update from those release packages. So, if you install Sarge now it is testing, but when Sarge becomes stable, you will still be tracking testing (I think it will be called Etch). Tracking the testing branch keeps you closer to the new technologies.

Once you get the hang of Debian, you will love it. Keeping packages up to date is really simple. Installing packages is really simple. They have great mailing lists.

My one complaint with Debian: after you get it installed, it is too easy to use sometimes. That's why I keep a Slackware box around to play with.