You could change the /etc/apt/sources.list to point to a different mirror, perhaps even debian.org. And if when you update everything stays the same, that's how you know. Also reproduce-able builds, which in theory is apt-get source <package> and build it, and the .deb files should match bit for bit against those downloaded to /var/cache/apt/archives/. Except for the date / time stamps of course. The methodology is probably more involved than that, but one of many ways to "know". Otherwise install as few things as possible and run as few things as possible to maintain a human audit-able and therefor trust-able base. As trust-able as a human is anyway.

Reading Debian in wikipedia i got reading about kernel. So there are also different kernel's. It looks like to me, everything is on top of each other, beginning with the kernel(OS), on top of the kernel there is the distro (ubuntu, knoppix) that uses a kernel and in the distro there is the desktop environment. And a distro could be Debian based. And all these different distro's are born, because they can.

And there are different (updated) versions of a kernel? And the kernel is Debian, then right? Or ... hmm all these reading hurts my head. I think i go install something with the software manager, it is so handy :-)

It look like i am doing ten things at the same time again, sorry for this. I have however been trying one thing but i do not seem to understand. Several times when i install something, with the software manager or just by downloading a tar.bz2 and then installing it, i do not see where the program is, it runs, but when i exit it, i need to search the filesystem in order to get it running again. And when i type in the search box of the menu, it lets me see the package i had downloaded but not the installed program, and this drives me a bit crazy... Am i doing something wrong ? I get it that the programmers don't want to overflow me with icons, but it would be handy to ask me if i would want one or not... Then when i find the program, mostly in /usr/bin i try clicking with my right mouse button, but there is no way i can make an icon for it. So 2 questions, how do i make an icon, and why is it not automatically shown in the menu ? oh 3 questions, why are the download packages in the searchbox and not the program that is installed, they have the same name.

Maybe i need to restart, i'll try that ?

No, not everything is Debian! Here's a more complete tree:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...n_Timeline.svg

People often ask why there are so many distros. The answer is that there are so many Linux users with different requirements. Some distros are designed for newbies, others are for experts. Some use bleeding edge software and some use only software versions that are tried and tested. Some are for old computers, others need the most recent models to really show what they are capable of. Some are tiny, others are big. Some are source-based with everything built locally, most are binary. Some are guaranteed to contain only free software. Some offer simplicity of structure, some maximum choice of applications, some are specialised for particular uses. And, as you have already noticed, they usually have different default desktops and default application collections.

In the world of Windows, everyone gets the same system. If you don't like it, tough! It isn't about you, it's about Microsoft and their profits. In the world of Linux, it's up to you to find a distro that suits you.

PS. The kernel is the Linux kernel and that is that. It doesn't belong to Debian. It belongs to Linux as a whole. But it can be built and configured in a gazillion different ways, and binary distros provide their own configured version.

PPS: We're not supposed to post advertisements here but I really do think you might profit from reading my book http://www.lulu.com/shop/hazel-russm...-21229401.html

So finding a distro means installing them and trying them until you come across one that suits. I looked there is also gentoo instead of debian. So when found one that suits, then learn how all is working and then use Arch to build one that really suits ...

Any idea about how to make a link to a program? or why it is not in my menu? I have installed 2 applications, but they are not in the menu under all applications, and when i type in the search box i get the install packages of the programs. When navigating to /usr/bin i see the programs, but right clicking on them i do not see new, to make an icon. I try drag drop maybe this is the way...

You don't want to use Gentoo or Arch just yet! Those are definitely for experts. And building your own means using Linux From Scratch, which you are definitely not ready for.
Like I said, this depends on the desktop. For the big desktops, you can usually right-click on the empty desktop itself, choose "new", then "shortcut" and enter the full path to the program (/usr/bin/whatever)

Yes that is more complete overview indeed.

Wow, you got 5 stars on your book, but i hae the reading, is it also available as an audio book? No serious 92 pages, i'll think about it, is it also in pdf format?

Hazel, you have a lovely website :-) I would like some tea now.

No GTK2 installed, so no sudoku, starting up the software manager to see if i can install it...

hmm. what is GTK ? it tells me:
No package 'gtk+-2.0' found
No package 'glib-2.0' found

Consider adjusting the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable if you
installed software in a non-standard prefix.

Alternatively, you may set the environment variables DEPS_CFLAGS
and DEPS_LIBS to avoid the need to call pkg-config.
See the pkg-config man page for more details.

I need to adjust my pkg config path, ahhu :-|

No you don't! Just install gtk2-dev and build-essential. Why must you always make things difficult for yourself?

Because i do not know what i am doing ?

You should make your books, download-able !

I think my sudoku is not so good:
(sudoku_aid:22635): Gtk-CRITICAL **: IA__gtk_widget_destroy: assertion 'GTK_IS_WIDGET (widget)' failed

Hey Jinux75,

I see you have been quite active and getting a lot of help from other members, especially hazel, since my last visit to this thread. I won't repeat some of the good advice you've already gotten, but here are some comments to clarify certain issues you asked about that may not have been touched on yet:

Package manager cache and updating it

The package management system maintains a local database that it synchronises with on-line "repositories" when you issue the

command. Then when you want to install something new, it will check this database to see if it is already installed and if not, whether it is available and if yes, offer to download and install it for you.

The package manager also keeps local copies of the "packages" used to install applications and other software in its cache. These packages are not the programs or applications themselves, but a normalized bundle used by your distro to install applications and software. The Windows equivalent would be a ".msi file". You can delete these packages once the installation is done without having any effect on the software that was installed. It is however good practice, in my opinion, to keep at least the last version or two of your packages in the local cache, to facilitate troubleshooting should you ever need to reinstall something while not on-line.

Installing stuff

Again, I highly recommend you stick to the package manager for adding or removing anything to and from your system. If you simply download tar.xz files of software and install manually, you will be forgoing several important advantages of the package management system (dependency management, amongst other things). The strengths of a particular distro is often judged in great part on the maturity of its package manager and the number of packages available in its repositories. You are missing out if not taking advantage of this technology.

Hope this helps :-)

Hey Rickkk thank you, i will try to use the manager, but some things are not in the manager that i do want to install. So i need to get it from somewhere else then the software manager. And nice to know that the packages can be deleted. I deleted some and nothing happend, so i thought oh well it works. The name cache is also giving it away ofcourse.

GTK (originally GIMP ToolKit) and its variants are shared libraries that are required for graphics management. A great number of GUI applications depend on it and will have it identified as a dependency in their installation package. If the software you are trying to run (Sudoku) is complaining about its absence, did you install Sudoku via your package manager ? If not, you have a good example of why it is not best practice to do that. If yes, it is somewhat surprising and I would recommend you trying to reinstall via the package manager.