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Custom Debian Distributions
Chapter 4 - Existing Custom Debian Distributions


4.1 Debian Junior: Debian for children from 1 to 99

Start

beginning of 2000

URL

Debian Jr.

Mailing list

debian-jr@lists.debian.org

Initiator

Ben Armstrong synrg@debian.org

Release

Debian 3.0 (Woody)

Goals

The main target is young children. By the time children are teenaged, they should be comfortable with using Debian without any special modifications.

Debian Jr. was the first Custom Debian Distribution. In fact, at the time this project was created, the idea of Custom Debian Distributions was born, although then, we used the term "internal project". Over time, this name was changed because it was too broad, as it was equally descriptive of a number of quite different projects, such as IPv6 and QA.

Debian Jr. not only provides games, but is also concerned about their quality from a child's perspective. Thus, games that are regarded as not well suited to young children are omitted. Moreover, choices are made about which packages are best suited for children to use for various other activities and tasks that interest them. This includes, for example, simple text processing, web browsing and drawing.


4.2 Debian-Med: Debian in Health Care

Start

beginning of 2002

URL

Debian-Med

Mailing list

debian-med@lists.debian.org

Initiator

Andreas Tille tille@debian.org

Release

Sarge

Goals

4.3 Debian Edu: Debian for Education

Start

Summer of 2002, since 2003 merged with SkoleLinux, which is now synonymous with Debian Edu

URL

Debian Edu Wiki

Mailing list

debian-edu@lists.debian.org

Former Initiator

Raphaël Hertzog hertzog@debian.org

Now responsible

Petter Reinholdtsen pere@hungry.com

Release

Sarge

Goals

This project started with the intention to bring back into Debian a fork from Debian that was started by some people in France. Because they had some time constraints, the people who initially started this effort handed over responsibility to the Norwegian Skolelinux, which is currently more or less identical to Debian Edu.

The Debian Edu project gathered special interest in Spain because there are derived Debian distributions from this country that are intended to be used in schools. For instance there are:

LinEX

A Debian derivative distribution used in all schools in Extremadura.

Currently a fruitful cooperation between Debian Edu and LinEX is established.

LliureX

A Debian derivative distribution in development to be used in schools in Valencia. The goal is to integrate as much as possible as a Custom Debian Distribution.

Guadalinex

This distribution is not only related to education, but might try also to integrate what they have produced back into Debian.


4.4 DeMuDi: Debian Multimedia Distribution

Start

Currently not announced as an official Custom Debian Distribution, but intends to integrate back. DeMuDi is part of the Agnula project (founded by European Community) (since 2000).

URL

Demudi

Initiator

Marco Trevisani marco@centrotemporeale.it

Goals

The initiator is not yet a Debian developer, but it is possible to work on Debian without being an official developer.


4.5 Debian-GIS: Geographical Information Systems

Start

October 2004

URL

DebianGIS Wiki

Mailing list

user and developer list

Initiator

Francesco P. Lovergine frankie@debian.org


4.6 DebiChem: Debian for Chemistry

Start

October 2004

URL

Debichem Alioth page

Mailing list

debichem-users@lists.alioth.debian.org

Initiator

Michael Banck mbanck@debian.org


4.7 Debian-Science: Debian for science

Start

July 2005

URL

Debian-Science Wiki

Mailing list

debian-science@lists.debian.org

Initiator

Helen Faulkner helen@debian.org

While there are Custom Debian Distributions that care for certain sciences (Debian-Med deals in a main part with Biology, DebiChem for Chemistry and Debian-GIS for geography) not all sciences are covered by a specific CDD. The main reason is that at the moment not enough people support such an effort for every science. The temporary solution was to build a general Debian-Science CDD that makes use of the work of other CDDs in case it exists.


4.8 CDDs that were announced but development is stalled


4.8.1 Debian-Desktop: Debian GNU/Linux for everybody

Motto: "Software that Just Works".

Start

October 2002

URL

Debian-Desktop

Mailing list

debian-desktop@lists.debian.org

Initiator

Colin Walters walters@debian.org

Goals

This Custom Debian Distribution has many common issues with other Custom Distributions. The latest move of Debian-Desktop was to care about more up to date software that can be used as common base for all Custom Debian Distributions. The common interest is described in detail in New way to distribute Debian, Section 9.6.


4.8.2 Debian-Lex: Debian GNU/Linux for Lawyers

Start

April 2003

URL

Debian-Lex

Mailing list

debian-lex@lists.debian.org

Initiator

Jeremy Malcolm Jeremy@Malcolm.id.au

Goals

The word lex is the Latin word for law.


4.8.3 Debian Accessibility Project

Debian for blind and visually impaired people

Start

February 2003

Mailing list

debian-accessibility@lists.debian.org

URL

Debian-Accessibility

Initiator

Mario Lang mlang@debian.org

Goals

4.8.4 Debian Enterprise

Debian GNU/Linux for Enterprise Computing

Start

End of 2003

URL

Debian-Enterprise

Initiator

Zenaan Harkness zen@iptaustralia.net

Goals

4.8.5 Other possible Custom Debian Distributions

There are fields that could be served nicely by not yet existing Custom Debian Distributions:

Debian-eGov

Could address government issues, administration, offices of authorities, accounting.

Office

Could cover all office issues.

Accounting

Could integrate accounting systems into Debian.

Biology

Could perhaps take over some stuff from Debian-Med.

Physics

Might look after simulation software.

Mathematics

There is even already a live CD - see Quantian in Building Live CDs of each Custom Debian Distribution, Section 9.5

???

There are a lot more potential Custom Debian Distributions.


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Custom Debian Distributions

5 November 2008

Andreas Tille tille@debian.org