Debian is a free operating system (OS) for your computer. An operating system is
the set of basic programs and utilities that make your computer run. At the core
of an operating system is the kernel. The kernel is the most fundamental program
on the computer,does all the basic housekeeping and lets you start other
programs. Debian is currently based on the Linux(tm) operating system and
includes more than 9500 packages of utilities and applications, and almost 1000
developers.

FREEDOM Debian consists completely of Free Software. This provides for an
unlimited use of Debian,even in commercial environments. All the source code for
the software is freely available. Debian is the largest collection of free
software, all precompiled and ready to go. 

COMMUNITY The Debian project is a 100\% volunteer effort committed to producing
a world class Open Source operating system. There are currently around a 1000
people from around the globe developing the Debian operating system, each with
roles ranging from Package Developement through to Quality
Assurance, Security, Policy and Strategy. The Debian project is committed to the
principles of software freedom and openness. Its commitment is plainly stated in
the Debian Social Contract published at http://www.debian.org/social_contract.
The Debian Free Software Guidelines describe the criterion that licenses for
software included in the Debian operating system must meet. The Open Source
Definition is a derived work of the Debian Free Software Guidelines. 

CONTINUITY The Debian packaging system permits a seamless transition to newer
program versions without the requirement to begin a new installation
$\rightarrow$ from scratch and it won't delete your old configuration. The
dependencies between the programs are handled automatically and you can upgrade
from any media: disks, cd-roms or directly from a network connection to the
internet. 

STABILITY Debian has no commercial pressure and will not release a new and
possibly unstable version just because the market requires that. The Debian
maintainers always test the system thoroughly and attempt to remove all known
bugs before releasing a new version. 

PORTABILITY Debian is available and runs equally well on the following
architectures: Alpha, ARM, HP PA-RISC, Intel x86, Intel IA-64, Motorola 680x0,
MIPS, MIPS (DEC), PowerPC, IBM S/390, SPARC. 

INCLUDED WITH DEBIAN GNU/LINUX Actually the complete Debian GNU/Linux
distribution fits barely on 6 CDs (3 of architecture-dependent precompiled
binaries plus 3 of source code.) Inside you'll find:

the full set of GNU utlities, editors (emacs, vi, ...),nework clients
(telnet,ftp,finger,...), web browsers, privacy tools (gpg, ssh, ...), email
clients and every little tool you can think of 

full set of network protocols (PPP, TCP/IP, Apple(TM) EtherTalk, Windows(TM)
SMB, Novel(TM), ...)

developments tools for the major programming languages (and some of the more
obscure too...)like: C, C++, ObjectiveC, Java, Python, Perl, Smalltalk, LISP,
Scheme, Heskel, ADA, and more. 

complete XML/SGML/HTML development environment 

the X11 windowing system complemented by 10+window managers and the two leading
desktops: Gnome and KDE 

the TeX/LaTeX document preparation system, postscript and type1 fonts and tools,
the Ghostscript Postscript(TM) interpreter

GIMP, the GNU Image Manipulation Program (just like Photoshop, only free!) 

a complete set of office applications: WYSIWYG editors, calendars, spreadsheets,
databases, etc. 

enterprise-level SQL relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and development
tools (application servers, server side scripting languages.)

WANT TO KNOW MORE?  Simply point your browser at http://www.debian.org. If you
need any information or help you can join the #debian channel on IRC (on the
OpenProjects network, you can simply use irc.debian.org.) 

Another way to obtain informations or help is to join one of the Debian mailing
lists. Simply go to http://www.debian.org/MailingLists/subscribe and follow the
instructions. 

If you want to install Debian GNU/Linux you can download the install floppies
from ftp://ftp.debian.org and then go for a network install or order some
Debian CDs.Debian does not make any CD but lots of vendors print `official' CDs
from the Debian Official CD Images (available from the Debian ftp mirrors.) If
you elicit to buy the CD distribution, simply go to the vendors page at
http://www.debian.org/vendors. Anyway,be sure o give a look at the Debian
Installation Guide,located at http://www.debian.org/releases/potato.

