

Debian comes with over 29000 packages (precompiled software that is bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine) – all of it free. Of course, the thing that people want is application software: programs to help them get what they want to do done, from editing documents to running a business to playing games to writing more software. The Hurd is free software produced by the GNU project.Ī large part of the basic tools that fill out the operating system come from the GNU project hence the names: GNU/Linux and GNU/Hurd. The Hurd is a collection of servers that run on top of a microkernel (such as Mach) to implement different features. However, work is in progress to provide Debian for other kernels, primarily for the Hurd. Linux is a piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. Debian uses the Linux kernel (the core of an operating system), but most of the basic OS tools come from the GNU project hence the name GNU/Linux.

An operating system is the set of basic programs and utilities that make your computer run. Debian is a free operating system (OS) for your computer.
