The way Debian manages it, only bugfixes are added once something hit's "stable" (current Debian 5). This means that drivers and new versions of applications a

The way Debian manages it, only bugfixes are added once something hit's "stable" (current Debian 5). This means that drivers and new versions of applications are typically frozen except for bug patches only. Debian 5 was released a little over a year ago, leading to the software being outdated by standard desktop/consumer use compared to the number of improvements and bugs fixed in the mean time (most applications provide feature+bug releases which are not added to Debian once it hits stable). For servers, this is reliable and actually wonderful to deal with. For desktop/laptop systems, it can be frustrating because the code exists, and it should be nice, easy and non-broken for applications and drivers, but in reality it's not, because the release is behind. Ubuntu's goal is to have a much quicker release cycle to keep this from happening, but in the mean time never get a system that's really 100% stable and usable. Ubuntu also does some weird crazy hacks to get things to appear smooth to the user, when in reality they have pre-programmed guesses you can't override. So if it doesn't work, the only recovery is seasoned Linux experience. Debian, on the other hand, gives a large number of options making the installation not seem as smooth, but is recoverable with quick Google searches or reading of the explanations.