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I run Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 64-bit. I just bought a 4-1 printer Brother (MFC-J480DW) from Staples because I was told it was Linux compatible. It looks like it is, but to download the correct drivers it starts with this choice: which OS version do I have, Linux (rpm) or Linux (deb) ? I studied up and now somewhat know what rpm and deb refer to, yet I’m clueless as to the choice in regard to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Any clues?

r2wave
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  • Ubuntu is debian based distro so choose Linux (deb). – Raphael Sep 30 '16 at 03:40
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    As far as your printer, you could most likely use your printer with Ubuntu's built in support just by going to the printer section of System Settings (find it by clicking the gear icon in the top right of the screen. The click Add. You'll most likely find your printer in under the Network section. Follow the prompt to install. – L. D. James Sep 30 '16 at 04:44
  • Since this is an ubuntu stackexchange the answer will always be .deb but for future reference in case you start using other distros here's a list of major distros grouped by family: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions, note Debian uses .deb, Red Hat (called RPM in the list) uses .rpm, Gentoo, Slackware, Arch etc uses variants of tar like .tbz or .tar.xz etc. – slebetman Sep 30 '16 at 09:37

3 Answers3

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You want .deb

Ubuntu is a distribution based on Debian Linux, and as such it is (typically) compatible with Debian packages which have names ending with .deb

TheTechRobo
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Goku
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    I just want to chime in to say that Ubuntu no longer has guaranteed compatibility with Debian packages (since Ubuntu's underlying pieces and parts have changed too much)... but you're right that they often work! – Nick Weinberg Sep 30 '16 at 03:52
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    And we shall not forget - although I want to - about snappy packages :) – FredFoo Sep 30 '16 at 06:26
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if you are using a descendant of Debian such as Ubuntu (or any derivative of Ubuntu such as Kali or Mint), then you have .deb packages. If you are using fedora, CentOS, RHEL and so on, then it is .rpm. If you want more detail on this, see this Unix & Linux question.

Community
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papi
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  • Well Ubuntu is debian system (.deb) so you have to choose .deb
  • If you were using fedora, then you would have chosen .rpm
Xaid kamil
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