Re:dpkg, The Hurd, and FreeBSD. (Score 1)

In response to question #2:

The term "HURD" refers strictly to the Mach microkernel and supporting servers that provide kernel-like functionality. In the same way, the term "Linux" is really applicable only to the kernel that Linus founded. This is why Debian refers to its current offering as "Debian GNU/Linux" and to its forthcoming HURD-based distro as "Debian GNU/HURD". The GNU part refers to the utilities surrounding and supporting the kernel-like infrastructure.

In fact, it is my understanding that RMS founded the GNU (GNU's Not Unix) project as a set of tools designed to support a Unix-like microkernel infrastructure -- the Hird of Unix-Replacing Daemons (HURD). The Linux kernel happened to pop up under the same license before the HURD ever thought of bootstrapping, and kind of sidetracked the efforts of the community that was implementing GNU.

So if the HURD itself is beginning to appear Debian-like, it would be only in its development cycle and practices.