[Tfug] [Fwd: Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 released]

Sun Apr 8 18:12:50 MST 2007

OK...so what's people's opinions of this?

What I mean is...I've been running the Ubuntu Feisty beta for almost a month
now.  It's astonishingly solid for pre-release code.  Total glitches to
date: right now boot times aren't optimized, and one auto-update of network
drivers caused my WiFi settings to reset, knocking me offline for about four
minutes tops.  I first loaded it in a late alpha state ("Herd 5") and even
*then* it was more stable and glitch-free than a lot of "release" distros.
Hasn't crashed once, alpha or beta state.  It looks like Shuttleworth and
company really understand that Edgy was a mess when it first shipped and
have made a major jump forward in stability with Feisty.

I've got OpenOffice 2.2, a kernel in the 2.6.20 series, xorg is at 7.2, in
many other ways as well Feisty is quite a bit past where Etch is.

For personal desktop use, what are the pros and cons here?

Server use, absolutely, no question Etch will have advantages...

Jim

On 4/8/07, Glen Pfeiffer <glen at thepfeiffers.net> wrote:
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 released
> Resent-Date: Sun,  8 Apr 2007 08:15:44 -0500 (CDT)
> Resent-From: debian-announce at lists.debian.org
> Date: Sun, 8 Apr 2007 15:15:36 +0200
> From: Alexander Schmehl <tolimar at debian.org>
> To: debian-announce at lists.debian.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The Debian Project                              http://www.debian.org/
> Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 released                         press at debian.org
> April 8th, 2007               http://www.debian.org/News/2007/20070408
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 released
>
> The Debian Project is pleased to announce the official release of
> Debian GNU/Linux version 4.0, codenamed "etch", after 21 months
> of constant development.  Debian GNU/Linux is a free operating
> system which supports a total of eleven processor architectures
> and includes the KDE, GNOME and Xfce desktop environments.  It
> also features cryptographic software and compatibility with the
> FHS v2.3 and software developed for version
> 3.1 of the LSB.
>
> Using a now fully integrated installation process, Debian
> GNU/Linux 4.0 comes with out-of-the-box support for encrypted
> partitions.  This release introduces a newly developed graphical
> frontend to the installation system supporting scripts using
> composed characters and complex languages; the installation
> system for Debian GNU/Linux has now been translated to 58
> languages.
>
> Also beginning with Debian GNU/Linux 4.0, the package management
> system has been improved regarding security and efficiency.
> Secure APT allows the verification of the integrity of packages
> downloaded from a mirror. Updated package indices won't be
> downloaded in their entirety, but instead patched with smaller
> files containing only differences from earlier versions.
>
> Debian GNU/Linux runs on computers ranging from palmtops and
> handheld systems to supercomputers, and on nearly everything in
> between.  A total of eleven architectures are supported
> including:  Sun SPARC (sparc), HP Alpha (alpha), Motorola/IBM
> PowerPC (powerpc), Intel IA-32 (i386) and IA-64 (ia64), HP
> PA-RISC (hppa), MIPS (mips, mipsel), ARM (arm), IBM S/390 (s390)
> and -- newly introduced with Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 -- AMD64 and
> Intel EM64T (amd64).
>
> Debian GNU/Linux can be installed from various installation media
> such as DVDs, CDs, USB sticks and floppies, or from the network.
> GNOME is the default desktop environment and is contained on the
> first CD.  The K Desktop Environment (KDE) and the Xfce desktop
> can be installed through two new alternative CD images.  Also
> newly available with Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 are multi-arch CDs and
> DVDs supporting installation of multiple architectures from a
> single disc.
>
> Debian GNU/Linux can be downloaded right now via bittorent (the
> recommended way), jigdo or HTTP;  see <http://www.debian.org/CD/>
> for further information.  It will soon be available on DVD and
> CD-ROM from numerous vendors <http://www.debian.org/CD/vendors/>, too.
>
> This release includes a number of updated software packages, such
> as the K Desktop Environment 3.5 (KDE), an updated version of the
> GNOME desktop environment 2.14, the Xfce 4.4 desktop environment,
> the GNUstep desktop 5.2, X.Org 7.1, OpenOffice.org 2.0.4a, GIMP
> 2.2.13, Iceweasel (an unbranded version of Mozilla Firefox
> 2.0.0.3), Icedove (an unbranded version of Mozilla Thunderbird
> 1.5), Iceape (an unbranded version of Mozilla Seamonkey 1.0.8),
> PostgreSQL 8.1.8, MySQL 5.0.32, GNU Compiler Collection 4.1.1,
> Linux kernel version 2.6.18, Apache 2.2.3, Samba 3.0.24, Python
> 2.4.4 and 2.5, Perl 5.8.8, PHP 4.4.4 and 5.2.0, Asterisk 1.2.13,
> and more than 18,000 other ready to use software packages.
>
> Upgrades to Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 from the previous release,
> Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 codenamed "sarge", are automatically handled
> by the aptitude package management tool for most configurations,
> and to a certain degree also by the apt-get package management
> tool.  As always, Debian GNU/Linux systems can be upgraded quite
> painlessly, in place, without any forced downtime, but it is
> strongly recommended to read the release notes for possible
> issues.  For detailed instructions about installing and upgrading
> Debian GNU/Linux, please see the release notes
> <http://www.debian.org/releases/etch/releasenotes>.  Please note
> that the release notes will be further improved and translated to
> additional languages in the coming weeks.
>
>
> About Debian
> ------------
>
> Debian GNU/Linux is a free operating system, developed by more
> than a thousand volunteers from all over the world who
> collaborate via the Internet.  Debian's dedication to Free
> Software, its non-profit nature,  and its open development model
> make it unique among GNU/Linux  distributions.
>
> The Debian project's key strengths are its volunteer base, its
> dedication to the Debian Social Contract, and its commitment to
> provide the best operating system possible.  Debian 4.0 is
> another important step in that direction.
>
> Contact Information
> -------------------
>
> For further information, please visit the Debian web pages at
> <http://www.debian.org/> or send mail to <press at debian.org>.
>
>
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