Debian Turns 15 Years Old, Aug 18, 2008

Despite being only 15 years old, Debian is more mature than any of the other operating systems. And it is available for free to download and use.

The Debian GNU/Linux team today released the fourth update for the current stable Debian release, codenamed Etch.

The Debian GNU/Linux operating system continues to generate interest from developers around the world, keen to sign up and contribute code to the open-source project now in its 15th year.

In many ways the Debian GNU/Linux project is unique among all the distributions that dot the Linux landscape. Apart from putting out a high-grade distribution, it has served as the base for a number of others - Ubuntu and Knoppix, to name just two - which have had a big impact on the growth of the Linux ecosystem.

Every now and then, someone suggests that Debian GNU/Linux should be more commercial. To further this goal, some create derivative distros like Linspire, Ubuntu, or Xandros, or organizations like the stillborn DCC Alliance. Others act as pundits, whispering advice from off-stage, like Debian founder Ian Murdock, or, more recently, columnist Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols.

It's normal to build up a mental picture of a person based on what you know about them, especially if you plan to meet that person. At times, the image is not too far removed from reality. At others, the mental image and reality could not be more different.

At a recent Australian Linux conference, Sam Varghese reported that two Debian developers pointed out that the Debian Project needs more corporate support for "men, money and machines" to advance the operating system.

The next release of Debian GNU/Linux, Lenny, is expected to take place before the end of 2008, senior developer Martin Krafft told a miniconference on the distribution at the Australian national Linux conference today.

No operating system, no not even Linux, is ever completely secure. So it is that the Debian Project released on Dec. 27 its second update to Debian 4.0, Etch, with an eye to improved security.

German Web retailer Manufactum has introduced a sleek, low power mini-PC that runs Debian Linux. The 450-Euro Manuscriptum is based on a 500MHz AMD Geode LX800, is equipped with an 80GB hard drive, and offers 1920 x 1400 graphics, according to the company.

It’s a busy time for the members of the Debian Project. Sam Hocevar took over as the new Debian Project leader in April, right around the time the long-awaited Debian 4.0 or ‘Etch,’ hit the streets. And, in mid-June, hundreds of active Debian developers, contributors and other software visionaries from around the world met, many for the first time, in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the Debian Project’s annual developer conference.

The Debian project is pleased to announce the first update of its stable distribution Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (codename etch).

I understand and agree with the Debian stance on not including proprietary software and not budging on it but the Mozilla infinite right to revoke usage sounds like something they got from the Microsoft EULA.

Here's a poser for you: could there be anything more frightening than a bunch of open source geeks (proud ones, at that) milling around the mean streets of Edinburgh? Well, yes. How about if you put some of them in special Debian kilts?

In my followup article on using Etch as a desktop OS, I pondered converting my primary desktop from SUSE to Debian. I've done it.

How many developers run for the post of leader of the Debian GNU/Linux project and cite as part of their platform a desire to make Debian sexy again?

Debian GNU/Linx is a popular Linux-based operating system with excellent software management tools and a development pace that is, depending on your perspective, saner or more plodding than those of its Linux distribution rivals.

We recently received the following note from Thaddeus H. Black, a Debian developer. We thought he had some interesting things to say about Debian and its development process, so, with his permission, we're sharing his thoughts with you

Now that Debian 4.0, Etch, has finally arrived, what do people make of it?

.. if you ran a server based on Debian Sarge, you should definitely consider for an upgrade to Debian Etch, but if you want to use it as a workstation, I think you should get Ubuntu or Freespire.

A few months late, Debian 4.0, aka Etch, has been released, but how many people actually will be running it?

The Debian GNU/Linux Project has a new leader. Sam Hocevar, a French developer, who has been with the project since 2000, was elected as leader for 2007-08 on Sunday.

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.

Trek Aerospace used Debian Linux and open-source flight control software to build an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL).

The Debian GNU/Linux project has come to some kind of crossroads - due to many factors, some of them artificial - and the man who takes over leadership next month will have to make some crucial decisions on the future direction of the project.

I install, begin to configure and unknowingly make a mistake in the second installment of my adventures in Debian-land.

Ian Murdock founded Debian GNU/Linux nearly fifteen years ago, and today it provides the foundations for many well-known distros such as Ubuntu and Knoppix. LXF caught up with Ian, who currently chairs the Linux Standards base, and asked him about Debian politics, leadership and the rise of Ubuntu

With the gift of a new computer the help of a friend I recently decided to move from running OpenSuSE to duel booting Windows and Debian. Thus begins my adventure in Debian.

I asked Barth and Anthony Towns, the Debian Project Leader for their thoughts on Debian's delays, and when we might expect to see Etch released. At the time this article was written, I had not heard back from either of them.

Who said you can't make money by supporting free community-based Linux distributions?

A commercial supplier of open-source routing and firewall software has transitioned its community-supported firewall/router Linux distribution to a Debian base.

Ian Murdock, the chief technology officer of the recently formed Linux Foundation is set to address a group of Microsoft employees on February 20.

Nominations for the unpaid position of Debian Project Leader (DPL) opened last week. The successful candidate will take over from current incumbent Anthony Towns in April.

The latest release of Debian, "Etch", may slip another month, according to some Debian developers. In the meantime, Ubuntu, a distribution based on Debian, has formed a deal with Linspire that will see that company dump its Debian base for an Ubuntu link.

The release of the upcoming version of Debian may slip to March, according to one of the two release managers for the Linux distribution.

Just when Microsoft wants you to forget about alternatives to Vista, along comes the Debian based project that allows you to not only install Linux on a Windows system, but do it right under its nose.

The long-awaited next version of the Debian open-source operating system is most likely to be released in February, according to members of the Debian community.

After getting a nudge from one of our DebCentral readers, I decided to give Debian another shot. You see, I haven't messed with Debian since Woody taught me I was just a wannabe geek. As for Etch, if you've installed *Ubuntu, you can install Debian Etch. In fact, Debian may have found a new home or two or three.

Debian GNU/Linux 4.0, codenamed Etch, had been due to arrive by December 4, 2006, but it's been delayed because some developers have deliberately slowed down their work.

We just edited the generic freeze file, so that all packages now need to be hand-approved in order to go to testing.

The developers of the Linux distribution Debian have now made the first Release Candidate of the new installer, which represents the most important new feature of the new Debian Version 4.0 ("Etch"), available.

The Debian community has been fighting within itself over several very contentious issues, but in the last few days the group has reached conclusions that should allow it to get its next Linux distribution out the door.

... we are delaying the full archive freeze for a few days. We haven't chosen a date yet, but you can still expect it to happen in October or early November.

After my recent story asking the question, "Is Debian Dying?" I received several email messages. By far the best of them was by C. J. Fearnley, CEO of LinuxForce Inc., a Linux service provider, and a long-time Debian developer.

For a while, Debian was the community Linux darling. In its heyday, Debian was known for its strong moral point of view and its outstanding code. Numerous important distributions, such as Linspire, Knoppix, and today's most popular distribution, Ubuntu, have sprung from it. Things have changed.

A group of senior developers from the Debian GNU/Linux project have decided to raise funds to pay volunteers who work on the project in order that releases can be made more frequently.

It's considered a good thing that a free software project never really has to die - if the person who started it gives up, another can always take the code and run with it.

Hewlett Packard is expanding its support for Linux distributions by adding Debian Linux to its list. The company says that Debian Linux is now enabled across HP's range of ProLiant and BladeSystem servers.

The free Debian Linux operating system has added the OpenVZ virtualization software to its "unstable," or development, distribution, known as Sid.

The next release of the Debian Project's Linux distribution will run on AMD's AMD64 processors for the first time, according to the organisation's Web site.

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