Management
Technology
- Applications
- Business Intelligence
- Development
- Hardware
- Mobile & Wireless
- Networking
- Internet
- Operating Systems
- Security Products
- Servers & Datacentre
- Storage
Toolbox
Training
Books
White Papers
Webcast
Resource Centre
Debian Lenny, coming Real Soon Now!
February 12, 2009
Posted by: Tom Callway
With the release of 'Lenny' - the latest stable branch of Debian GNU/Linux - on Saturday (yes, that's Valentine's day - don't forget!), Tom Callway speaks to the head of the Debian project, Steve MacIntyre.
Why is the imminent release of Lenny a good thing for the Debian community?
It's the focus of lots of the work we've been doing for the last two years or so, with many new and updated versions of everybody's favourite packages. We've translated more of our packages into more languages, and (as ever!) there are more packages available. That means we can cover more people's needs, from home laptop or desktop system through to universities running massive scientific clusters and businesses depending on a very solid platform for their servers.
Many members of our community are happy to run from our testing and unstable branches, but the stable releases are very important to the rest where they trust us to just make things work and keep them working.
Why should enterprises using Debian be excited about the release of Lenny? What are the benefits of upgrading from Etch?
Enterprises will benefit most from the updates in key packages that affect them. Obviously, new kernels and drivers will add support for newer systems than we could support in Etch. New versions of office software and web browsers will give bonuses on the desktop. There are a whole host of updates for servers too, for example in virtualisation and database packages.
I can't do the whole thing justice in just a couple of paragraphs here! For a more complete list of the updates, we have a big summary in the Debian wiki
Why is the release of Lenny a good thing for downstream Linux distros like Ubuntu?
Well, that depends on how each of those distros work. There is quite a split here: many of them take packages from our unstable repository already, so won't necessarily be *directly* affected by Lenny.
However, once we've made the release we will be free to do larger, more disruptive changes in unstable that they will benefit from. Of course, there are lots of other distros who like to build on top of our stable releases and just make their own minor changes. For these folks, they all suddenly get major upgrades in the hardware support and applications that they're using for the base. I would hope that all the derived distros will be happy here, but I can't guarantee that!
Jump to page : [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
Follow highlights from ComputerworldUK on Twitter
Sign up for our Daily Newsletter
The UK IT News widget Get it for your site!
<<newer entry | back to blogs index | older entry>>
Advert
Email this article to a friend or colleague:
PLEASE NOTE: Your name is used only to let the recipient know who sent the story, and in case of transmission error. Both your name and the recipient's name and address will not be used for any other purpose.
- This article is now being printed.
What are your views on this subject? Use the form below to post a comment on this article up to 1000 characters.
Click below to add 'Debian Lenny, coming Real Soon Now!' to your blog.
If you do not have a ComputerworldUK Account and would like to use this feature, please Register.
If you are a registered, logged-in user, this will post the title and first paragraph of this story to your blog to share with your readers.
Advert
Newsletters
Sign up to our Weekly Round-Up for the past week’s not-to-be-missed news analysis and insight delivered straight to your inbox.
WHITE PAPERS
-
Legal risks: Employee use of the internet and email
Exploring the challenges facing IT Mangers today and vital steps to ensure safe internet an email use by employees. -
Phishing for victims
This White Paper examines the phenomenon of phishing. It explains the potentially catastrophic threat it presents to all kinds of organisation. Exploding some widespread myths, it lights up the murky waters where phishing first emerged and where it continues to evolve. But it also highlights what your business can do to blunt the threat.
About the author
John Spencer Written by staff at Sirius Corporation, the Open Source services group, this blog seeks to dispel any FUD around the use of Open Source software in the Enterprise and provide perspectives on business, economics, politics, philosophy and the environment.
