Updates From Debian 204
A couple of people noted that
"Linuxlookup.com is reporting the third update of Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 (codename `woody') which mainly adds security updates to the stable release, along with a few corrections to serious problems. Those who frequently update from security.debian.org won't have to update many packages and most updates from security.debian.org are included in this update." Another reader writes "Looks like the Debian project just released
their old stable distribution (woody) with a huge numbers of security
updates, some removals and some less critical bugfixes. It's been a long
time that we had to wait for it, the last update was in November last year,
together with the break-in." And finally: pkarlos_76 writes "What's holding up Debian Sarge from release to stable? It's those lazy maintainers..... no actually it's just a few issues with security and bugs being quashed, and maybe you can help speed things up, especially if you are a maintainer, as your package will be left out if release candidate bugs are not fixed. Sarge Release Status Update available on Debianhelp . Even if you aren't a maintainer, any help with bug quashing, picking up orphaned packages or what not is always a Good Thing.
What Debian good for... (Score:4, Insightful)
My impression of Debian rightly or wrongly is a rather conservative distro with a very rigid/ideological view on which licenses the will package.
This is not accurate. (Score:3, Insightful)
Crazy what stops the new release (Score:3, Insightful)
It is even crazier that a game like "Abuse" is listed as a release stopper. C'mon folks. We need a small core that drives the release schedule.
Maybe this is why ubuntu forked.
I do love the long support cycle of debian. Can't afford to upgrade a server every year, which is the case for Fedora and friends
Re:What Debian good for... (Score:3, Insightful)
Now I run Debian unstable. It took me a few seconds to add a package source for MythTV to my list of sources, run apt-get update, and then apt-get install. apt-get took care of everything.
Similarly, I wanted to install an ssh server on a Debian box. I just typed 'apt-get install sshd', and apt-get took care of the rest. I shelled into the box a couple of seconds later.
Debian unstable is much more recent, but supposedly less stable, than Debian stable or Debian testing. I've never experienced any stability issues, save for the rare mozilla crash. I measure my uptime in months, not days or weeks.
By changing your sources list, you can easily add unstable and even non-free package sources.
I choose to run Debian because it works very well and fits nicely with my ideals. I switched away from Microsoft because I didn't want to be locked into their technologies, and I switched away from RedHat because I didn't want to pay for security updates and I'm too lazy to answer their survey.
Debian is free as in speech and free as in beer. It does not lock me into a rigid view.
Re:I'm busy installing Ubuntu (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What Debian good for... (Score:3, Insightful)
People want things to be graphical because, if done well, they can be much more pleasing to the eye and easy to use without sacrificing functionality.
And yes, some GUIs can be less functional than their text counterparts. That's no reason to deride all things graphical as useless, though.
I like a textbased variants, also because they needs less ressources.
A valid reason, though it's a reason for offering a choice between interface types to fit the situation, not for eschewing a GUI entirely.
They do their job as good as their graphical pendants.
Depending on your level of skill and time available, this is either completely true or totally false. You can't make blanket statements like that.
Servers are not supposed to be "fun". (Score:4, Insightful)
Servers are supposed to be "boring", "dull", "mundane", "reliable", etc.
I run a few Debian servers and they never give me any problems. Patches go in without any problems. They never do down. They just keep serving.
Gentoo is great on a desktop. But a desktop has completely different requirements than a server. A desktop can get by with an unstable app.
A server should not be running anything it doesn't absolutely have to and everything it runs must be rock solid. Debian gives me all of that on a server.
Maybe.
Knoppix on the desktop is awesome and it is Debian. One Knoppix CD + a USB toy and you've got it all.
Debian on the server may not have all the Oracle support and such that Red Hat does, but it handles just about everything else.
Re:New Slogan Too... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:New Slogan Too... (Score:3, Insightful)
-matthew
Re:Oh Debian, I don't know what to think (Score:3, Insightful)
Sure, unstable is fine if you only have one machine, but what about those of us who want to deploy Debian enterprise-wide? Debian provides a wonderful framework for us, but no suitable distribution. Stable is at this point too old even for our servers (we run it, but with several backports and locally packaged addons) and is completely out of the question for client workstations. Testing and unstable are no better, because they're constantly moving targets. A machine installed today might look very different from a machine installed yesterday.
noah
Re:Being out of date. (Score:3, Insightful)
Exim 3 is being maintained by debian developers for up to date security. It wont get new features and support for setting up a new system if you need help as no one outside of debian list will be of much help with exim 3 now but it will still be secure.
You have no proof of this. Since debian stable users represent the only large remaining user base of these old as god programs, you are at the mercy of a much smaller group of potential auditers.
Security issues that exist in 3 but not in 4 (ie parts of rewritten code) are more likely to go completely unnoticed.
This is compounded by the fact that a lot of people are using debian stable and assuming that it's secure because everyone says it's more secure. There is more complacency.
For example, A debian maintainer saying he is going to maintain BIND8 isn't going to magically make it better.