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Debian Software Linux

Debian GNU/Linux now in AMD64 form 20

treff89 writes "Debian GNU/Linux (Sarge) has now been released in an AMD64 variant. It has been declared stable. While updates will not be as regular as the popular x86 Debian, it's great to know that the newer processors are in the picture. Find out more here: http://distrowatch.com/2717 ; Release notes can be found here: http://amd64.debian.net/docs/release-notes/amd64/r elease-notes/"
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Debian GNU/Linux now in AMD64 form

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  • :-I (Score:1, Troll)

    by SFSouthpaw ( 797536 )
    While updates will not be as regular as the popular x86 Debian

    Damn, just when I was getting spoiled by the quick release of Sarge!

  • Last year or so I was having fits with RHEL on AMD-64, and thought that I'd at least try installing Debian on a box in order to get a second opinion. I was surprised to find no AMD-64 (despite their balooning popularity), but plenty of odd architectures that probably had only two or three users. Personally, this seems to me a good time to guarantee AMD64 releases on a timely schedule, and (gently) tell the MIPS and VAX users that their release schedule is going to be somewhat slowed. I applaud what Debia
    • Like all free software projects they work on what they feel like working on at any specific time. No more, no less. Debian isn't a busness. They are not trying to make money. Even their secondary quest of being a popular distribution is only a little self ego stroking and not a direct goal. If someone wanted to have an AMD64 port it would get done. Eventually someone wanted one.

      Redhat and other for profit companies find goals of market share to be of higher priority than fun development. That's why
    • I remember reading a few months back that someone had proposed doing just that. Basically, the proposal was to leave a few archs as fully supported (I think i386, x86_64, PowerPC, and one other) He wanted to create another class of archs, somewhere between "fully supported" and "unofficial side project" that weren't updated as fast, and that wouldn't hold back the "fully supported" archs. Never heard what happened with it though.
  • Now the cyclic dependencies plauged by the newer Debian release can fail with 64-bit precision!
  • Just installed it (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Longshanks197 ( 217398 ) on Tuesday June 14, 2005 @10:20AM (#12813347)
    I recently purchased an AMD 3500+ system (parts and self-assembled) and used a daily snapshot of the installer a day or so before the release. The installation was a breeze, now I'm in the "how do I get all the applications I use installed and working" phase. I compiled a new kernel (the Debian way) and made a madwifi and ATI kernel module package last night and it seems to be working. OpenOffice is in the works, there are some packages built but not the most important one (the actual bin package). I am not a software programmer and really rely on these talented Debian maintainers for porting the packages over. Thank you for all your hard work and I look forward to having a complete 64bit OS.
    • I've been using it on a production server for 6 months, and I've been very happy with it. Granted it only has Apache, PHP, and MySQL running, no GUI. I only had one problem, and it was my own fault.
  • Seriously, Gentoo has incredible support for AMD64 right now and many people working to make it even better.

    Cue Gentoo-haters... NOW.

    And for users that don't want to spend alot of time compiling (is that an oxy-moron on AMD64?), use a Stage3 base install and install all other programs using emerge -k switch for binary packages only.
    • Right. What's "a lot of time"? I had Gentoo installed on my AMD64 from stage 1 in an evening. Debian was one of the distros I was considering, but they did not support amd64 back then. Too little, too late. I am a devoted Gentooist now! Gentoo support for amd64 rocks.
  • This should have hit the main page in my opinion.
  • by FictionPimp ( 712802 ) on Tuesday June 14, 2005 @01:00PM (#12815291) Homepage
    I wonder how long it will take for amd64 linux to work as smooth as winxp64 works now. I mean, the kernel has support for 32bit and 64bit apps, why bother with the chroot, we just need apt or portage to support 32 and 64bit apps at the same time. So far gentoo is close, but you will still screw up your system if you emerge a x86 app while using amd64 OS. So you still have to install a chroot, emerge in there, then move the libs and exe out of the chroot (or run everything in the chroot). In windows, you just install the app.

    Linux is great, but I'll stick to my x86 version of ubuntu on my AMD64 until AMD64 linux matures to windows's level.

    (This may have changed recently, My last exp with amd64 linux was gentoo about 2 months ago.)

In the long run, every program becomes rococco, and then rubble. -- Alan Perlis

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