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- To: debian-announce@lists.debian.org
- Subject: Debian 1.2 Released
- From: bruce@pixar.com (Bruce Perens)
- Date: Thu, 12 Dec 96 11:13 PST
- Importance: low
- Priority: non-urgent
- Reply-To: Bruce Perens <Bruce@pixar.com>
- Resent-Date: Thu, 12 Dec 1996 21:50:25 +0200
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Software in the Public Interest Presents *** Debian GNU/Linux 1.2 *** * 848 software packages. Twice as many as in Debian 1.1! * 120 active package maintainers. Largest staff of any Linux distribution! * Compatible with RPM and Slackware packages! * Upgrade-in-place means you never have to re-install a Debian system. * Retrieves and installs new software packages automatically via FTP! Debian is a free Linux distribution. Its creators are 160 unpaid volunteers from all over the world who collaborate via the Internet. The quality of Debian can be favorably compared with the best of commercial Unix and Linux systems. A detailed catalog of the software packages in Debian can be found at http://www.debian.org/FTP/ . Debian 1.2 is a special release for us. With this release we have shown that Debian is a mature system, and we're capable of becoming the leading Linux distribution. Debian's dedication to free software, our non-profit nature, and our open development model make us unique among Linux distributions. The Debian 1.2 system features the Linux 2.0.27 kernel. A distinguishing feature of Debian is the most comprehensive package system available for any Unix or Linux system. The package system retrieves software packages from a Debian FTP site automatically or reads them from a disk or CD-ROM, and can upgrade, install, or un-install packages at your request. Package "dependencies", a feature pioneered by Debian, mean that if one package requires another package to work the package system will offer to retrieve and install the required package. A new feature is automatic conversion of Red Hat or Slackware packages to Debian packages using our "alien" program. The converted packages are capable of installing, upgrading, and un-installing themselves just as native Debian packages do. There are ports of Debian 1.2 to the m68k, ALPHA, and SPARC in progress. Prototype systems for the 68k and ALPHA already exist and are available to developers. SPARC is just being bootstrapped, and a MIPS port is expected eventually. There are two versions of the Debian distribution: the "stable", and the "development" version. The "stable" directory currently contains Debian 1.2.0 . Point releases of "stable" happen every few weeks as bug-fixes are submitted, but there are no large changes until the next major release. The "development" version is where we are building Debian 2.0 . The development directory is updated continuously, and you can retrieve packages from the "development" archive on our FTP sites and use them to upgrade your system at any time. Thus, users who need stability are well-supported, and those who wish to be constantly at the leading edge are accommodated just as well. Debian was created by Ian Murdock in 1993, and Ian's work was sponsored for one year by FSF's GNU project. Debian should be considered a direct descendent of the GNU system. Although we're a separate organization from FSF, our goals are similar and we maintain cordial relations with them. FTP Sites: Debian FTP sites are everywhere from Kansas to Croatia! A list of them is available at http://www.debian.org/ftplist.html . Some sites have not caught up with the Debian 1.2 distribution. Those that have caught up will have a "Debian-1.2" directory. Two good FTP sites are: ftp://www.debian.org/debian ftp://debian.crosslink.net/debian The above sites carry a mirror listing in the file README.mirrors, so that you can find your local FTP mirrors. The installation floppy disk images and a full installation manual are in the Debian-1.2/disks-i386/current subdirectory on these sites. You can access the installation manual using the URL ftp://www.debian.org/debian/Debian-1.2/disks-i386/current/install.html . The rest of the software packages are in the Debian-1.2/binary-i386 subdirectory. Web Site Visit our web site http://www.debian.org/ for more information about Debian. Mailing Lists To subscribe to the mailing lists, send the word "subscribe" to one of these addresses: debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org There are a lot of experienced users on this list who can answer any question you might have. There can be 50 messages a day or more on this list. debian-announce-REQUEST@lists.debian.org Major system announcements. Averages only a few messages per month. debian-changes-REQUEST@lists.debian.org This is a list for announcements of new package uploads with bug fixes for the stable version of the Debian system. It may carry many announcements per day. debian-devel-changes-REQUEST@lists.debian.org This is a list for announcements of new package uploads and bug fixes in the development version of the Debian system. This is where you'll find out about programs that have just been packaged for Debian. It may carry many announcements per day. The mailing lists have a "spam filter". As soon as you subscribe, you'll be sent the mailing list rules, and you must agree to them before posting. Questions and Answers Q: How should Debian be compared to other Linux systems? A: Debian is at least as good as any other Unix or Linux distribution, even the most professional. Debian's most important feature is it's package system, which is the most comprehensive available for any Unix or Linux system. Red Hat's "RPM", used by a number of Linux distributions, is the only comparable package system. RPM has picked up a number of features that were pioneered in Debian, including our use of package dependencies. Now we've made Debian capable of converting Red Hat packages automatically, so that commercial programs for these other Linux distributions can be installed on Debian. One major difference between Debian and other Linux distributors is that Debian is a non-profit organization, and the others are commercial companies. Debian's aim is to work together with other Linux distributions rather than compete with them. We respect these organizations and their employees. We encourage all creators of Linux distributions to derive components or their entire distributions from Debian. Q: How compatible is Debian? A: We communicate with other Linux distribution creators in an effort to maintain binary compatibility across Linux distributions. Most commercial Linux products run as well under Debian as they do on the system upon which they were built. Our "alien" program allows you to treat packages created for these other systems as if they were Debian packages. Q: What about Internationalization? A: There's an active subgroup of our developers who are internationalizing Debian. Translations of Debian documentation are available in several different national languages. Q: How do I become a Debian Developer? A: We're looking for people who would like to contribute work to Linux and be members of an international community of software developers that's making something that matters! You can find all of the developer's information in the "Debian Policy Manual" and "Dpkg Programmer's Manual", available on our web site http://www.debian.org . Q: Can I make and sell Debian CDs? A: Go ahead. You don't need permission to distribute anything we've _released_, although you should tell us you're making a CD so that we can help you avoid a few costly mistakes. You don't have to pay us anything. We will, however, publish a list of CD manufacturers who donate money, software, and time to the Debian project, and we'll encourage users to buy from manufacturers who donate, so it's good advertising to make donations. Of course all CD manufacturers must honor the licenses of the programs in Debian. For example, many of the programs are licensed under the GPL, which requires you to distribute their source code. Q: What is "Software in the Public Interest" A: It's a non-profit organization we formed to sponsor the Debian effort. The purpose of the organization is to develop and distribute free software. Our goals are much like those of FSF except that our main project is a Linux system. We encourage programmers to use the GNU General Public License or another license that allows free redistribution and use of software. * * * The trademarks "Unix", "Red Hat", "Slackware", and "RPM" are the property of their respective owners. Ownership of the name "Linux" is currently in dispute. -- Bruce Perens K6BP Bruce@Pixar.com Finger bruce@master.Debian.org for PGP public key. PGP fingerprint = 88 6A 15 D0 65 D4 A3 A6 1F 89 6A 76 95 24 87 B3 -- TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS MAILING LIST: e-mail the word "unsubscribe" to debian-announce-REQUEST@lists.debian.org . Trouble? e-mail to Bruce@Pixar.com
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