Debian Archive

The Very Verbose Debian 3.0 Installation Walkthrough

Guest post by Clinton De Young 2002-10-27 Debian 77 Comments

After reading many of the posts regarding the recent OSNews story, "An Unbiased Review of Debian 3.0", I thought this article may be useful to those who would like to try Debian, but are a little intimidated by its installer. Several of the posts to the above mentioned story indicated that Debian's installer was a huge hurtle for many people, who would otherwise like to try it. I have found Debian to be the most useful flavor of Linux, so I wanted to write an easy, though somewhat long, walkthrough in the hopes of allowing a wider audience to experience first hand this stable and unique Linux distribution.

Debian GNU/Linux: The Past, the Present and the Future

Eugenia Loli 2002-10-25 Debian 7 Comments

From DebianPlanet: "Here is a talk that I gave last Tuesday at the Free Software Symphosium in Tokyo. It gives a brief overview about Debian, goes a bit into packaging, discusses core elements. Very superficial stuff not for hardcore people. Also does some graphs on the statistics for maintainers, packages, arches over time and tries to extrapolate the future development from those. Brief intro to source based distributions. Then concludes with an advertisement how my new package manger, uPM could solve some issues."

Review: Libranet 2.7 – The Stealth Distro

Submitted by Charles Crawford 2002-10-24 Debian 22 Comments

When the topic of Linux distros comes up, most people think of Red Hat, Mandrake, Suse or some other popular and well-known product. Each of these distros has a flashy GUI installer, a well known brand name in the Linux world and large distribution in stores like Best Buy, Circuit City and others. Earlier this week, we've looked at each of these, focusing on the new features and capabilities in the latest release. Read the rest of the review at ExtremeTech.

Debian Begins “Debian Desktop” Subproject

Submitted by Strike 2002-10-22 Debian 27 Comments

In response to the recent reviews of Debian 3.0 seen here and elsewhere, Debian developer Colin Walters has opted to start a Debian desktop subproject. The announcement e-mail states: "There is no reason we cannot make Debian easy to use for the masses. I personally want to be able to completely replace the Windows XP machine that my mom uses. We're a fairly long way away from that, but I strongly believe in the power of free software. We've come this far, and we can go much farther." The temporary location for the homepage of this project is here which will hopefully be moved to debian.org.

PGI 1.0, Graphical Installer for Debian Released

Submitted by Charles Goodwin 2002-10-21 Debian 10 Comments

PGI is a multi-architecture graphical installer creation system for Debian GNU/Linux, originally developed by Progeny Linux Systems, Inc. for the Debian-based "Progeny Debian" operating system. Get screenshots here, and version 1.0, here.

An Unbiased Review of Debian 3.0

Eugenia Loli 2002-10-20 Debian 94 Comments

"This is a critical review of Debian 3.0, but I want to say right from the start that I'm not trying to bait anyone. However I feel that reviewers often root for Debian as the open-source underdog, and give it marks which it doesn't deserve. If RedHat 8.0 came out with installation software like Debian 3.0 it would be savaged. I think it's time for an honest review, to spur the Debian developers into making the best possible distribution. I really want Debian to succeed. I want to use it daily, and recommend it to my friends. But I can't do that right now and I think it's important people understand why." Read the review and its (already long) discussion at DebianPlanet.

WindowWatch Reviews Libranet GNU/Linux 2.7

Eugenia Loli 2002-10-09 Debian 23 Comments

"Libranet is Canada's foremost Linux distribution. They have succeeded where others have failed. As far as I know, they are the only commercial distribution based on Debian left standing. Perhaps their success is due to the added value they provide to what is essentially an easier to use Debian 3.0 release, or perhaps it's their attention to detail; making the small things easy for new users. They have actively fostered a growing and enthusiastic user community that willingly participates in their beta releases and in educating users new to both Libranet and Debian. People from Libranet also interact very openly with the user community paying attention to their praises and concerns. Whatever it is that they do right it seems to be paying off." Read the review at WindowWatch.

Debian on Steroids: Libranet 2.7

Eugenia Loli 2002-10-06 Debian 14 Comments

A plethora of applications, streamlined installation and increased performance make putting Debian on your desktop easier than ever. LinuxJournal introduces Libranet 2.7.

Libranet GNU/Linux 2.7, Debian with a Kick

Submitted by John Gowin 2002-10-03 Debian 15 Comments

Linux Orbit has reviewed Libranet GNU/Linux 2.7: "Other Linux distribution companies have tried to create commercial Linux products based on Debian GNU/Linux, but few have achieved long term success. Progeny Linux comes to mind as a commercial Linux distribution company whose Linux product met with good reviews, but couldn't remain in business. Libranet is a rare exception to this rule. Libranet GNU/Linux has been around quite a while and continues to build a devoted Linux user base on a commercial product based on Debian GNU/Linux. With their most recent release of Libranet GNU/Linux 2.7, Libranet continues to improve on an already solid Linux distribution."

Is Debian Losing Mindshare?

Eugenia Loli 2002-09-25 Debian 37 Comments

Woody has received scant attention from Linux websites compared to other recent Linux distributions. Debian "Woody" 3.0r0 was released on July 19, 2002; but months later, there have been few reviews of Woody online (one, in French). Read more for the link to the full DebianPlanet.org editorial.

The Importance of Being Debian

Eugenia Loli 2002-07-25 Debian 26 Comments

"Eight years ago, as Purdue undergraduate Ian Murdock flipped through a Unix magazine, he came across an intriguing advertisement. It was for a Linux distribution that promised to let you run your Windows applications on the free operating system. Linux had sprung into existence a scant year before and now -- according to the ad -- it could support Windows applications. This seemed too good to be true. It was." Old, but good read, to match the release of Debian GNU/Linux 3.0.

Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 Released

Submitted by Rajeev Pathare 2002-07-19 Debian 17 Comments

The Debian Project is pleased to announce the release of Debian GNU/Linux version 3.0. Debian GNU/Linux is a free operating system, which now supports a total of eleven processor architectures, includes KDE and GNOME desktop environments, features cryptographic software, is compatible with the FHS v2.2 and supports software developed for the LSB. With the addition of the IA-64, HP PA-RISC, MIPS (mips, mipsel), Alpha, and S/390 architectures, Debian GNU/Linux now supports a total of eleven architectures. For the first time, Debian comes with the KDE 2.2. The GNOME desktop environment is upgraded to version 1.4, and X itself is upgraded to the much improved XFree86 4.1.

Debian GNU/Linux 2.2r7 Released

Eugenia Loli 2002-07-14 Debian 21 Comments

This is the seventh revision of Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 (codename 'potato') which mainly adds security updates to the stable release, along with a few corrections of serious bugs. Those who frequently update from security.debian.org won't have to update many packages. On a related note, DebianPlanet interviews Ian Jackson, Debian personality and a current member of the technical Debian commitee as well as the author of dpkg.

Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 R6 Updated

Eugenia Loli 2002-04-03 Debian 9 Comments

This is the sixth revision of Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 (codename `potato') which mainly adds security updates to the stable release, along with a few corrections of serious bugs. Those who frequently update from security.debian.org won't have to update many packages. However, most updates from security.debian.org are included in this point release.

Installing Debian GNU/Linux on Alpha CPUs

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-27 Debian 5 Comments

"This article describes how to have fun and impress your friends by obtaining old Alpha workstations and installing Debian GNU/Linux on them. I'll be installing "potato" (2.2.R3) on my AlphaStation 250. This is a 1995-vintage workstation with an Alpha CPU. It's the main application/DNS/NFS/DHCP server on my home network, and is presently my favorite machine. I had been running RedHat on it, but after seeing "apt-get dist-upgrade" run for the first time earlier this year, I've been upgrading all my boxes to Debian." Read the rest of the article at DebianPlanet.

Debian 2.2r4 (Potato) Released

Eugenia Loli 2001-11-05 Debian 14 Comments

The fourth revision of Debian GNU/Linux 2.2, R4 (codename `potato'), has been released. This point release, revision 2.2r4, mostly includes security updates, along with a few corrections of serious bugs in the stable distribution.

Leading Linux Company Drops its Distribution

Thom Holwerda 2001-10-16 Debian 2 Comments

Progeny Linux, have announced that they will no longer be producing their shrink wrapped distribution of Debian Linux. Progeny plans to continue its Linux consulting service. The company cited the expense of producing a boxed distro in an increasingly competitive market, and the fact that its offerings are now mostly available in the main Debian archive.

Debian GNU/Linux for BeOS Refugees

Jon Jensen 2001-10-16 Debian 4 Comments

There's a relatively short how-to article called Debian GNU/Linux for BeOS Refugees that introduces BeOS users to Debian. To actually switch over to using Debian for your everyday OS, you'll have to do a lot more reading and work than the article helps you with, but it's a good start nonetheless.