X Strike Force XFree86 SVN commit: rev 859 - /
Author: branden
Date: 2003-12-21 20:58:40 -0500 (Sun, 21 Dec 2003)
New Revision: 859
Added:
NEWS.xhtml
desktop.png
Log:
Add XHTML version of X Strike Force news page from
<URL:http://people.debian.org/~branden> and corresponding image file.
Added: NEWS.xhtml
===================================================================
--- NEWS.xhtml 2003-12-19 16:09:19 UTC (rev 858)
+++ NEWS.xhtml 2003-12-22 01:58:40 UTC (rev 859)
@@ -0,0 +1,882 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+ "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd";>
+
+<!-- for best results, view with at least 120 columns -->
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"; xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+<head>
+ <meta name="author" content="Branden Robinson" />
+ <meta name="keywords" content="Debian GNU Linux X Window System strike force X11 X11R6 X11R6.3 XFree86" />
+ <meta http-equiv="content-language" content="en-us" />
+ <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
+
+ <title>The X Strike Force: XFree86/X Window System support for Debian operating systems</title>
+ <style type="text/css">
+ /*<![CDATA[*/
+ body {background: rgb(255,255,255); color: rgb(0,0,0)}
+ img {border: 0}
+ div.center {text-align: center}
+ div.left {text-align: left}
+ p.x-small {font-size: x-small}
+ span.line-through {text-decoration: line-through}
+ /*]]>*/
+ </style>
+</head>
+
+<body>
+ <div class="center">
+ <h1>The X Strike Force</h1>
+
+ <h2>XFree86/X Window System support for Debian operating systems</h2>
+
+ <p class="x-small"><img src="desktop.png" alt="Example XFree86 Desktop" width="640" height="480" />
+ <!-- <br><a href="xsf.png-description.txt">(about this screenshot)</a></p> --></p>
+
+ <h2><em>"A $DISPLAY on every screen."</em></h2>
+ <hr />
+ </div>
+
+ <div class="left">
+ <ul>
+ <li><a href="FAQ">The Debian X FAQ</a></li>
+
+ <li><a href="http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/";>X Strike Force Subversion repository
+ (ViewCVS)</a></li>
+
+ <li><a href="http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/xsf/XFree86";>X Strike Force XFree86 Subversion repository snapshots
+ and information</a></li>
+
+ <li><a href="#news">News and announcements</a></li>
+ <!-- <li><a href="#apt">How to Use My Experimental Package Repository</a></li> -->
+
+ <li><a href="#whatis">What is the X Strike Force?</a></li>
+
+ <li><a href="#bugs">The XFree86 bug list</a></li>
+ <!-- <li><a href="#todo">Looking ahead</a></li> -->
+
+ <li><a href="#links">Useful Links</a></li>
+ </ul>
+
+ <p>Some visitors to this page may be interested in my <a href=
+ "http://deadbeast.net/~branden/homepage/branden.gpg.asc";>GPG</a> cryptographic public key block.</p>
+ <hr />
+
+ <h2 id="news">News and announcements</h2>
+
+ <p>[18 December] <strong>A <a href="http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/xsf/XFree86/CHANGELOG.txt";>cumulative changelog
+ of the X Strike Force XFree86 Subversion repository</a> is now available.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[18 December] <strong>The X Strike Force XFree86 Subversion repository snapshots and information page has been
+ moved.</strong> An HTTP redirect is in place, but please update your links to the <a href=
+ "http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/xsf/XFree86";>new location</a> anyway.</p>
+
+ <p>[18 December] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-15 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[12 December] <strong>Anonymous, read-only access to the X Strike Force Subversion repositories is now open to
+ the public</strong>. Please see my <a href=
+ "http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2003/debian-devel-announce-200312/msg00006.html";>announcement to the
+ <code>debian-devel-announce</code> mailing list</a> for further information.</p>
+
+ <p>[6 December] <strong>XFree86 4.3.0-0pre1v5 has been released to Debian experimental.</strong> This is the final
+ planned pre-release of XFree86 4.3.0-1. Due to time constraints, the package split of xbase-clients has been
+ postponed to the packaging of the next upstream release; however the <code>xlibs</code> split is complete. All that
+ remains is for me to finish the audit of patches forward-ported from 4.2.1, and for the Debian archive
+ administrators to process the (many) override updates that are necessary in light of the library package split
+ (once the latter is done, the packages will be moved out of <code>queue/new</code> and into the experimental
+ section of the Debian archive).</p>
+
+ <p>[13 November] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-14 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[28 October] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-13 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[22 October] <strong>XFree86 4.3.0-0pre1v4 has been accepted into Debian experimental.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[4 October] <strong><a href="FAQ">The Debian X FAQ</a> has been updated.</strong> It now includes instructions
+ how to revert the <code>/etc/X11/X</code>, <code>/etc/X11/Xwrapper.config</code>, and
+ <code>/etc/X11/XF86Config-4</code> configuration files to automatic management by the XFree86 packages if they have
+ been placed in "manual configuration mode".</p>
+
+ <p>[2 October]<strong>XFree86 4.2.1-12.1 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong> Thanks to LaMont Jones
+ for fixing the error I made in the <code>xlibs</code> pre-installation script.</p>
+
+ <p>[2 October] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-12 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong> This release featured
+ security fixes and other bug fixes and improvements too numerous to list; unfortunately it also introduced a bug of
+ its own in the <code>xlibs</code> pre-installation script. You can work around the problem by running the command
+ <code>rm -f /etc/X11/app-defaults/app-defaults</code> as root before (re)installing the package.</p>
+
+ <p>[27 September] <strong>XFree86 4.3.0-0pre1v3 has been accepted into Debian experimental.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[21 September] <strong>Newly-updated slides for my DebConf 3 presentation, <em>Practicing Subversion within the
+ Debian Project</em>, are <a href="http://deadbeast.net/~branden/svn_pres/";>now available</a>.</strong> <a href=
+ "http://subversion.tigris.org/";>Subversion</a> is increasingly popular as a revision control system for Debian
+ packages.</p>
+
+ <p>[15 September] <strong>The <a href="http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/";>ViewCVS interface</a> to
+ the X Strike Force repository is working again.</strong> I extend my appreciation to Takuo KITAME for updating
+ Debian's <code>viewcvs</code> package.</p>
+
+ <p>[12 September] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-16woody1, a security update for Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 ("woody") is
+ available.</strong> For more information, please see <a href="http://www.debian.org/security/2003/dsa-380";>the
+ advisory</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>[1 September] <strong><code>-print0</code> comes at the <em>end</em> of your <code>find</code> command, not the
+ beginning.</strong> I apologize, some of the stuff at the <a href="http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/xfree86/";>daily
+ progress</a> site was destroyed by a rogue find command. I've restored the upstream source archives, but the
+ archived snapshots are gone. I have been really spoiled by GNU getopt-style option parsing. Again, I apologize for
+ the inconvenience; if someone should happen to need a snapshot as of a particular date, please <a href=
+ "mailto:branden@debian.org";>contact me</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>[28 August] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-11 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong> This is a bugfix release
+ that rectifies several problems (some of them serious) with the migration process to the New World Order for
+ configuration files.</p>
+
+ <p>[21 August] <strong>You can watch the <a href="http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/xfree86/";>daily progress</a> of
+ Debian's XFree86 packaging via the Web.</strong> I have set up some cron jobs to populate a directory with
+ directory exports, tar archives, and Subversion repository dumps, since Debian's ViewCVS packages are so
+ unreliable. Read the <a href="http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/xfree86/README.txt";>README</a> to understand how to use
+ this resource.</p>
+
+ <p>[20 August] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-10 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong> This release features
+ bugfixes and a migration away from the much-hated "manage <code>file</code> with debconf?" style of configuration
+ file handling.</p>
+
+ <p>[31 July] <strong>XFree86 4.3.0-0pre1v1 has been released to Debian experimental. [UPDATE, 5 September: Note
+ that this is <em>Debian's experimental archive</em>, not mine. Google for "Debian project experimental" to find a
+ mirror.]</strong> Since there are packages that will need override updates, it may take up to a few days for the
+ archive administrators to make this release available in the experimental distribution. Also, it is my
+ understanding that the experimental distribution is not autobuilt, so port maintainers may need to compile this
+ package manually for architectures other than PowerPC. Many thanks to Daniel Stone, ISHIKAWA Mutsumi, and the rest
+ of the X Strike Force committing team for making this release possible.</p>
+
+ <p>[30 June] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-9 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[9 June] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-8 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[5 June] <strong>Nightly "drops" of the <code>debian</code> directory of the trunk and 4.3.0-sid branch of the
+ XFree86 packages are <a href="http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/xfree86/";>now available</a>.</strong> This will enable
+ people to build either the trunk or the 4.3.0-sid branch for themselves from source. (You'll need to be familiar
+ with how to manipulate and build Debian source packages to get the most out of this service.)</p>
+
+ <p>[3 June] I have posted an <a href=
+ "http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2003/debian-devel-announce-200306/msg00000.html";>announcement</a>
+ about recent developments in Debian's XFree86 package maintenance to the <a href=
+ "http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/";>debian-devel-announce</a> mailing list.</p>
+
+ <p>[30 May] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-7 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong> Plans change. It had not been
+ my intention to release another revision of 4.2.1 at all, but LaMont Jones persuaded me to due to problems building
+ KDE on some architectures due to the absence of a libxkbfile_pic.a file. This release also fixes several
+ outstanding issues, of course. <em>I expect this release to continue to have Int10 problems on the IA-64
+ architecture, and for the Radeon 3D acceleration to continue to be broken due to GCC 3.2 issues. XFree86 4.3.0
+ should resolve these issues, and packaging of XFree86 4.3.0 is underway.</em> Progress on its development can be
+ scrutinized at the <a href="http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/";>Debian X Strike Force Subversion
+ repository</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>[18 April] Because of various problems with the XFree86 4.2.1 source tree when it is compiled with GCC 3.2, I
+ have abandoned work on 4.2.1-7. Instead I am working on 4.3.0 packages, using the preliminary work by Daniel Stone
+ as a base. I appreciate everyone's patience while this work proceeds. In other news, I have reorganized my Debian
+ homepage a little bit and placed it under version control with <a href=
+ "http://subversion.tigris.org/";>Subversion</a>. Please let me know if you find any broken links, incorrect
+ references, or other problems. One thing you should note is that my experimental package repository has <a href=
+ "../packages/">moved</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>[4 March] <strong>Another <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/xfree86_4.2.1-6pre7v2_i386.changes";>experimental pre-prelease of XFree86
+ 4.2.1-7</a> is available (<a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/source/";>source</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/i386/";>i386</a>).</strong> This release features some minor updates and a
+ hopeful fix for an IA-64 problem with the "int10" functionality of the XFree86 X server. Thanks to Andres Salomon
+ for providing an i386 host where I could build these packages.</p>
+
+ <p>[2 March] <strong>An <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/xfree86_4.2.1-6pre7v1_i386.changes";>experimental pre-prelease of XFree86
+ 4.2.1-7</a> is available (<a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/source/";>source</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/i386/";>i386</a>).</strong> I am doing an experimental pre-release because I
+ expect 4.2.1-7 to be the final release in the 4.2.1 series, and I want to have it working well enough to tide
+ people over (and get into Debian's "testing" distribution) while I work on packages for XFree86 4.3.0. Thanks to
+ Andres Salomon for providing an i386 host where I could build these packages. I've also added a brief section to
+ this webpage describing <a href="#apt">how to use my experimental package repository</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>[27 February] <strong>XFree86 4.3.0 has been released upstream. <em>Please do not send messages, whether
+ privately, to a mailing list, or to any other forum, asking when Debian packages will be ready.</em></strong> Such
+ messages serve only to nag me, and in many cases cause me to take time replying to redundant questions that I could
+ spend working on the packages instead. Nagging me anyway might be enjoyable to you, or it might reflect your
+ personal anxiety for the latest and greatest version of XFree86, but its effect on me is to take some of the fun
+ and interest out of working on XFree86, and make it seem more like a chore. If you reflect on the fact that I have
+ been maintaining XFree86 packages for Debian for the past five years in large part because I find it fun and
+ interesting, you may not want to indulge in self-defeating actions that rob me of my motivation to continue doing
+ so. Debian packages of XFree86 4.3.0 will be available as soon as I can reasonably have them prepared. Updates on
+ my progress will be available at this webpage.</p>
+
+ <p>[25 February] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-6 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[22 January] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-5 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[10 January] <strong>An <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/xfree86_4.2.1-4pre5v1_powerpc.changes";>experimental pre-prelease of XFree86
+ 4.2.1-5</a> is available (<a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/source/";>source</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/i386/";>i386</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/powerpc/";>powerpc</a>).</strong> I am doing an experimental pre-release
+ because 4.2.1-5 will feature some significant changes, especially with respect to the <code>xlibmesa*</code>
+ packages, and also because my i386 machine's motherboard died last month. These packages appear to work
+ satisfactorily on my PowerPC, however. Thanks to Steve Kowalik for the i386 build.</p>
+
+ <h3>2002 News</h3>
+
+ <p>[22 November] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-4 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[23 October] <strong>I have added a section on <a href="xkb/">configuring XKB</a> to this web site.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[17 October] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-3 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[8 October] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-2 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[6 October] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-1 has been accepted into Debian unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[4 October] <strong>The ARM build failure has been resolved, and XFree86 4.2.1-1 has been uploaded to Debian
+ unstable.</strong> Thanks to Othmar Pasteka for taking point on resolving the last of the
+ "unstable-release-critical" problems. Note that 4.2.1-1 will be stuck in the <code>queue/new</code> directory until
+ the Debian Archive Administrators add an entry for the <code>xserver-xfree86-dbg</code> package to the katie
+ database. In the meantime, my <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/";>repository</a> will continue to be
+ populated with the pre-release packages. Also thanks to Othmar Pasteka, XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v2 is available for
+ <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/arm/";>ARM</a> systems, so that users of that platform are not
+ exposed to the Xlib security vulnerability mentioned below, and do not have to downgrade to XFree86 4.1.0 to work
+ around it.</p>
+
+ <p>[2 October] <strong>The IA-64 build failure has been resolved, and XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v2 is now available for
+ <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/ia64/";>IA-64</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to Matt Chapman for coming
+ up with the solution.</p>
+
+ <p>[30 September] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v2 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/alpha/";>Alpha</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to Falk Hueffner for this
+ build.</p>
+
+ <p>[28 September] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v2 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/powerpc/";>PowerPC</a> and <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/sparc/";>SPARC</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to Ricardo Galli for the PowerPC
+ build.</p>
+
+ <p>[27 September] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v2 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/hppa/";>HP-PA</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to LaMont Jones for this
+ build.</p>
+
+ <p>[26 September] <strong>The <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/xfree86_4.2.1-0pre1v2_i386.changes";>second experimental pre-prelease of
+ XFree86 4.2.1</a> is available (<a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/source/";>source</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/i386/";>i386</a>).</strong> This release includes the updated MIT-SHM fix
+ discussed under "4.2.1 Errata" at <a href="http://www.xfree86.org/security/index.html";>XFree86's security page</a>.
+ There are still a couple of architecture-specific problems; both occur during the linking of the static debugging X
+ server. One affects IA-64 (<a href="build.log.failed.ia64.bz2">build log</a>) and the other affects ARM (<a href=
+ "http://lists.debian.org/debian-x/2002/debian-x-200209/msg00157.html";>end of build log</a>).</p>
+
+ <p>[18 September] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v1 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/s390/";>S/390</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to Gerhard Tonn for this
+ build.</p>
+
+ <p>[17 September] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v1 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/hppa/";>HP-PA</a> and <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/mips/";>big-endian MIPS</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to Grant Grundler and
+ Guido Guenther, respectively, for these builds.</p>
+
+ <p>[11 September] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v1 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/m68k/";>M68K</a> and <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/sh4/";>SuperH 4</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to ISHIKAWA Mutsumi for these
+ builds.</p>
+
+ <p>[10 September] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v1 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/mipsel/";>little-endian MIPS</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to Karsten Merker
+ for this build. Eduard Bloch has also prepared some <a href="http://people.debian.org/~blade/woody/";>XFree86
+ 4.2.1-0pre1v1 packages for Debian 3.0</a>; keep in mind that these latter packages are extra-unofficial.</p>
+
+ <p>[9 September] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v1 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/powerpc/";>PowerPC</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to Edd Dumbill for this
+ build.</p>
+
+ <p>[8 September] <strong>XFree86 4.2.1-0pre1v1 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/alpha/";>Alpha</a> and <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/sparc/";>SPARC</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to ISHIKAWA Mutsumi for the Alpha
+ build (he also built some SPARC packages, but I used my own since I had them ready <code>:-)</code> ).</p>
+
+ <p>[7 September] <strong>The <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/xfree86_4.2.1-0pre1v1_i386.changes";>first experimental pre-prelease of
+ XFree86 4.2.1</a> is available (<a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/source/";>source</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/i386/";>i386</a>).</strong> This release features a fix for the Xlib security
+ flaw mentioned below, and should build on ARM and HP-PA systems.</p>
+
+ <p>[5 September] <strong>There is a security flaw in the version of Xlib shipped with XFree86 4.2.0.</strong> The
+ modularized i18n support that was added to XFree86 after version 4.1.0 was released made it possible to load (and
+ execute) arbitrary code in privileged clients. Before you panic, here are a few facts.</p>
+
+ <ul>
+ <li>No released version of Debian is vulnerable to this exploit.</li>
+
+ <li>Not even Debian unstable is vulnerable, since XFree86 4.2.0 hasn't been released to it yet.</li>
+
+ <li>Anyone using my 4.2.0 pre-release <code>xlibs</code> package is potentially vulnerable.</li>
+
+ <li>If you are alarmed by this, downgrade <code>xlibs</code> to 4.1.0-17. You'll need to downgrade any packages
+ that depend on version 4.2.0 or greater of <code>xlibs</code> as well. This should consist only of other packages
+ built from the <code>xfree86</code> source package, such as <code>xbase-clients</code> (and local or unofficial
+ packages; nothing in Debian unstable should be declaring versioned dependencies on XFree86 4.2.0 yet).</li>
+
+ <li>The real-world (as opposed to theoretical) impact of this vulnerability hasn't been established yet. Unix
+ experts have long known that <code>setuid</code> and <code>setgid</code> X clients are potentially dangerous, and
+ should have their privileges removed where possible, and constrained as tightly as possible otherwise.</li>
+
+ <li>Debian doesn't ship any <code>setuid root</code> X clients to my knowledge.</li>
+
+ <li>Check the permissions and ownership on your screen locker programs, such as xlock and xscreensaver.</li>
+
+ <li>As long as any privileged X clients aren't coded to exploit this vulnerability, there is no problem.
+ <code>setuid</code> and <code>setgid</code> X clients should be carefully scruntinzed anyway. In Debian, X
+ terminal emulators (such as XTerm) are <code>setgid utmp</code> instead of <code>setuid root</code>, which
+ greatly limits the impact of exploits of X terminal emulators.</li>
+
+ <li>This doesn't really disrupt my release plans at all. The next pre-release will be 4.2.1-0pre1v1 instead of
+ 4.2.0-0pre1v5.</li>
+
+ <li>I knew about this vulnerability a couple of weeks ago, but was sworn to secrecy.</li>
+ </ul>
+
+ <p>[4 September] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v4 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/alpha/";>Alpha</a> and <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/sparc/";>SPARC</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to ISHIKAWA Mutsumi for these
+ builds. In other news, builds for HP-PA and ARM will fail because I messed up a change. Sorry about that; we'll try
+ those platforms again in the next revision.</p>
+
+ <p>[3 September] <strong>The <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/xfree86_4.2.0-0pre1v4_i386.changes";>fourth experimental pre-prelease of
+ XFree86 4.2.0</a> is available (<a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/source/";>source</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/i386/";>i386</a>).</strong> This release should build again for M68K and
+ SPARC systems.</p>
+
+ <p>[27 August] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v3 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/powerpc/";>PowerPC</a> systems.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[26 August] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v3 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/mips/";>big-endian MIPS</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to Guido Guenther for
+ this build!</p>
+
+ <p>[25 August] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v3 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/alpha/";>Alpha</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/hppa/";>HP-PA</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/ia64/";>IA-64</a>, and <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/sh4/";>SuperH 4</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to Bdale Garbee for the IA-64
+ build and ISHIKAWA Mutsumi for the rest! Note that there are build-time problems with the SPARC and M68K
+ architectures (the static XFree86 server does not compile).</p>
+
+ <p>[20 August] <strong>The <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/xfree86_4.2.0-0pre1v3_i386.changes";>third
+ experimental pre-prelease of XFree86 4.2.0</a> is available (<a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/source/";>source</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/i386/";>i386</a>).</strong> This release features a new package,
+ <em>xserver-xfree86-dbg</em>. I would very much appreciate it if anyone who has experienced an XFree86 server crash
+ and knows how to use <em>gdb</em> to attach to running processes, examine core files, and generate backtraces would
+ install this package and use it as their X server to try to reproduce the problem.</p>
+
+ <p>[17 August] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v2 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/ia64/";>IA-64</a> and <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/mips/";>big-endian MIPS</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to Bdale Garbee and
+ Guido Guenther, respectively!</p>
+
+ <p>[10 August] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v2 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/m68k/";>M68K</a> systems.</strong> Thanks again to ISHIKAWA Mutsumi for this
+ build.</p>
+
+ <p>[8 August] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v2 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/alpha/";>Alpha</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/hppa/";>HP-PA</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/sh4/";>SuperH 4</a>, and <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/sparc/";>SPARC</a> systems.</strong> Thanks to ISHIKAWA Mutsumi for these
+ builds!</p>
+
+ <p>[7 August] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v2 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/powerpc/";>PowerPC</a> systems.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[5 August] <strong>The <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/xfree86_4.2.0-0pre1v2_i386.changes";>second
+ experimental pre-prelease of XFree86 4.2.0</a> is available (<a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/source/";>source</a>, <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/i386/";>i386</a>).</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[4 August] <strong><a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/";>My repository</a> is available again.
+ XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v1 is now available for <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/alpha/";>Alpha</a>
+ (thanks, Falk Hueffner!) and <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/arm/";>ARM</a> (thanks, Phil Blundell!)
+ systems.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[27 July] <strong>My repository is temporarily unavailable.</strong> For the time being, please use this
+ <a href="http://www.phy.olemiss.edu/xsf/";>mirror</a>. My repository will be back as soon as possible.</p>
+
+ <p>[19 July] <strong>Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 ("woody") has been <a href=
+ "http://lists.debian.org/debian-announce/debian-announce-2002/msg00004.html";>released</a>.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[22 June] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v1 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/m68k/";>M68K</a> (thanks, Rick Younie!), <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/mips/";>big-endian MIPS</a> (thanks, Jan-Hendrik Palic!), and <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/ia64/";>IA-64</a> systems.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[21 June] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v1 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/hppa/";>HP-PA</a> systems.</strong> Thanks, ISHIKAWA Mutsumi!</p>
+
+ <p>[17 June] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0-0pre1v1 is now available for <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/powerpc/";>PowerPC</a> (thanks, Michel Dänzer!) and <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/sparc/";>SPARC</a> systems.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[16 June] <strong>All right, hogs, stick your faces in the <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/";>trough</a> and eat your <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/";>slop</a>.</strong> <em>Note for the humor-impaired: <strong>that's a joke,
+ as is the image above; if you can't get a life, please at least get a sense of humor!</strong></em> At any rate,
+ <strong>the <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/xfree86_4.2.0-0pre1v1_i386.changes";>first experimental
+ pre-release of XFree86 4.2.0 Debian packages</a> is <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/sid/";>available</a>.</strong> Demand has exceeded the hosting site's limited
+ supply of bandwidth, so for the time being Adam Heath has generously volunteered to maintain a <a href=
+ "http://people.brainfood.com/~doogie/x4.2/";>list of mirrors</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>I apologize for the delay in getting these packages prepared; if you need a reminder of why they're so late, you
+ can read my <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2002/debian-devel-200204/msg01343.html";>message on the
+ subject</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>Finally, since it is <a href=
+ "http://www.debianplanet.org/article.php?sid=696&mode=flat&order=0&thold=0";>politically incorrect to
+ thank me for these packages</a> <em>;-)</em>, you might want to join me in offering thanks to ISHIKAWA Mutsumi for
+ doing a lot of work to help get these packages where they are. Thanks, ISHIKAWA-san!</p>
+
+ <p>[25 May] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-17 has been accepted into unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[7 May] <strong>Do not expect an update on XFree86 4.2 until after Debian 3.0 ("woody") releases.</strong> If
+ you want to know why XFree86 4.2 is not shipping as part of woody, <a href=
+ "http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2002/debian-devel-200204/msg01343.html";>read this</a>. If you need help with
+ XFree86 on Debian, write to <a href="mailto:debian-user@lists.debian.org";>this user support forum</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>[16 April] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-16 has been accepted into unstable.</strong> This is the version that will
+ release with Debian 3.0 ("woody").</p>
+
+ <p>[8 April] <strong>Please test my pre-release packages of XFree86 4.1.0-16.</strong> These packages are available
+ at my <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/woody/";>repository</a>. These packages should fix: package build
+ problems on systems whose GNU libc headers were built against a kernel that has the CONFIG_AGP_SIS and
+ CONFIG_DRM_SIS options set; build problems on the s390 architecture; an anticipated problem with the XFree86 X
+ server's ELF module loader when version 2.4.18 of the Linux kernel for the IA-64 architecture is used; and a
+ problem with XFree86 X server crashing on ARM RiscPC machines. Now may also be your last chance to ensure that
+ <a href="#debconf">Debconf template translations</a> are up-to-date before woody releases.</p>
+
+ <p>[3 April] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-15 has been accepted into unstable.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[11 March] <strong>Please test my pre-release packages of XFree86 4.1.0-15.</strong> These packages are
+ available at my <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/woody/";>repository</a>. The sooner I can close the book
+ on XFree86 4.1.0 for woody, the sooner I can prep those wonderful XFree86 4.2.0 packages. Debconf template
+ translations are looking <a href="#debconf">much better</a> thanks to your help, but, as always, there is still
+ more to be done. Check the <a href="#debconf">current status</a>, and please help out if you can.</p>
+
+ <p>[16 February] <strong>XFree86 4.2.0 still in preparation.</strong> Sorry, folks. I need to continue to ask for
+ patience on your part. I've had a major project going at work for the past few weeks, and my first hospital visit
+ since my freshman year of college this past week. (And take my word for it, my freshman year was a while back. Now
+ where did I put my dentures?) Hold tight and I'll have 4.2.0 ready when I can.</p>
+
+ <p>[30 January] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-14 is now in unstable.</strong> <em>I continue to need translations of
+ <a href="#debconf">debconf templates</a>.</em></p>
+
+ <p>[26 January] <strong>Yes, I know XFree86 4.2.0 is out upstream. No, I don't know when packages will be
+ ready.</strong> I'm currently preparing 4.1.0-14. I have also <em>started</em> work on 4.2.0 but I am making
+ <strong>no</strong> promises about when packages may be ready. As in the past, the first .debs of the new upstream
+ version that will be available will be <em>experimental pre-releases</em> from my <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/woody/";>repository</a>. At present, I have all of the patches that we still need
+ ported forward except for the PCI domain stuff, which touches several critical parts of the server. (This is
+ probably unhappy news for the SPARC port.) I'm now updating the packaging infrastructure, and will return to the
+ PCI domain support patches after the first pre-release. Since Marc Aurele La France presently maintains a branch in
+ CVS upstream specifically for this code, that shouldn't be an insurmountable task. In the meantime, I ask for
+ patience and I suggest that people keep in mind that the Release Manager is not guaranteed to accept XFree86 4.2.0
+ into woody. 4.1.0 will remain my top priority until woody releases, or 4.2.0 is accepted into woody. <span class=
+ "line-through">You didn't read this, but I can probably have 4.2.0-0pre1v1 ready within a week as long as things
+ don't get too crazy at work, and Comcast doesn't yank me off the net again.</span></p>
+
+ <p>[14 January] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-13 is now in unstable.</strong> This fixes some brain damage with the xutils
+ package which broke imake on most architectures in -12. <em>I continue to need translations of <a href=
+ "#debconf">debconf templates</a>.</em></p>
+
+ <p>[10 January] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-12 is now in unstable.</strong> <em>I continue to need translations of
+ <a href="#debconf">debconf templates</a>.</em></p>
+
+ <h3>2001 News</h3>
+
+ <p>[13 December] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-11 is now in unstable for most architectures releasing as part of Debian 3.0
+ ("woody").</strong> The debconf templates for this package have changed considerably. <em>Please help out with
+ <a href="#debconf">debconf template translations</a>.</em></p>
+
+ <p>[19 October] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-8, which fixes the Xsession problem introduced in -7, is now in unstable for
+ i386.</strong> Other architectures will be following in the coming days.</p>
+
+ <p>[16 October] <strong>There is a small problem with a very obvious effect in XFree86 4.1.0-7</strong>. It
+ consists of erroneous quoting of a shell variable in the file <em>/etc/X11/Xsession.d/99xfree86-common_start</em>.
+ This problem was warned about shortly after 4.1.0-7 was released on the <a href=
+ "http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2001/debian-devel-200110/msg00396.html";>debian-devel</a> and <a href=
+ "http://lists.debian.org/debian-x/2001/debian-x-200110/msg00004.html";>debian-x</a> mailing lists, but apparently
+ lots of people who use Debian's releases-in-preparation, testing ("woody") and unstable ("sid"), do not read these
+ lists. Also, many folks apparently do not take advantage of the features of packages like <a href=
+ "http://packages.debian.org/unstable/utils/reportbug.html";>reportbug</a>, or otherwise <a href=
+ "http://bugs.debian.org/xfree86-common";>check the existing list of bug reports against a package</a> before filing
+ a new one. Remember, as satisfying as expressing your anger, frustration, and/or annoyance with a bug may be,
+ filing additional reports just forces the maintainer to spend time doing bug triage that could be spent preparing a
+ fixed package. In this case, however, a preview of the next release (XFree86 4.1.0-7pre8v1) is available for i386
+ in my <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/woody/";>repository</a>. If you're already using either of these
+ versions, I suggest reading the new <tt>Xsession</tt> manpage, which I almost completely rewrote to properly
+ document the new "run-parts" approach to the <tt>Xsession.d</tt> directory. Just <tt>man Xsession</tt> and you're
+ good to go.</p>
+
+ <p>[16 October] <strong>In other news, automatic usage of <tt>xmodmap</tt> on X session startup is now
+ deprecated.</strong> The main reason for this is that unpredictable things can happen if both the system and the
+ user are using <tt>Xmodmap</tt> files, and sometimes the user doesn't even have to have one for the keyboard to get
+ screwed up by unintended side effects; if you want to use Xmodmap to prep the keyboard for use with the xdm greeter
+ (login widget) for instance, you may execute it in a file like <tt>/etc/X11/xdm/Xsetup</tt>, but it will get run
+ again when the session starts, followed by a user's Xmodmap, for a total of three possible executions of Xmodmap
+ for a single X session. Unless the files are carefully written, this can cause the keyboard to behave strangely.
+ Therefore, on upgrading to 4.1.0-7 or later, the files <tt>/etc/X11/Xsession.d/40xfree86-common_xmodmap</tt> and
+ <tt>/etc/X11/Xmodmap</tt> are no longer marked as conffiles, and are moved to
+ <tt>/etc/X11/Xsession.d/40xfree86-common_xmodmap.xfree86-common-old</tt> and
+ <tt>/etc/X11/Xmodmap.xbase-clients-old</tt> respectively, <em>if they are unchanged from the version last
+ distributed as a conffile with the package.</em> This decision is made separately for each file; if you've changed
+ it, it doesn't get moved and stays where it is, on the presumption that you're actively using this feature. What
+ used to be <tt>/etc/X11/Xmodmap</tt> continues to be available, however, as
+ <tt>/usr/share/doc/xbase-clients/examples/Xmodmap</tt>, and the <tt>Xsession</tt> manual page describes how to
+ write a replacement for <tt>/etc/X11/Xsession.d/40xfree86-common_xmodmap</tt>. Of course, if you're upgrading, you
+ can just move the <tt>-old</tt> versions of these files back into place. Be sure to give them different names, or
+ change their contents (say, by adding a comment), so that they aren't moved again on the next upgrade of
+ XFree86.</p>
+
+ <p>[22 September] <strong>The <tt>xfree86v3</tt> source package has been overhauled.</strong> I wanted to get
+ <tt>xfree86v3</tt> moved over to <tt>debhelper</tt> last year but I never had time. This work is now done.
+ Furthermore, all the X servers that used to be built are now getting built again, for reasons described in the
+ package changelog. Please test <tt>xfree86v3</tt> 3.3.6-38pre39v2 and <tt>xfree86</tt> 4.1.0-6pre7v2, currently
+ residing in my <a href="http://people.debian.org/~branden/woody/";>repository</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>[5 August] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-2</strong> is now available for most architectures. Incidentally, <a href=
+ "http://bugs.debian.org/104344";>Bug #104344</a> has been fixed. I've also updated the <a href="#todo">Looking
+ ahead</a> section of this webpage to remove items that have been completed, and removed the sections about xterm,
+ since this information is now covered exhaustively in the Debian X FAQ. Finally, I added a <a href="#links">Useful
+ Links</a> section.</p>
+
+ <p>[28 July] <strong>XFree86 4.1.0-1</strong> has been uploaded to incoming. Thanks to everyone who helped get this
+ release in good order. Note that there are going to be some problems with applications that use the SDL library on
+ m68k, PowerPC, IA64, MIPS, MIPSel, and HPPA architectures until <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/104344";>Bug
+ #104344</a> is fixed.</p>
+
+ <p>[1 July] <strong>Please help with <a href="#debconf">debconf translations</a>!</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[12 June] <strong>The first pre-release version of XFree86 4.1.0 is now available in my <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/woody/";>repository</a>.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[7 April] <strong>The first pre-release version of XFree86 4.0.3 is now available in my <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/woody/";>repository</a>.</strong></p>
+
+ <h3>2000 News</h3>
+
+ <p>[23 December] <strong>Please test my pre-release version of XFree86 4.0.2 packages in my <a href=
+ "http://people.debian.org/~branden/woody/";>repository</a>.</strong> Thanks to the generosity of several
+ individuals, I am now able to handle builds for three architectures myself: i386, powerpc, and sparc. So,
+ generally, one will find packages for these 3 architectures in my repository (modulus build time; I always build on
+ i386 first (because it's my fastest machine) and do sanity checks on it before trying a compile on the other
+ two).</p>
+
+ <p>[3 December] <strong>My unofficial XFree86 package repository has been resurrected.</strong> At present there
+ isn't a lot to see yet, but here's the apt line:<br />
+ <tt>deb http://people.debian.org/%7Ebranden/ woody/$(ARCH)/</tt><br />
+ In the event that potato packages are made available, they will of course use the following:<br />
+ <tt>deb http://people.debian.org/%7Ebranden/ potato/$(ARCH)/</tt></p>
+
+ <p>[2 November] <strong><tt>xfree86</tt> 4.0.1-1 and <tt>xfree86v3</tt> 3.3.6-12 have been uploaded to auric's
+ incoming directory.</strong> I expect them to be installed into the unstable (woody) archive either today or
+ tomorrow. This is it! I appreciate everyone's patience during the arduous process of getting X repackaged and into
+ a releasable state.</p>
+
+ <p>[7 September] <a href="http://samosa.debian.org/~branden/woody/";>Phase 2 <tt>.debs</tt> of XFree86 4.0 are now
+ available.</a> These are retrievable with apt, and should upgrade smoothly from version 3.3.6 of XFree86, but
+ please note that they are for <strong>testing</strong>, <em>not general-purpose use</em>, and the library packages
+ should <strong>definitely should not be used to compile packages for upload to Debian.</strong>. The
+ <tt>xfonts-cjk</tt> package may have to be removed (e.g., with <tt>apt-get remove xfonts-cjk</tt>) before you can
+ <tt>dist-upgrade</tt> to these packages. I seem to have the dependencies right, so I'm not sure why this is
+ happening. Also note that any packages compiled against an old version of the XPM library will be removed by this
+ upgrade. Bugs were filed against every package with this problem weeks ago, but there are still quite a few
+ stragglers. I've done NMU's for a couple and they are available along with the Phase 2 packages. (Note that all
+ that is required for these XPM-dependent packages is a simple recompile on an up-to-date system; nothing having to
+ do with XFree86 4 is necessary, and in fact building against XFree86 4 libraries would be a very bad idea before
+ official Debian packages exist for them.) Phase 3, a.k.a. upload of official packages to woody, will happen when 1)
+ I've fought any fires that testers find in Phase 2; 2) these packages compile on all architectures Debian supports
+ (or at least the ones with 3.3.6 packages); and 3) when I have ported forward all necessary patches we applied to
+ 3.3.6. I appreciate the patience and assistance I have received to date, just a little more and we'll be there!</p>
+
+ <p>[15 August] <strong>Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 ("potato") has been <a href=
+ "http://lists.debian.org/debian-announce/debian-announce-2000/msg00009.html";>released</a>.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[28 July] <a href="http://deadbeast.net/~branden/phase1/";>Phase 1 <tt>.debs</tt> of <tt>xfree86-1</tt> 4.0.1</a>
+ are now available. These are not "apt-able" and are very experimental; please review <a href="plans.txt">my
+ plans</a> to see what "Phase 1" means. I will have Phase 1 .debs of <tt>xfree86-2</tt> and <tt>xfree86-3</tt>
+ available before too long; these should be much easier to repackage than -1 was. By the time that is done I
+ hopefully will have enough feedback to move into Phase 2 on <tt>xfree86-1</tt>. In the meantime, it looks like
+ <tt>xfree86-1</tt> 3.3.6-10, installed last week, will be the version that ships with Debian 2.2.</p>
+
+ <p>[14 July] It's been a while. I have moved, and taken a job at <a href="http://www.progeny.com";>Progeny
+ Linux</a>, where my first big task is to get XFree86 4.0.1 Debianized. This process is proceeding; I am currently
+ developing "phase 1" per my original <a href="plans.txt">plan</a>. An initial attempt at a mapping of the various
+ files that the <tt>xfree86-1</tt> source package, version 4.0.1, installs to the binary packages that will contain
+ them is <a href="MANIFEST">available</a>. In other news, tiny but annoying buglets keep cropping up in the Debian
+ 2.2 ("potato") version of XFree86; expect <tt>xfree86-1</tt> 3.3.6-10 soon. Before long I will be delegating
+ maintenance of the 3.3.x series to Stephen R. Gore, a fellow developer, so that I can concentrate fully on the 4.x
+ series. Thanks for volunteering, Stephen.</p>
+
+ <p>[30 May] <strong>As promised in the SVGA X server documentation, support information for i810 chipset users is
+ here.</strong> <em>([23 Dec 2000] This has been removed since the official Linux kernel and XFree86 4.x are now in
+ sync with each other.)</em></p>
+
+ <p>[30 May] <strong><tt>xfree86-1</tt> 3.3.6-7 has been released.</strong> This release fixes several nagging
+ problems with 3.3.6-6, including 2 denial-of-service attacks, one tempfile race, and several other release-critical
+ bugs. It also features support for ATI Rage Mobility chipsets, and fixes for font rendering problems apparent on
+ some chipsets. Unfortunately, an -8 release is expected shortly due to some annoying errors in the packaging as
+ well as fresh issues with the upstream source that came to my attention literally today.</p>
+
+ <p>[27 May] <strong>There will be no officially released Debian packages of XFree86 4.0.0; however, packages of
+ 4.0.1 are planned.</strong> For an explanation why, please <a href="no-4.0.0.txt">read this message</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>[16 March] <strong>Having trouble building XFree86 4.0 from source?</strong> Try this <a href=
+ "xf4patch.txt">patch</a>. If you have met the build dependencies (see an <tt>xfree86-1</tt> source package), it
+ should be all you need to get 4.0 building on an up-to-date potato or woody system.</p>
+
+ <p>[14 March] <strong><tt>xfree86-1</tt> 3.3.6-6 has been released.</strong> Changes from -5 are minimal but
+ important.</p>
+
+ <p>[12 March] <strong>XFree86 4.0 was released upstream three days ago.</strong> For information about my plans for
+ Debianization of XFree86 4.0, please read the <a href="plans.txt">message</a> I sent to the Debian mailing
+ lists.</p>
+
+ <p>[6 March] <strong><tt>xfree86-1</tt> 3.3.6-5 has been released.</strong> 3.3.6-4 was not announced here because
+ it had a showstopping bug in the <tt>xauth</tt> program.</p>
+
+ <p>[24 January] <strong><tt>xfree86-1</tt> 3.3.6-3 has been released.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[15 January] <strong><tt>xfree86-1</tt> 3.3.6-2 has been released.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[12 January] <strong><tt>xfree86-1</tt>, <tt>xfree86-2</tt>, and <tt>xfree86-3</tt> 3.3.6-1 have been
+ released.</strong></p>
+
+ <h3>1999 News</h3>
+
+ <p>[21 December] <strong>I have done some renaming of the directories where I store my unofficial X .debs</strong>,
+ so be sure to check out the new <a href="http://samosa.debian.org/~branden/slink/";>slink</a> and <a href=
+ "http://samosa.debian.org/~branden/potato/";>potato</a> directories and modify your apt <tt>sources.list</tt> files
+ appropriately. If you ever get 404 errors, it might pay to check out <a href=
+ "http://samosa.debian.org/~branden/";>the lay of the land</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>[12 November] <strong><tt>xfree86-1</tt> 3.3.5-2 has been released.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[20 September] <strong><tt>xfree86-1</tt>, <tt>xfree86-2</tt>, and <tt>xfree86-3</tt> 3.3.5-1 have been
+ released.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[12 September] <strong>A Debian mailing list specifically for the discussion of the X Window System and software
+ that uses it has been created.</strong> This list, <em>debian-x</em>, is for <em>developers</em> (or people
+ functioning in that capacity); it is <em>not</em> a user support list. The support list for people having trouble
+ working with the Debian XFree86 packages continues to be <em>debian-user</em>.</p>
+
+ <p>[4 September] <strong><tt>xfree86-1</tt> 3.3.4-2 has been released.</strong> This version features a few
+ bugfixes, plus a patch for a security vulnerability in the <tt>xkbcomp</tt> program. A version for Debian 2.1
+ ("slink") is <a href="http://samosa.debian.org/~branden/slink/";>available</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>[27 August] <strong>Security update:</strong> There has recently been much discussion (among several
+ distributions) about the state of the <tt>/etc/X11/xdm/Xaccess</tt> file, which permits XDMCP connections from any
+ host by default. The received wisdom is that this should be turned off, and Debian has done so. Note that people
+ using <tt>xdm</tt> to manage only local X servers (ones running on the same machine as <tt>xdm</tt> itself), do not
+ need anything in their <tt>Xaccess</tt> file to use <tt>xdm</tt>. Anyone who is concerned about a permissive
+ <tt>Xaccess</tt> file should either obtain version 3.3.4-1 of the <tt>xdm</tt> package, or edit their
+ <tt>/etc/X11/xdm/Xaccess</tt> file and comment out or delete every non-comment line. In Debian, the
+ <tt>Xaccess</tt> file is registered as a <em>conffile</em> with the packaging system, so your changes are respected
+ and preserved through later package upgrades.</p>
+
+ <p>[27 August] <strong>Versions of the <tt>xfree86-1</tt> 3.3.4 packages for Debian 2.1 ("slink", the current
+ Debian release) are <a href="http://samosa.debian.org/~branden/slink/";>available</a>.</strong> These are identical
+ to the current versions available for "potato", the release currently under development, except for removal of
+ <tt>xaw-wrappers</tt> support (which has changed since Debian 2.1) and some changes to build XFree86 correctly
+ against <tt>glibc</tt> 2.0, the version of the C library in slink. (The potato XFree86 packages assume the presence
+ of <tt>glibc</tt> 2.1, except on the m68k architecture.)</p>
+
+ <p>[27 August] <strong><tt>xfree86-1</tt>, <tt>xfree86-2</tt>, and <tt>xfree86-3</tt> 3.3.4-1 have been
+ released.</strong></p>
+
+ <p>[12 August] I have joined <a href="http://www.xfree86.org/";>XFree86</a> as a nonvoting member (most XFree86
+ developers have this status). The two main reasons are so that 1) I can begin the task of merging many of our
+ patches into the upstream source tree and 2) Debian can release new XFree86 upstream versions in a more timely
+ manner through early access to the source code. A Debian package release cannot be made until XFree86 releases
+ their source code, but it should be possible to cut down the lag time on new version releases considerably.</p>
+
+ <p>[1 May] <strong>There are now three XFree86 source packages</strong>, which correspond exactly to the three-part
+ source archive that XFree86 distributes. <tt>xfree86-1</tt> builds the heart of the system; the servers, the
+ libraries, the clients, and so forth. <tt>xfree86-2</tt> builds the architecture-independent X font packages ([27
+ August] and starting in version 3.3.4, the library manual pages as well). <tt>xfree86-3</tt> builds the
+ architecture-independent PostScript technical documentation. This arrangement simplifies packaging of the upstream
+ components and is more efficient, since <tt>xfree86-1</tt> is the only component that requires recompiles for other
+ architectures supported by Debian. The new source packaging system also applies patches at build time, rather than
+ when the source package is unpacked; thanks to Adam Heath ("doogie") for implementing this.</p>
+
+ <p>[9 March] <strong>Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 ("slink") has been <a href=
+ "http://lists.debian.org/debian-announce/debian-announce-1999/msg00005.html";>released</a>.</strong> Shipping with
+ Debian 2.1 is XFree86 3.3.2.3. Some very significant packaging changes have taken place since Debian 2.0; people
+ upgrading from previous versions of Debian will want to <a href="xbase-readme.txt">read about them.</a></p>
+
+ <p>[1 March] <strong>Security update:</strong> Several distributions of late have made security releases addressing
+ a problem with symbolic links and race conditions in the <tt>/tmp</tt> directory. Debian is not vulnerable to this
+ particular problem, but it is possible for the X server socket to be created in an inappropriate directory. While
+ this is not an exploitable security problem, it is not correct behavior, and it has been corrected in the Debian
+ release currently under development.</p>
+
+ <p><strong>Information about most issues of importance to end users can be found in
+ <code>/usr/share/doc/xfree86-common/README.Debian</code> on systems with the xfree86-common package
+ installed.</strong></p>
+
+ <p><strong>Be sure to check out the Debian X FAQ.</strong> There is a <a href="FAQ">copy</a> at this web site. It
+ is also located in the xfree86-common package in <code>/usr/share/doc/xfree86-common/FAQ.gz</code>. I am very
+ serious about making this document one-stop shopping for most common questions Debian users have about X. While
+ there is much to be done, several common questions are already answered in it. Submissions are always welcome.</p>
+ <!--
+ <hr>
+
+ <h2 id="apt">How to Use My Experimental Package Repository</h2>
+
+ <p>Using my experimental package repository is pretty straightforward, but it appears that a lot of people are
+ unaware of the <a href="../packages/sid/APT">existing instructions</a>. You can download that file and append it
+ to the end of your <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> file, for instance.</p>
+
+ -->
+ <hr />
+
+ <h2 id="whatis">What is the X Strike Force?</h2>
+
+ <p>The X Strike Force is a team of Debian developers (not exclusively package maintainers) who are dedicated to at
+ least three goals:</p>
+
+ <ol>
+ <li>identifying and fixing bugs in the Debian XFree86 packages</li>
+
+ <li>enhancing the functionality of the Debian XFree86 packages</li>
+
+ <li>developing and drafting policy proposals to create a consistent, powerful, and easy-to-use foundation upon
+ which maintainers of other packages, such as X clients, can build</li>
+ </ol>
+
+ <p>The mailing list of the X Strike Force is <em>debian-x@lists.debian.org</em>. Like almost all Debian lists, it
+ is <a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-x/";>archived</a>. The full charter of the mailing list follows.</p>
+
+ <blockquote>
+ <p>This list is for the discussion and support of the X Window System within Debian. Issues of maintenance and
+ porting of Debian's XFree86 packages are germane here, as are discussions of possible Debian policy mechanisms
+ for ensuring the smooth interoperation of packages that use the X Window System, particularly widget sets,
+ desktop environments, window managers, display managers, and packages that provide fonts for the X Window System.
+ In particular, individuals involved with building official Debian XFree86 packages for any architecture are
+ invited to join, as are those with various graphics hardware who seek to reproduce and/or fix bugs in the X
+ server. This is <strong>not</strong> a user support list; this list is intended for those who deal with the
+ source code of any of the X Window System components mentioned above.</p>
+ </blockquote>
+ <hr />
+
+ <h2 id="bugs">The XFree86 Debian Bug List</h2>
+
+ <p>You too can help with the large bug list. For purposes of this discussion, I am going to assume you're familiar
+ with the documentation on how to use the Debian <a href="http://bugs.debian.org/";>Bug Tracking System</a> and
+ manipulate bug reports.</p>
+
+ <p><em>What you can do:</em></p>
+
+ <ul>
+ <li>
+ <p>Reproduce, or decisively refute, existing bug reports. Some of the bug reports are very old, and may have
+ been fixed upstream. If you can reproduce a bug, no special action is needed unless the original bug report
+ contained incorrect or incomplete information --- in that case, simply mail the bug with your supplementary
+ information. If you can refute a bug report, you should mail the bug and possibly the submitter as well (bug
+ submitters do not automatically receive mails to the bugs they submit, except for the ones to the
+ <em>bugnumber</em><tt>-done</tt> address), so that they can see if the problem still exists for them or
+ not.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>Identify a bug as being due to upstream code. It's much easier for me to fix bugs in, for instance, the
+ Debian control file or the package maintainer scripts than upstream bugs. If a bug is clearly the result of an
+ upstream problem, add the <tt>upstream</tt> tag to the bug.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>Identify bug reports with patches in them. You do not have to determine whether the patch works or not; I'll
+ determine that. Just add the <tt>patch</tt> tag to the bug.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>Identify bugs that have already been fixed. Whether due to upstream fixes or Debian-specific ones, I don't
+ care. Just add the <tt>fixed</tt> tag to the bug.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p>Merge bug reports that should be merged, and unmerge bug reports that should be unmerged (but see
+ below).</p>
+ </li>
+ </ul>
+
+ <p><em>What you should not do:</em></p>
+
+ <ul>
+ <li>Actually close a bug. As the Bug Tracking System documentation states, this should only be done by the bug
+ submitter or the package maintainer.</li>
+
+ <li>Merge or unmerge bug reports unless you're very confident this is appropriate. Sometimes similar-looking
+ problems have very different causes. The X server, for instance, may fail to start for any number of reasons, so
+ it does not make sense to merge all "the X server crashes"-type bugs. If you have doubts, it won't hurt to simply
+ mail the bug with your suspicions that the bug should be merged with, or unmerged from, a specific other bug
+ report, and your reasons for your belief.</li>
+
+ <li>Change the severity of a bug. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but in general, people seeking to help
+ me with the X bug list shouldn't mess with the bug severities. There are probably quite a few wishlist items
+ whose severity is currently normal, however, so it would not hurt to mail the bug with your argument for why it
+ should be downgraded to a wishlist item.</li>
+
+ <li>Reassign a bug to a different package. This especially holds true for reassignment to a package I don't
+ maintain. Just mail the bug with your reasoning.</li>
+ </ul>
+ <hr />
+ <!--
+ <h2 id="todo">Looking Ahead</h2>
+
+ <p>The following changes are on my "to do" list.</p>
+ <ol>
+ <li>Hack up twm so it can restart a different window manager.</li>
+ <li>Have xfs (maybe xdm, too) run as its own user (or as the daemon user; get consensus), not as root.</li>
+ <li>Explore the possibility of making twm GNOME-aware. (This is kind of a joke, but you never know.)</li>
+ <li>Work on the FAQ. See <code>/usr/share/doc/xfree86-common/FAQ.gz</code>.</li>
+ </ol>
+
+ <hr>
+ -->
+
+ <h2 id="links">Useful Links</h2>
+
+ <ul>
+ <li><a href="http://www.xfree86.org/";>The XFree86 Project, Inc.</a></li>
+
+ <li><a href="http://dickey.his.com/xterm/xterm.html";>XTERM - Terminal Emulator for the X Window System</a></li>
+
+ <li><a href="http://people.debian.org/~cpbotha/xf410_potato/";>Charl P. Botha's XFree86 4.1.0 .debs for Debian 2.2
+ ("potato")</a></li>
+ <!-- <li><a href="http://people.debian.org/~blade/woody/";>Eduard Bloch's (experimental) XFree86 4.2.1 .debs for
+ Debian 3.0 ("woody")</a></li> -->
+ </ul>
+ <hr />
+ </div>
+
+ <div class="left">
+ <p><a href="http://validator.w3.org/";><img src="http://www.w3.org/Icons/valid-xhtml10"; alt="Valid XHTML 1.0!"
+ height="31" width="88" /></a> <a href="http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/";><img style=
+ "border:0;width:88px;height:31px" src="http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/images/vcss"; alt="Valid CSS!" /></a></p>
+
+ <p class="x-small"><a
+ href="http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/xsf/XFree86/NEWS.xhtml";>Validate this page's
+ XHTML.</a><br /> <a
+ href="http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator?uri=http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/xsf/XFree86/NEWS.xhtml";>Validate
+ this page's CSS.</a></p>
+
+ <p class="x-small">My email address is "branden" (ASCII 64) "debian" (ASCII 46) "org". ASCII 64 is an at sign (@)
+ and ASCII 46 is a period, a.k.a. full stop (.).</p>
+
+ <p class="x-small">$Id$</p>
+ </div>
+</body>
+</html>
+<!-- vim:set ai et sts=2 sw=2 tw=120: -->
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