Draft for lenny release announcement
[ Sorry for the cross post; just trying to make sure everyone is aware of
the current state ]
Hi!
Attached you'll find the current draft of the announcement for the lenny
release. Based upon the announcement for the last release it's far from
ready :(
Especially the second and third paragraphs need a better replacement; maybe
the d-i or cd folks have a good idea about that?
I tried my best to make the draft based on
http://wiki.debian.org/NewInLenny and own experience but I'm sure I missed
important thing. So please feel free to point out really important
changes, which should be mentioned in the announcement.
About the timeline... Hopefully we'll release next Saturday... So I would
like to see the content of the announcement finished by Wednesday and use
the remaining time for reviewing and translating the announcement.
-l10n-english and -i18n will that be enough time for you?
I know that ideally translators would work on a frozen version of the
announcement, but I fear that won't fit into the remaining time.
The most current version may be found in a private subversion repository
(to avoid conflicts when using the wiki). You can get the most recent
version from
http://svn.schmehl.info/svn/debian-publicity/20090214-lenny-release/lenny-announcement.en.wml
; translators might later be interested in
http://svn.schmehl.info/websvn/listing.php?repname=debian-publicity&path=%2F20090214-lenny-release%2F&rev=0&sc=0
to track changes in the document.
Best regards,
Alexander
PS: I set reply-to to the publicity list, but feel free to follow up to an
other list when discussing specific points (like translations); I'll try to
follow the discussion on all lists.
<define-tag pagetitle>Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 released</define-tag>
<define-tag release_date>2009-02-14</define-tag>
#use wml::debian::news
<p>The Debian Project is pleased to announce the official release of
Debian GNU/Linux version 5.0, codenamed <q>etch</q>, after 22 months of
constant development. Debian GNU/Linux is a free operating system which
supports a total of eleven processor architectures and includes the KDE,
GNOME Xfce and lxde desktop environments. It also features cryptographic
software and compatibility with the FHS v2.3 and software developed for
version 3.2 of the LSB.</p>
<!-- p>Using a now fully integrated installation process, Debian GNU/Linux 5.0
comes with out-of-the-box support for encrypted partitions. This
release introduces a newly developed graphical front end to the
installation system supporting scripts using composed characters and
complex languages; the installation system for Debian GNU/Linux has now
been translated to 58 languages.</p -->
<p>Also beginning with Debian GNU/Linux 4.0, the package management system
has been improved regarding security and efficiency. Secure APT allows
the verification of the integrity of packages downloaded from a mirror.
Updated package indices won't be downloaded in their entirety, but
instead patched with smaller files containing only differences from
earlier versions.</p -->
<p>Debian GNU/Linux runs on computers ranging from palmtops and handheld
systems to supercomputers, and on nearly everything in between. A total
of eleven architectures are supported including: Sun SPARC (sparc), HP
Alpha (alpha), Motorola/IBM PowerPC (powerpc), Intel IA-32 (i386) and
IA-64 (ia64), HP PA-RISC (hppa), MIPS (mips, mipsel), ARM (arm), IBM
S/390 (s390) and AMD64 and Intel EM64T (amd64).</p>
<p>This includes support for Marvell's Orion platform or devices based on
the Orion platform, like QNAP Turbo Station, HP mv2120, and Buffalo
Kurobox Pro.</p>
<p>With the integration of X.org 7.3 the X server autoconfigures itself
with most hardware. Newly introduced packages allow the full support of
NTFS filesystems or the usage of most multimedia keys out of the box.
Support for Macromedias Flash format is available via the swfdec plugin.
Overall improvements for notebooks have been introduced, like out of the
box support of CPU frequency scaling.</p>
<p>The integration of OpenJDK, a free version of Sun's Java technology,
into Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 made it possible to ship Java based
applications in Debians "main" repository.</p>
<p>Further improvement regarding the security of the system include the
installation of available security updates before the first reboot by the
installation system, the reduction of setuid root binaries and open ports
in the standard installation as well as building several
security-critical packages with GCC Hardening features. Various
applications have specific improvements, too. PHP for example is now
built with the Suhosin hardening patch.</p>
<p>Debian GNU/Linux can be installed from various installation media such
as DVDs, CDs, USB sticks and floppies, or from the network. GNOME is the
default desktop environment and is contained on the first CD. The K
Desktop Environment (KDE), the Xfce or the lxde desktop can be installed
through two new alternative CD images. Again available with Debian
GNU/Linux 5.0 are multi-arch CDs and DVDs supporting installation of
multiple architectures from a single disc as well as Blue Ray Discs
allowing the archive for an entire architecture to be shipped on a single
installation medium.</p>
<p>Debian GNU/Linux can be downloaded right now via bittorrent (the
recommended way), jigdo or HTTP; see <a href="$(HOME)/CD/">Debian
GNU/Linux on CDs</a> for further information. It will soon be available
on DVD and CD-ROM from numerous <a href="$(HOME)/CD/vendors">vendors</a>,
too.</p>
<p>This release includes a number of updated software packages, such as
the K Desktop Environment 3.5.9 (KDE), an updated version of the GNOME
desktop environment 2.22.2, the Xfce 4.4.2 desktop environment, lxde
0.3.2.1, the GNUstep desktop 7.3, X.Org 7.3, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, GIMP
2.4.7, Iceweasel (an unbranded version of Mozilla Firefox 3.0.5), Icedove
(an unbranded version of Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0.0.19), Iceape (an
unbranded version of Mozilla Seamonkey 1.1.14), PostgreSQL 8.3.5, MySQL
5.1.30 and 5.0.51a, GNU Compiler Collection 4.3.2, Linux kernel version
2.6.26, Apache 2.2.9, Samba 3.2.5, Python 2.5.2 and 2.4.6, Perl 5.10.0,
PHP 5.2.6, Asterisk 1.4.21.2, Emacs 22, Inkscapoe 0.46, Nagios 3.06, Xen
Hypervisor 3.2.1, OpenJDK 6b11 and more than 23,000 other ready to use
software packages.</p>
<p>Upgrades to Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 from the previous release, Debian
GNU/Linux 4.0 codenamed <q>etch</q>, are automatically handled by the
aptitude package management tool for most configurations, and to a
certain degree also by the apt-get package management tool. As always,
Debian GNU/Linux systems can be upgraded painlessly, in place, without
any forced downtime, but it is strongly recommended to read the release
notes for possible issues. For detailed instructions about installing
and upgrading Debian GNU/Linux, please see the <a
href="$(HOME)/releases/lenny/releasenotes">release notes</a>. Please
note that the release notes will be further improved and translated to
additional languages in the coming weeks.</p>
<h2>About Debian</h2>
<p>Debian GNU/Linux is a free operating system, developed by more than a
thousand volunteers from all over the world who collaborate via the
Internet. Debian's dedication to Free Software, its non-profit nature,
and its open development model make it unique among GNU/Linux
distributions.</p>
<p>The Debian project's key strengths are its volunteer base, its
dedication to the Debian Social Contract, and its commitment to provide
the best operating system possible. Debian 5.0 is another important step
in that direction.</p>
<h2>Contact Information</h2>
<p>For further information, please visit the Debian web pages at
<a href="$(HOME)/">http://www.debian.org/</a> or send mail to
<press@debian.org>.</p>
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