Re: First draft
On Mon, Aug 07, 2000 at 12:46:28AM -0500, Chris Lawrence wrote:
> Feel free to comment/revise.
Sounds good. Some small points, though:
> As in previous releases, Debian 2.2 uses our proven dpkg package
> manager to provide the most thorough dependency protection available
> in Linux distributions. We continue to provide the alien package for
> installation of packages in other formats, but you'll rarely need it;
I think, you should not address the reader directly ("you'll") as this
is very uncommon in announcements like this. Use a passive construction,
instead ("will rarely be needed").
> Perhaps the most significant change in Debian 2.2 is our transition to
> version 2.1.2 of the GNU C Library (also known as libc 6.1). Debian
> 2.2 also includes the latest stable Linux kernel (2.2.16), updated
> with Alan Cox's patches expected to go into 2.2.17. The 2.2 kernel
"... updated with important security and stability fixes expected ..."
The audience should know *why* these patches were included.
> * New packages:
[...]
> + gnome-napster, gnapster, gnap - Three Napster implementations
> for all your RIAA-defying needs.
"for all your RIAA-defying needs" sounds like Debian is in war with
companies. While personally I don't mind this sentence some people
(especially business people) could.
> * Major updated packages:
> + GNOME 1.0.56 (You can get GNOME 1.2 packages for 2.2 from
> [1]Helix Code) - A free desktop environment
I think it is a very good idea to mention the HelixCode packages.
> + Emacs 20.7, XEmacs 21.1.8 - The world's largest text editor.
s/editor/editors/
In the above lists you finish some descriptions with a period and some
not. IMO this should be consistent.
> architectures. Our "first reboot" configuration is now handled by a
> new package, called base-config, and has a more appealing interface
> based around our debconf system.
Maybe you should rename the "first reboot configuration" to something
like "after-reboot configuration". "First reboot" sounds like you
would need a lot of reboots to get Debian working.
> Administrators will appreciate the widespread of the Pluggable
> Authentication Modules (PAM) system in Debian; with PAM, Debian
> systems can be configured with standard Unix crypt(3) passwords, or
> more secure options such as shadow and MD5 passwords, "smart cards",
> and one-time-password implementations.
I would add "remote database authentication (such as LDAP, SMB, or
custom SQL databases)" and also mention the mature NSS implementation.
This is something that system administrators of larger or more complex
networks will appreciate.
> Perhaps the most interesting social change since Debian 2.1 has been
> the adoption of the Debian system as a basis for commercial Linux
> distributions.
Hmm.
"The quality of Debian GNU/Linux distribution is proved by the adoption
of the Debian system as a basis for several new commercial Linux
distributions."
Good work.
- Sebastian, not a Debian maintainer
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