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Re: Third draft (was Re: we need a release announcement -- soon)



Chris Lawrence wrote:
> Before you start, attached is a third draft that reorganizes these
> points, adds some explanation at the start about Debian, etc.  It will
> probably save some time reorganizing, if nothing else.

I got this I little late, but I think I've caught the changes you made.
Here's my shot at it. I think it's still too long...

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Debian GNU/Linux
http://www.debian.org/
Announcing Debian GNU/Linux 2.2, the "Joel 'Espy' Klecker" release
August 15th, 2000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Debian Project is pleased to announce the latest release of the
Debian GNU/Linux Operating System. This release has been in
development for approximately 18 months, and has been extensively
tested by several thousand developers and end-users. We are confident
that the stability and quality of the result will be apparent.

Debian is a free Linux system. The developers are 500 unpaid
volunteers from all over the world who collaborate via the Internet.
Debian's dedication to free software, our non-profit nature, and our
open development model make us unique among Linux distributions.

With the addition of the PowerPC and ARM architectures, Debian now 
supports a total of six architectures -- more than any other
distribution. Debian will now run on iMacs and Netwinders, and of
course it continues to support Intel clones, Sun SPARCs, Alphas, and
older Macintosh and Amiga hardware.

Debian 2.2 features a streamlined and polished installation,
including automatic network setup via DHCP, a simplified software
selection process (just indicate the tasks your Debian system will
be used for), and a simplified configurator for the X Window System.
Debian can be installed via CD, or from the network and a few
floppies:

  FTP:		ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/
  Mirrors:	http://www.debian.org/distrib/ftplist 
  CD-ROM:	http://www.debian.org/distrib/vendors
  CD Images:	http://cdimage.debian.org/

Upgrades to Debian 2.2 from earlier releases of Debian are
automatically handled by the apt package management tool. As always,
Debian systems can be upgraded painlessly, in place, with no reboot
necessary. For detailed documentation about installing and upgrading
Debian, please see <http://www.debian.org/releases/2.2/>.

Debian 2.2 is based on 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 series includes significant improvements in usability and 
stability; it also includes more hardware support, for both older 
and newer products; laptop users will particularly notice 
improvements in the PCMCIA subsystem. Some other highlights from the
nearly 800 updated packages include:

   o C Library	2.1.3
   o XFree86	3.3.6
   o GCC	2.95.2
   o GnuPG	1.0.1
   o Perl	5.005.03
   o Python	1.5.2
   o PAM	0.72
   o ncurses	5
   o teTeX	1.0.6
   o Emacs	20.7
   o XEmacs	21.1.8
   o GNOME	1.0.56 [1]

1200 new software packages have been added to Debian 2.2. Some of the
newly available software includes:

   o postfix	A new secure mail transport agent
   o openssh	A free implementation of the secure shell
   o openldap	LDAP client and server packages
   o w3m	A new text-mode browser, with support for tables
   o gdm	The GNOME display manager
   o cvsup	An efficient mirroring system for CVS
   o everybuddy	An all-in-one messaging client
   o reportbug	A tool to report problems in Debian
   o zope	A web application server for dynamic web sites
   o xmms	The X Multimedia System; an audio player
   o kaffe	A free, JIT-capable, virtual machine for Java bytecode
   o gnapster	An interface to the popular MP3 sharing service
   o And last, but not least, 56 new games.

Debian 2.2 incorporates not only a great deal of updated and new
software, but many enhancements, such as:

   o Widespread use of the Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM).
     With PAM, Debian systems can be configured with standard Unix
     passwords or more secure options such as shadow and MD5 
     passwords, "smart cards", and one-time-password
     implementations.
   o A new network configuration system, configured through the
     /etc/network directory, which improves support for multihomed
     hosts.
   o Closer compliance to the Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard 
     (FHS), including a better separation between system-specific,
     architecture-specific, and architecture-independent data for
     use in heterogeneous environments.
   o Better support for international users. Japanese support is
     integrated into the core Debian archive, and other non-Latin
     character encodings are also better supported through wider 
     internationalisation (I18N) support. European languages are
     also better supported, with more and better translations to 
     more languages.

The Debian project has always hoped to serve as a base for more
specialised distributions, and in the past year this goal has been
realized, with the adoption of the Debian system as a basis for
commercial Linux distributions. Corel Corporation, Libra Computer
Systems, and Stormix Technologies are among the companies that
currently distribute distributions based on Debian; others are on
the horizon. In addition, Debian CDs have been bundled with several
Debian books. What remains the same, however, is the project's
volunteer base, its dedication to the Debian Social Contract[2],
and its commitment to provide the best operating system possible. We
think Debian 2.2 is another important step in that direction.

Debian 2.2 is dedicated[3] to the memory of Joel "Espy" Klecker, a
Debian developer who died unexpectedly at age 21 on July 11th, 2000,
just a few weeks before Debian 2.2 was released. Joel was a valued
member of our project, both for his contributions to our distribution
and his friendship. He will be missed.

References

   1. GNOME 1.2 packages for Debian 2.2 are available from Helix Code
      http://www.helixcode.com/
   2. http://www.debian.org/social_contract
   3. ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/doc/dedication-2.2.txt



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