debian gnu/linux 4.0,Debian -- News -- Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 released

Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 released

April 8th, 2007

The Debian Project is pleased to announce the official release of Debian

GNU/Linux version 4.0, codenamed etch, after 21 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

and Xfce desktop environments. It also features cryptographic software

and compatibility with the FHS v2.3 and software developed for version

3.1 of the LSB.

Using a now fully integrated installation process, Debian GNU/Linux 4.0

comes with out-of-the-box support for encrypted partitions. This

release introduces a newly developed graphical frontend 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.

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.

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 – newly introduced with Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 – AMD64

and Intel EM64T (amd64).

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) and the Xfce desktop can be installed

through two new alternative CD images. Also newly available with Debian

GNU/Linux 4.0 are multi-arch CDs and DVDs supporting installation of

multiple architectures from a single disc.

Debian GNU/Linux can be downloaded right now via bittorrent (the

recommended way), jigdo or HTTP; see Debian GNU/Linux on CDs for

further information. It will soon be available on DVD and CD-ROM from

numerous vendors, too.

This release includes a number of updated software packages, such as the

K Desktop Environment 3.5.5a (KDE), an updated version of the GNOME desktop

environment 2.14, the Xfce 4.4 desktop environment, the GNUstep desktop

5.2, X.Org 7.1, OpenOffice.org 2.0.4a, GIMP 2.2.13, Iceweasel (an

unbranded version of Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3), Icedove (an unbranded

version of Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5), Iceape (an unbranded version of

Mozilla Seamonkey 1.0.8), PostgreSQL 8.1.8, MySQL 5.0.32, GNU Compiler

Collection 4.1.1, Linux kernel version 2.6.18, Apache 2.2.3, Samba

3.0.24, Python 2.4.4 and 2.5, Perl 5.8.8, PHP 4.4.4 and 5.2.0, Asterisk

1.2.13, and more than 18,000 other ready to use software packages.

Upgrades to Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 from the previous release, Debian

GNU/Linux 3.1 codenamed sarge, 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 quite 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 release notes. Please note that

the release notes will be further improved and translated to additional

languages in the coming weeks.

About Debian

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.

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 4.0 is another important step in that

direction.

Contact Information

For further information, please visit the Debian web pages at

https://www.debian.org/ or send mail to

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