http://www.debian.org/News/2009/20090214
Debian GNU/Linux runs on computers ranging from palmtops to
supercomputers, and including practically any system in between. A
total of twelve architectures are supported: Sun SPARC (sparc), HP
Alpha (alpha), Motorola/IBM PowerPC (powerpc), Intel IA-32 (i386),
IA-64 (ia64), HP PA-RISC (hppa), MIPS (mips, mipsel), ARM (arm, armel),
IBM S/390 (s390), and AMD64 from AMD and EM64T from Intel (amd64).
Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 «Lenny» includes support for the Orion
platform from Marvell, used in many storage devices. Among
the supported storage devices are the QNAP Turbo Station,
the HP Media Vault mv2120 and the Buffalo Kurobox Pro.
«Lenny» also includes support for «Netbooks», in particular
for the Eee PC from Asus. «Lenny» includes the compilation
tools developed for Emdebian, which allow cross
compilations of the Debian source packages to be made and
their size reduced so that they can be used on ARM systems.
Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 (Lenny) includes the new port to ARM EABI:
«Armel». This new port allows a more efficient use of both current
and future ARM processors. As a consequence of this, the old ARM port
(arm) is now obsolete.
This release includes a large number of updated program packages
such as: the K Desktop Environment 3.5.10 (KDE) desktop environment,
an updated version of the GNOME 2.22.2 desktop environment, the Xfce
4.4.2 desktop environment, LXDE 0.3.2.1, the GNUstep 7.3 desktop,
X.Org 7.3, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, GIMP 2.4.7, Iceweasel 3.0.6 (a
version of Mozilla Firefox that does not use the trademark), Icedove
2.0.0.19 (a version of Mozilla Thunderbird that does not use the
trademark), PostgreSQL 8.3.6, MySQL 5.0.51a, the GNU Compiler
Collection (GCC) 4.3.2, version 2.6.26 of the Linux kernel, 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, Inkscape 0.46, Nagios 3.06, Xen
Hypervisor 3.2.1 (with support for both dom0 and domU), OpenJDK 6b11
and more than another 23.000 program packages ready to be used (built
from 12.000 source packages).
With the integration of X.Org 7.3 the X server configures
itself automatically with most existing hardware. The
introduction of new packages allows full support for the
NTFS filesystem, as well as use of most of the multimedia
keys without additional configuration. Support is available
for the Adobe® Flash® file format through the swfdec or
Gnash plugins. A number of general improvements have been
introduced for laptop computers, such as integrated support
for CPU frequency scaling. Various games have been added,
among them puzzles and first person action games. A notable
change is the introduction of «goplay», a graphical game
browser that includes filters, search capability,
descriptions and snapshots of the games in Debian.
The availability of OpenJDK, the GNU Java compiler, the GNU Java
bytecode interpreter, Classpath, and other free versions of Sun’s
Java technology, in Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 makes it possible to
distribute Java based applications within the main repository
(«main») of Debian.
Other improvements in system security include: the installation of
the available security updates before the first reboot of the
installation system, the reduction in the number of binaries with the
root «setuid» bit enabled as well as in the number of open ports in
the standard installation. Some critical security packages have been
compiled with the hardening features of GCC. Specific improvements
have also been made in some applications. For example, PHP has been
compiled with the Suhosin hardening patch.
The package management system now offers translated descriptions of
the packages for users who do not speak English. The descriptions of
the packages will be shown to the user automatically in their own
language if they are available.
You can install Debian GNU/Linux using different installation
mechanisms, such as DVDs, CDs, USB flash drives and floppy
disks, and even directly from the network. The default desktop
environment is GNOME, and it is found on the first CD. Other
desktop environments, such as KDE, Xfce and LXDE, can be
installed using the two new alternative CD images.
Multi-architecture CDs and DVDs are available again for Debian
GNU/Linux 5.0, which allow the installation of several
architectures from a single disc. This release incorporates the
ability to use Blu-ray discs, which allows providing the whole
archive of an architecture on a single installation medium.
In addition to the conventional installation media, Debian GNU/Linux
can now be used directly without needing to install it beforehand.
These special images are known as «live» images and are available for
CDs, USB flash drives and for different network configurations. These
images will be available initially only for the amd64 and i386
architectures.
The installation process for Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 has been improved
in different ways. Among other improvements the following stand out:
the ability to do the installation from more than one CD or DVD has
been restored, the firmware required by some devices can be loaded
using removable media, and installation by means of Braille devices is
supported. The installation process has received a lot of attention: a
graphical menu can be used to choose the different interfaces and
desktop environments and to select expert or rescue mode. The system
installation for Debian GNU/Linux is currently translated into 63
languages.
Debian GNU/Linux can be downloaded right now through bittorrent (the
recommended way), jigdo or HTTP. For more information see
[10]Debian GNU/Linux on CDs. It will soon be available on DVD,
CD-ROM and Blu-ray Disc from the many [11]vendors.
Upgrades to Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 from the previous
version, Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (code name «etch») are
handled automatically. The upgrades are performed through
the aptitude package management tool for most
configurations, and, in some cases, also using the apt-get
package management tool. As always, you can upgrade Debian
GNU/Linux systems without problems, with the system
running and without needing to schedule downtime. In any
case, reading the [12]release notes is strongly
recommended, since they detail possible issues to take
into account and include detailed instructions related to
installation and upgrading. The release notes will
continue to be improved and translated into more languages
in the weeks following the release of the version.
Dedication
The project dedicates the release of Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 «Lenny» to
Thiemo Seufer, a Debian developer who passed away last 26 December
2008 in a tragic car accident. Thiemo took part in Debian in many
different ways. He maintained some packages and was the person who
helped most with the port of Debian to the MIPS architecture. He was
also a member of the kernel group, as well as a member of the group
that works on the Debian installer. His contributions went beyond the
Debian project: he worked on the MIPS port of the Linux kernel, on the
MIPS emulation of qemu and on many small projects, too many to
describe them all here.
We will miss Thiemo’s work, dedication, wide technical knowledge and
his ability to share all this with other people. We will not forget
all his contributions. The high level of Thiemo’s work will set the
bar high for those who want to continue his work.
About Debian
Debian GNU/Linux is a free operating system, developed by more than a
thousand volunteers around the world, who collaborate through the
Internet. Debian’s dedication to Free software, its non-commercial
nature and its open development model make it unique among the
GNU/Linux distributions.
The strong points of the Debian project are its volunteer base, its
dedication to the Debian Social Contract, and its commitment to
offering the best possible operating system. Debian 5.0 is another
important step in that direction.
Contact information
For more information, visit the Debian pages at http://www.debian.org/
or send an email to <press@debian.org>.