About Debian?

The Debian Project is an association of individuals who have made common cause to create a free operating system. This operating system that we have created is called Debian GNU/Linux, or simply Debian for short.

An operating system is the set of basic programs and utilities that make your computer run. At the core of an operating system is the kernel. The kernel is the most fundamental program on the computer and does all the basic housekeeping and lets you start other programs.

Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel. Linux is a piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide.

However, work is in progress to provide Debian for other kernels, primarily for the Hurd. The Hurd is a collection of servers that run on top of a microkernel (such as Mach) to implement different features. The Hurd is free software produced by the GNU project.

A large part of the basic tools that fill out the operating system come from the GNU project; hence the names: GNU/Linux and GNU/Hurd. These tools are also free.

Of course, the thing that people want is application software: programs to help them get what they want to do done, from editing documents to running a business to playing games to writing more software. Debian comes with over 18733 packages (precompiled software that is bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine) — all of it free.

It's a bit like a tower. At the base is the kernel. On top of that are all the basic tools. Next is all the software that you run on the computer. At the top of the tower is Debian — carefully organizing and fitting everything so it all works together.

*Ubuntu and Debian are closely related. Ubuntu builds on the foundations of Debian architecture and infrastructure, with a different community and release process.

*Debian is "the rock upon which Ubuntu is built".

source: Debian.org

Ubuntu 8.10 released

Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop (the latest version): Includes the latest enhancements and is maintained until 2010.

news from ubuntu.com

Ubuntu 8.04

What new in Ubuntu 8.04??Version 8.04 of the Ubuntu Linux distribution was officially released today. Ubuntu is released every six months with many new features and the latest versions of popular desktop software applications. Ubuntu 8.04, which is codenamed Hardy Heron, is the second Ubuntu release to offer long-term support, which means that security and maintenance updates will be available for this version for three years on the desktop and five years on the server.

Ubuntu 8.04 includes GNOME 2.22, the latest version of the popular open-source desktop environment. There are many new features and significant architectural improvements in GNOME 2.22, including GVFS—a completely redesigned virtual filesystem abstraction layer—and PolicyKit, a secure privilege elevation system that is safer and more flexible than the anachronistic gksudo mechanism.

Ubuntu now also includes PulseAudio, a powerful new sound server with support for network transparency and advanced mixing capabilities. Although PulseAudio has a lot to offer on the desktop, it still suffers from some transitional issues and integration weaknesses in this release that manifest themselves in certain configurations.

One particularly significant feature included in this release is Wubi, a Windows-based installer that allows Ubuntu and Windows to coexist on the same partition. Wubi installs a fully functional Ubuntu environment into a folder on the Windows filesystem and sets up a boot menu that allows the user to enter Ubuntu at startup. Wubi doesn't require the user to partition their hard drive and it makes it possible to uninstall Ubuntu directly through the Add/Remove Programs utility in Windows.

There are a handful of new applications included by default in this release, such as the Transmission BitTorrent client, the Cheese webcam application, and a new CD burning program called Brasero.

The next major version is Ubuntu 8.10, which is codenamed Intrepid Ibex and is scheduled for release in October. During the Intrepid Ibex development cycle, the focus will be on mobile computing and desktop scalability. The planning process will begin early next month at the Ubuntu Developer Summit.

Several popular Ubuntu flavors and derivatives have also been released today, including Kubuntu, Xubuntu, UbuntuStudio, Edubuntu, and Mythbuntu. The Ubuntu 8.04 server edition has also been released and includes an impressive set of enterprise-oriented features. It has already been certified on a variety of Sun server products and has ActiveDirectory integration, virtual appliance support, and improved AppArmor security policies.

Ubuntu 8.04 is available for download from the Ubuntu web site. The mirrors are already getting hit with heavy traffic, so we recommend using the torrent, which is available from the release page. We have been tracking development of Ubuntu 8.04 since the last Ubuntu Developer Summit in November, and have been testing the alpha releases extensively (1, 2, 4, 5, 6). You can look forward to seeing out full Ubuntu 8.04 review in the near future.

source arstechnica.com

**author: this is new version of Ubuntu after i use it 7.10...so many cool feature in this os..i hope y'all can try to install and feel the new experience of open source!!! i'm not istall this version yet, coz' i just finish download this Ubuntu 8.04.ISO ...So i plan want to install in command line interfaces.. i hope i can powered it... ;>

Related tags: Linux, gnome 2.2, ubuntu 8.04, open source