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Debian 2.2 Potato: Memorial to a Hacker

Issue 80

From Issue #80
December 2000

Dec 01, 2000  By Stephanie Black
 in
From installation to usage to tweaking, Debian 2.2 is a release that is fun for the techies and, well, much less of a Waterloo for novice Debian users.
How Well Does It Run? Can I Update?

Debian's only real failure in the past has been its lack of easy installation, and while the developers haven't succumbed to the trend of default GUI installations, they have simplified, clarified and tightened up the process considerably. In short, it's easy for seasoned Linux users to get, maintain and update.

Future Directions

A point 1 release of Potato was, at the time this was written, planned to present a number of security and bug fixes that cropped up in 2.2.0, including one that appeared in one version of the boot floppy. (There is a plan to remove the boot floppy altogether from future distributions.)

There's already an unstable or developer's version of Debian available for those who'd like to get in on Debian development. This will likely become Debian 2.3 or 3.0 and is available at ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/woody.

As the new IvP6 standard becomes more of a reality, Debian developers are making more of a concerted effort to make their code compliant with it.

Conclusion

An incredible amount of work on the Debian distribution has taken place since the 2.1 release, and it's been a treat to run it for the past ten days. It's on its way to becoming a distribution of choice for many who are not inherently technical but who are willing to learn a little to get a lot from their computers. For the technically apt, it's already arrived.

Joel Klecker would be proud.

The Good/The Bad

Stephanie Black is a recent migrant to IT and owns and runs Coastal Den Computing, a Linux consultancy. She has spent 80% of her coding life working with Linux can be reached at alphafemale@radiant.net.

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