Historical Week for Debian and Ubuntu (a Look Back)
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-02-15 11:34:24 UTC
- Modified: 2014-02-15 11:34:24 UTC
Summary: A roundup of news about Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives of Ubuntu
Debian
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The Debian project is pleased to announce the fourth update of its stable distribution Debian 7 (codename "wheezy"). This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustments for serious problems. Security advisories were already published separately and are referenced where available. Please note that this update does not constitute a new version of Debian 7 but only updates some of the packages included. There is no need to throw away old "wheezy" CDs or DVDs but only to update via an up-to-date Debian mirror after an installation, to cause any out of date packages to be updated.
Systemd in Debian
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Since this weekend we have known that systemd was winning the Debian init system battle, but now it's official: systemd has prevailed over Upstart in Debian.
After a very heated fight between the Debian technical committee and also Debian stakeholders, Bdale Garbee as the chairman of the tech committee has announced systemd will be used in Debian 8.0 Jessie.
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systemd already has a wide adoption withing the GNU/Linux distribution with all major distros including openSUSE, Fedora, Arch Linux, etc using it as their default init system. Upstart was either way not getting much support from the free software community due to the restrictive CLAs Canonical requires which is often criticized by the community. With Debian going* for systemd, it will get even more developer power whereas Canonical will be left alone to deal with Upstart along with many more project that it’s trying to do on its own – including the recently discussed File Manager which may replace Nautilus (Files).
Systemd in Ubuntu
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Going forward, systemd will be Debian's default init system for Linux distributions, an init system soon to be used by every other major Linux distribution other than Ubuntu.
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With this move Canonical has slowed the alienation of Ubuntu from the rest of the Linux community. It also shows that Canonical also understand that it can’t fork it’s path too much from the mainstream Linux community, especially from mommy Debian. In a nutshell it’s a wise and welcome decision by Ubuntu leadership and will help them focus on more pressing issues which will help make Ubuntu better.
Systemd
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My view is that this idea is wrong: systemd is broken by design, and despite offering highly enticing improvements over legacy init systems, it also brings major regressions in terms of many of the areas Linux is expected to excel: security, stability, and not having to reboot to upgrade your system.
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As usual in these cases, not just Lennart, but many of those who supported him, also those who sponsored these efforts, has suffered all kind of attacks. Sadly not just for technical, I mean ATTACKS. Even journalists have been involved. Yes, Free Software is also mature enough to have "yellow (technical) press" associated, political and business interests and people in different communities willing to use them against anybody who threaten the current status quo.
Mobile
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Vodafone joined Ubuntu’s Carrier Advisory Group, as Ubuntu demoed progress on a unified desktop/mobile UI, but a Debian decision may further isolate Ubuntu.
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One of Canonical's main goals in bringing Ubuntu to mobile devices is to create a converged platform across smartphones, tablets, and PCs. As such, a developer should be able to write an app that has a single code base yet runs on all three types of devices, presenting a different interface to the user on each form factor.
Licence Agreement
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Canonical has issued an official explanation for the reason why Linux Mint developers have to sign a license agreement in order to continue to distribute the package straight from the Ubuntu repos.
Valve
LTS
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After this weekend sharing benchmarks of the recent Ubuntu 12.04 LTS point releases, here's some complementary tests that offer a look at the Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" performance against the current state of the "Trusty Tahr", a.k.a. Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.
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The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS
(Long-Term Support) for its Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products,
as well as other flavours of Ubuntu with long-term support.
Development
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Last week I was in Orlando sprinting with my team as well as the platform, SDK, and security teams and some desktop and design folks. As usual after a sprint, I have been slammed catching up with email, but I wanted to provide a summary of some work going that you can expect to see soon in the Ubuntu app developer platform.
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The Ubuntu Developer Summit is the primary place where we discuss, debate, and plan the future of Ubuntu. The entire event takes place online, is open and accessible to all, and every session is recorded so everyone can see how decisions are made. It is a useful, fun, and rewarding event to join.
Ubuntu Variants
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Various flavors of Ubuntu 14.04 have come out today with their Trusty Tahr Alpha 2 spins.
Bodhi Linux
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We are huge fans of Jeff Hoogland’s work as a Software Developer and his efforts with Bodhi Linux. So we invited Jeff for a quick chat with Unixmen Australia. We were privileged when Jeff accepted our invitation. Here is what he had to say.
Linux Mint
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It’s no great secret that our organization Reglue uses Linux Mint on many of our outgoing computers. I run Mint on one of my work computers and at home as well. Linux Mint has given us the opportunity to create a respin for educational purposes within our non profit, largely due to an app named mintConstructor. It provides a fairly simple method of making custom systems using Linux Mint as the base.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- GNU/Linux Measured at All-Time High in Sweden
- Can 'influencers' have played a role
- GNU/Linux Becoming More Universal
- It seems likely the end of Vista 10 coinciding with a sharp rise in memory prices (and now energy prices) will benefit GNU/Linux and therefore give us more to write about
- Can Economies Like the American One Hang On?
- The coming weeks will be "interesting" unless wars end
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- SLAPP Censorship - Part 32 Out of 200: Garrett Made Spurious Requests (Later Withdrawn) the Same Week Someone He Later Spoke to by E-mail Sent Threats to Our Webhost
- The "plot thickens" because there's a multi-party tag-team act, as confirmed by Garrett after he had sworn on the Bible
- IBM is a Dying Company, Nowadays It Kills Red Hat With Slop
- when your last day is a national holiday in IBM's country
- "Independence Drives" and Community-Run Sites
- Independence in reporting is a much-valued trait
- When Charlatans Are Only Good at Losing Money and Storytelling (e.g. About Investment in Them)
- Wait till a a barrel of oil costs $300
- What Apple Fans Are Missing
- Apple is a bad company
- The "Pale Blue Dot" Moment Had Returned
- To many people, the "bitter-sweet" observation of how small we are
- Saudi Arabia Does Not Rely Much on Microsoft/Windows
- Putting aside politics, this is good for Free software
- Almost 12 Years of Exposing Corruption in Europe's Second-Largest Institution
- The "unready" President is now an abandoned President
- Easter Moon Mission and Its Reminder of IBM's Demise
- A lot of NASA operations now rely on GNU/Linux
- When Power is Scarce and GNU/Linux Has Power
- In Cuba, GNU/Linux has long enjoyed high adoption rates
- Don't Totally Dismiss the 'Survivalists'
- 'Survivalists' or similar terms are used to describe a particular mindset of people who prepare for some really awful scenarios
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 02, 2026
- IRC logs for Thursday, April 02, 2026
- A Much Better Use of Fuel Than Slop
- Something positive for a change
- Hoping for Peace
- There are still many things to be enjoyed, including nature and kind people
- Gemini Links 03/04/2026: "Slide Rule Triple Multiplication" and End of "Picture Pages"
- Links for the day
- Rumours of Microsoft Layoffs This Season
- Just how much trouble is Microsoft in at this point?
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 31 Out of 200: Speaking About 20+ Years of Alleged Harassment/Defamation and High-Profile 'Targets' of Garrett
- attempts were made to settle (in effect end the case) by the person who started the case almost half a dozen times along the way
- In Asia, Windows is in Its Teens (Below 20%)
- On a global scale, Windows is down to about 26%
- Low Morale at IBM and Perception of Destructive Management
- IBM is going nowhere, fast
- Gemini Links 02/04/2026: Super Mario Galaxy Movie and New Antenna Instance
- Links for the day
- It Seems Like Google News Cracked Down on (Omitted, Delisted) a Lot of Slopfarms
- There's no justification/point in spending so much energy just to plagiarise things poorly
- Steam Survey for Last Month Says 5.33% Use GNU/Linux
- big leap for GNU/Linux
- Links 02/04/2026: Science News, Energy Scarcity, Oil Sold in Yuan
- Links for the day
- Links 02/04/2026: Apple Turns 50, Efforts To Ban VPNs
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 02/04/2026: Kubernetes With FreeBSD, OFFLFIRSOCH, and Great Circle Distance
- Links for the day
- Dr. Andy Farnell on Microsoft Silencing or Deplatforming Opposition in the UK and Elsewhere
- Microsoft as a king or a kind of "religion" one cannot question
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 01, 2026
- IRC logs for Wednesday, April 01, 2026
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 30 Out of 200: The Time We Reported Abuse to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and It Was Escalated to Its Cybercrime Unit
- he started trolling and harassing me for criticising his employers' monopolistic and users-hostile agenda
- 'Modern' Cars Not a Rosy Industry
- The current "modern" cars already have a shelf life similar to that of many toothpastes
- Wrongthink Detector and Filter in "Think About the Children" Clothing
- It is not about "age verification", it's a Trojan horse for social control
- IBM Facilities Now Deemed Legitimate (Military) Target, Along With GAFAM Bases
- Does IBM have any defences in place to protect against "downtime by explosions"?
- What Happens When Some Large News Sites Turn to Slop and Spew Out Nonsense
- LLM slop makes such grotesque mistakes abundant
- Hardly Seeing Slopfarms Today, Even in Google News
- Google's adventures with slop increased its debt significantly
- Links 01/04/2026: Quantum Hype (Turing and Google), "US Fuel Prices Surge Past $4 a Gallon"
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 01/04/2026: "Sacred Week of Cycling" and Zenity for Scripts
- Links for the day
- Losing Debian: Sruthi Chandran election flop
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- French judgment: parasitisme by FSFE & Matthias Kirschner (CO23.002709)
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Microsoft Uses April Fools to 'Joke' About Inserting "Age Verification" (Surveillance) Into Linux
- MinceR says the "lkml [message/page] one is April Fools or at least they're trying to pass it off as April Fools [however] the [GitHub] one was archived on the 8th and yesterday, so that probably isn't..."
- IBM "Headcount Reductions" by Early Retirement and Death
- The tragedy at IBM started 33 years ago on the first of April
- Red Hat: Latin-1 character set under threat from Bishop Michael Martin, North Carolina
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Links 01/04/2026: Microsoft GitHub Now Pushing Ads Into People's Code/Commits, Earth Overshoot Day Draws Nearer
- Links for the day
- What IBM and EPO Workers Have in Common: European Media Not Covering Very Major News (Press Became Dysfunctional)
- Are IBM operatives working to scuttle the process of investigative journalism?
- Free Speech in the United Kingdom When "Chilling Effect" is Increasingly Prevalent
- If politicians cannot even use a term like "parasitic behaviour", then where do we as a society end up?
- Oracle Lays Off Because of Debt and Commercial Issues, Not Slop
- Like Scam Altman, Larry Ellison hangs around Cheeto King because he could use some bailouts in the form of government contracts or phony money with an incredible name like "Stargate"
- The Real Reason Many Sites and Forums Shun Microsoft Lunduke
- When forums say that they banned Microsoft Lunduke or don't want him mentioned it's probably because they are familiar with the "stench" that follows him around
- Gemini Links 01/04/2026: Hallucinations, Stitching, and Type Systems
- Links for the day
- Lots of Layoffs at IBM, "Media Blackout" About Mass Layoffs at IBM's HashiCorp and Confluent Last Month
- IBM is a dying company circling down the drain while manipulating or paying the media to pretend everything is fine
- Microsoft Under Investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for Abusive Tactics
- What's noteworthy is that this is "set to begin in May"
- Sounds Like Red Hat (IBM) Layoffs in Slop Clothing
- This is an IBM policy. They try to justify staff cuts.
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 31, 2026
- IRC logs for Tuesday, March 31, 2026
