On Fri, 2003-09-19 at 08:34, Francesco Marchetti-Stasi wrote: > >> > is there anybody out there that knows when sarge will be stable? > >> > >> When it's ready. > > > > He probably knows the policy. > > I remember peeking in this mailing list, a couple of years ago, looking > for answers to a similar question. So I'll assume he doesn't:as a Debian > newbie, I also used to look forwards to new features in > "testing"; then I learnt how to track "testing" after installing "stable", > and I ceased to worry. Of course, IF you have a server running woody, and > you REALLY need a feature in testing, it may be annoying; but if your > problem is on workstation, just go ahead and use testing, it's surely more > stable than... most other Linux distributions, for example. > Ciao, > Francesco. > > P.S. If you don't know how to track "testing", have a look at > http://qref.sourceforge.net/Debian/reference/ch-woody.en.html
The rule of thumb understanding the various repositories: Stable: About as up-to-date - or more - as most Windows desktops. The occasional security flaw is discovered that, odds are, isn't even really exploitable but is fixed before you even know of the possible problem. With only very rare exceptions, just works exactly as expected. Testing: Mostly up-to-date, huge choice of software, with almost always all of the details to ensure everything works smoothly (the exception being when something as huge as KDE or Gnome undergo wholesale version updates with substantive underlying redesigns - lets see you do any better.) You feel like you are sitting in a software wholesaler's office, able to use anything that has just been shipped. Security updates are available at about the frequency and timeliness as all but the most attentive people take to get around to installing them with Windows. Unstable: At its worst, about as reliable as the current version of Windows at its best. At times, it can be like sitting in with the beta testers, at other times, it is like getting a shrink-wrapped package of software *before* it gets sent to the software wholesaler. -- Mark L. Kahnt, FLMI/M, ALHC, HIA, AIAA, ACS, MHP ML Kahnt New Markets Consulting Tel: (613) 531-8684 / (613) 539-0935 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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