Debian GNU/Linux the stable Linux distribution

Debian is fundamentally different from the other major GNU/Linux distributions in that it is non-commercial. This means not only that it is free, but that it is not subject to normal commercial pressures such as releasing the latest and greatest before it's really ready.

Likewise, this means that Debian does not include the latest and greatest in its standard distribution, so at any one time there are three Debian releases: 'stable', 'testing' and 'unstable'. Currently the Emporium sells the stable distribution only. The current stable distribution is release 5.0, code-named 'Lenny'.

Conversely, this means that Debian is valued for its stability. It is a favoured choice of discerning sysadmins, particularly for servers. It does not have the user-friendly install routines of other mainstream distributions like SUSE, Red Hat/Fedora and Ubuntu, so it is not recommended for users who are new to Linux.

However, once up and running Debian's Advanced Packaging Tool, apt, makes updating very easy, and experienced Debian administrators often use apt to apply security updates automatically.

Debian 5.0 (Lenny) DVD full set

Set of 5 DVD-Rs £19.97

Debian release 5.0, codenamed Lenny, is the latest milestone stable release of this definitive distribution, which is popular with system administrators who value stability.

Lenny is much improved over its predecessor, Etch, which itself was a major advance. All the traditional Debian features of stability security and ease of maintenance remain, but this release is up to the minute and has a much more user-friendly install.

Summary features:

Kernel 2.6.26, with SMP as standard
Even more software: 23,000 packages
Xorg 7.3
GNOME 2.22.2
KDE 3.5.10
OpenOffice.org 2.4.1
glibc 2.7
gcc 4.3.2
PHP 5.2.6
Python 2.5.2
Apache 2.2.9
PostgreSQL 8.3.6
MySQL 5.0.51a
etc, etc

The full distribution now ships on 5 DVDs, or 31 CDs, (for i386 - the exact number depends on architecture). With the demand for CD's falling, the Emporium will be distributing the DVD version only: if you must have the CD version let us know and if the demand is there we'll do it.

The version we're distributing is 5.0, released 14th February 2009. Initially we're stocking the i386, ia64, AMD64 and Power PC architectures: we'll add others as demand arises. If you want one of them please let us know.

the Linux Emporium

Debian GNU/Linux the stable Linux distribution

Debian 5.0 (Lenny) DVD full set

Debian Lenny Sources DVD full set