Last weekend, the Debian Project released the third point release, Debian 10.3, of their stable Linux Distro Debian 10, codenamed Buster. The announcement comes just three months on the heels of the version of Debian GNU/Linux 10.2.
About Debian
Debian is one of the oldest Linux distributions still in use today. The first version, Debian 0.01, released in September 1993. Just under three years later, in June 1996, the first stable version of the Linux distro, Debian 1.1, released. The Debian Stable branch is one of the most popular distributions of the Linux operating system. It serves as the basis for many other popular distributions, including Ubuntu, elementary OS, Knoppix, Deepin, and many others.
Overview of changes in Debian 10.3
The latest Debian release does not include any new features, and rather it focuses on significant issues and updates several core components. The Debian 10.3 GNU/Linux update also contains 94 miscellaneous bug fixes along with 52 security updates. Point releases roll all the latest updates into the Debian ISO, thus allowing Debian users to install fewer updates after their initial Debian installation.
Debian 10.3 Desktop Wallpaper
Changes in Debian 10.3 include fixes to Debian Installer designed to make it more stable and six packages removed, including Koji and FireTray. The Chromium, Ruby, OpenJDK, Firefox ESR, WordPress, Thunderbird, and the Linux kernel all received security updates. The release also includes bug fixes for ClamAV, Python, sudo, systemd, and other applications.
Existing Debian users can install the Debian 10.3 update from the terminal.
# sudo apt update # sudo apt full-upgrade
Linux enthusiasts wishing to try out Debian GNU/Linux 10.3 can download it from the official Debian Project website. Images are available for the following architectures:
- 64-bit (AMD64)
- 32-bit (i386)
- PowerPC 64-bit Little Endian (PPC64EL)
- IBM System Z (S390X)
- MIPS 64-bit Little Endian (MIPS64EL)
- MIPS 32-bit Little Endian (MIPSEL)
- Armel
- ARMhf
- AArch64 (ARM64)
The Debian Project website also has live images available for download for both 64-bit and 32-bit architectures with the MATE, KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, race, LXQt, and GNOME desktop environments.
Specific details concerning the Debian 10.3 release are available in the official announcement.
Debian 9.12 also released
Debian GNU/Linux 9, codenamed Stretch, also received an update. The twelfth point release, Debian 9.12. This release comprises 75 security updates along with 70 bug fixes. The Debian 9.12 official release announcement has specific details on the release.
Debian 9 users should remember that official security updates from the Debian Project for this version of the OS are due to end sometime this year. Afterward, Debian 9 will transfer to the long-term support or LTS branch. The Debian Security Team does not maintain Debian LTS editions. Instead, volunteers and companies handle maintenance and patching. Long-term support for Debian 9 is available until June 2022.
Conclusion
This latest release of Debian is just another scheduled release that we expect from the outstanding Debian development team. Debian ‘Buster’ is one of the most stable Linux distros available, and users can take heart that Debian 10.3 is a quality rock-solid OS capable of all of their computing needs.
