On Tue, Mar 04, 2025 at 02:16:23PM +0530, Sarbjit Singh Sandhu wrote: > Dear Debian Developers, >
Hi, There are developers here but this is mostly a list for Debian users. > I am a 10th class student from India and want a feature request for the > purpose of changing my school computers from windows to linux. > Some feature request - it's a *lot* of work to create a Debian release. Some educational institutitions are fixed on Windows. If yours is one of them, you could point them to Linux successes in Kerala. > I am writing to propose the creation of a new Debian branch that offers a > stable release every year, as opposed to the current 5-year cycle. This > would be particularly beneficial for educational institutions, where a > balance between stability and up-to-date software is crucial. > As it is, the creation of a major stable release takes a long time. Once released, there's a two year cycle and an additional one year of security support - this is typical for the last few releases. (See, for example, https://endoflife.date/debian). > A yearly stable release would allow schools to benefit from the latest > software and security updates without the long wait between releases. This > would also make it easier for schools to plan their IT infrastructure and > ensure that students have access to the latest tools and technologies. > Security updates are supplied very regularly: the point releases also roll them up every few months. The latest software takes time to package - not all software changes every year, and there are > 40,000 packages. > I believe this could be achieved by creating a new branch that is based on > Debian Stable but receives more frequent updates, similar to how Ubuntu LTS > works but with a shorter cycle. > For comparison: Ubuntu non-LTS releases every six months: some of that is a wrapper round Debian packages with essentially no changes. Ubuntu also only support a subset of that amount - much of the software in Ubuntu universe is only supported on best endeavours. That effort takes Canonical a significant amount of work. I don't think this is feasible given volunteer effort and I am not convinced that it would solve any real existing problem other than just for the sake of changing a release date more often. > Thank you for considering this proposal. I look forward to your feedback > and discussion on this matter. > Thank you for your interest - sorry to pour cold water on your idea but please keep on enjoying Linux and campaigning for its wider use. > Best regards, > Gurlagan Singh. With every good wish, as ever, Andrew Cater (amaca...@einval.com)
