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End of backports and about KDE in Lenny

About a week ago I updated the KDE 4.1 backports for Lenny with the fourth and last revision of KDE 4.1.
As previously announced, this will be the last update available at http://kde4.debian.net

What is next?

The repository will continue there, so Lenny users can choose between KDE 3.5.9+ and KDE 4.1.4. But since 4.1.4 packages are not official, they do not have support: no bugs in the BTS or security updates.
If you are using Debian Lenny for stability and security purposes, you should use KDE 3.5.

Testing users (future squeeze, current Lenny) can continue using them until KDE 4.2 reaches testing. Again, remember, no bugs in the BTS or security updates, but they will get a clean upgrade to KDE 4.2 in the near future.

Unstable users. I have found that there are people using unstable with the backports, when they should be using experimental KDE 4.1. If this is your case, you can stick with 4.1.4 until KDE 4.2 reaches unstable or switch to experimental in a few days and get KDE 4.2 (no yet! it needs to be released first :) ).

Last, but not less important, thanks to all the people helping with the backports: MoDaX for helping as backup and the rest of the Qt/KDE team who worked in the experimental packages. HE, zobel and aba for his sysadmin tasks. apol for allowing me torture his PowerPC machine. All those who translated the instructions into their languages and
helped to others users in mailing lists and forums.

A quick note about KDE 3.5 to be released in Lenny

As most of you have realized, the packages of KDE 3.5 in Lenny and unstable are a mixture of KDE 3.5.9 and 3.5.10. Given that KDE 3.5.10 was released after Lenny was frozen, we could not push this new version into Lenny, however the KDE 3.5 packages were patched about June last year with the latest changes in KDE 3.5 from the KDE subversion. This means some of the modules with the version 3.5.9 are exactly the same that is shipped as 3.5.10.
The only "big" stuff missing are the kicker improvements shipped in kdebase and some bug fixes in kdepim. But in global, it is closer to KDE 3.5.10 that to KDE 3.5.9. If you want to see what changes are you missing, check the KDE 3.5.10 changelog.

Comments

  • Maggioni Marcello said, on 2009-01-26 10:12:17+01:00:

    That's a pity :-(

    I really wanted to see KDE 4.2 backports to testing. I don't like very much the idea to have to switch to sid + experimental to use KDE 4.2 (or wait for a long time) expecially now that the release of lenny is near (sid is always messy after a stable release).

  • dataman said, on 2009-01-26 10:31:20+01:00:

    Disappointed as well, was hoping to use kde 4.2 in lenny. But I do like to thanks you for the kde 4.1 in lenny to let me see how great KDE was.

  • ana said, on 2009-01-26 11:49:41+01:00:

    @dataman, @Marcello: I do not understand why you were expecting backports for 4.2. If you read the website kde4.debian.net when firtsly installing the backports, it said clearly it was only for KDE 4.1.x It is even detailed in the website's title.

  • Rick said, on 2009-01-26 11:59:05+01:00:

    @Marcello:

    If you're afraid of sid + experimental, give sidux + experimental a go. I've been running it for a few months now with very few issues. The sidux crew does a pretty good job of stabilizing sid. Enjoy.

  • MoDaX said, on 2009-01-26 18:04:11+01:00:

    @Rick:

    Do you realize that sid itself is basically in freeze until lenny is released? sidux has absolutely nothing to do with "stabilization" here. You may want to use sidux layer on top of sid due to other reasons, but stabilization is not one of them, really...

  • Natris said, on 2009-01-27 00:42:41+01:00:

    Hello, from what I read testing users should "get clean upgrade to KDE 4.2 in the near future". How will this be done? Will 4.2 go through unstable to testing? This would be only possible after lenny gets released won't it? As long as I can see this will take several months at least. Or will there be some kind of backport? Or am I completely off? :)

  • KDE 4.2.0 und Debian Lenny « /var/log said, on 2009-01-27 20:54:15+01:00:

    [...] auf Backports für Lenny. Ja, auch ich habe bis vor kurzem zu den Wartenden gezählt. Aber ein Beitrag von Ana brachte [...]

  • MoDaX said, on 2009-01-28 23:59:54+01:00:

    @Natris:

    testing won't see full kde 4 anytime soon even after lenny. transition from sid to testing will be a tough one and probably will take a long time.

  • justin said, on 2009-03-04 04:40:19+01:00:

    "Testing users (future squeeze, current Lenny) can continue using them until KDE 4.2 reaches testing. Again, remember, no bugs in the BTS or security updates, but they will get a clean upgrade to KDE 4.2 in the near future."

    does this mean that if you have: deb http://kde4.debian.net lenny main in /etc/apt/sources.list that 4.1.4 will be upgraded to 4.2. if not what needs to be done to upgrade to 4.2. I dont like experimental.

    but I do thank you for all your work.

  • ana said, on 2009-03-05 16:55:12+01:00:

    @justin: no. If you are a testing user, aka squeeze, you will get those upgrades. If you are using lenny, you are a stable user.

  • justin said, on 2009-03-07 00:43:35+01:00:

    so do i just change all the "lenny" to "squeeze" in /etc/apt/sources.list?

  • Grzes said, on 2009-03-08 09:55:58+01:00:

    Hi,

    A bit off topic, but does anyone know when kde 4 will be in unstable?

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