LMDE Mirrors (UP4)

[clem]

Hi,

We've got 2 new mirrors up to date on UP4, so if you're experiencing slow downloads or errors on the main server, don't hesitate to switch to one of these.

Here's the list so far:

- Main Server: deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/latest (1Gbps, Colorado - USA)
- Emergency cloud server: deb http://us.debian.linuxmint.com/latest (150Mbps, Texas - USA)
- RTS Informatique: deb http://mirror.rts-informatique.fr/debia ... om/latest/ (France)

[HeyItsLou]

Does UP4 contain Gnome 3.2 or Gnome 3.4?

[diazepan11]

Does UP4 contain Gnome 3.2 or Gnome 3.4?

Gnome 3.2

[Mr. B]

Does UP4 contain Gnome 3.2 or Gnome 3.4?

It all depends on what has entered in Debian Testing. So at the moment of UP4 as said above it is Gnome 3.2. This could change again when 3.4 hits Debian Testing. Maybe in the next update pack?

[squeezy]

Does UP4 contain Gnome 3.2 or Gnome 3.4?

It all depends on what has entered in Debian Testing.

Just to clarify (I hope) for new users, LMDE no longer tracks Debian Testing. It used to, but no longer does. It tracks a snapshot of Testing at a certain point in time, that point being decided by the Mint admins.

It doesn't matter what shows up in Debian's repos after the snapshot is taken, it won't show up in LMDE until the next snapshot is taken. The snapshots taken by the Mint team are used to develop the next Update Pack.

I just don't want new users to get the impression that whatever is currently in Debian's repos will be in Mint's repos.

[voss749]

Are ya gonna rename it Linux Mint Debian Snapshot?

[squeezy]

Are ya gonna rename it Linux Mint Debian Snapshot?

Nope, it's already got a name. LMDE UP4

[neon_overload]

I just don't want new users to get the impression that whatever is currently in Debian's repos will be in Mint's repos.

It was originally intended for updates to be approximately a month apart, so that there wouldn't ever be much more than a month's difference between the packages in Debian testing and the packages in Mint Debian, and therefore they were always pretty much the same.

However, the recent gap of several months implies that this is no longer the case and plans have changed, or that there was a specific several-month-long problem.

Does anybody know if the intention is to go back toward a more regular update (every month or so) or to slip back to a "when it's ready" policy which implies no longer being a rolling release?

[clem]

Hi,

The intention is to keep things working. The delay and the fact that LMDE was "stuck" with Gnome 2 until MATE and Cinnamon were stable isn't something we consider a problem, but an achievement.

Anybody can switch their repositories to testing and decide to apply updates on a monthly basis. We're not in a hurry to follow Testing and delays don't matter as much as quality. The next UP is likely to come faster but if there's anything in there that holds us from going for it, we simply won't do it... whether that means waiting 1, 2, 3 or 4 months.

Note that Firefox, Thunderbird and the mint packages (including Cinnamon but not including Clutter) aren't tied to UPs, so you get updates on these independently.

As for LMDE and it's rolling nature.. it's not rolling on a daily basis, but from snapshot to snapshot and as such it's in between frozen and rolling models. We recently started to describe it as a semi-rolling distribution.

[neon_overload]

Thanks for the clarification clem - when it comes down to it I'm grateful for such a good "managed" version of Debian testing that I feel I can continually update rather than do a full reinstall a certain junctions, plus the flexibility of being able to switch over or pull packages directly from Debian repos with which I'm familiar.

[pqwoerituytrueiwoq]

Are ya gonna rename it Linux Mint Debian Snapshot?

Nope, it's already got a name. LMDE UP4

how about "Linux Mint Debian Snapshot 4" or LMDE S4
sorry, could not resist

[kwisher]

I thought I read somewhere in these forums that there would be instructions on how to setup your LMDE to stay with the tried and true Gnome-2. Would someone please be so kind to point me in the right direction?

TIA

[zerozero]

kwisher,
here http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1944

Last but not least, if you’re still not convinced by the alternatives you can freeze your LMDE system and avoid Update Pack 4 (thus keeping Update Pack 3 and Gnome 2), by pointing to the following repositories:

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import
deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/gnome2-frozen testing main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/gnome2-frozen/security testing/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://debian.linuxmint.com/gnome2-frozen/multimedia testing main non-free

We hate to put people in a position where they can’t choose, so we will maintain these repositories for a little while, but please consider your options going forward as Gnome 2 will eventually completely disappear.

but you should be aware of this
http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1944#comment-60735

Gnome2-frozen is basically a copy of what latest is at the moment (aka Update Pack 3). There’s no advantage, it’s basically the same as not taking updates. There’s no backports or anything planned for it… Basically we’re moving Latest to UP4 but if it makes a few people happy it doesn’t cost us anything to make a backup copy of UP3. There’s no maintenance involved and no backports planned. We put a lot of work in MGSE, in supporting MATE and developing Cinnamon, and we held firm on LMDE until all of this was ready… this, gnome2-frozen, that’s just a little attention which doesn’t cost us any efforts and might make a difference to a few people. Eventually we’ll remove it (to claim back the pool it’s pointing to), but before doing so we’ll make an announcement, and explain how to make a copy of it (by then I doubt anyone will be interested, but again, you never know, some people might, and it doesn’t cost us anything to do it).

so it's just a temporary solution while you gain time to decide which DE is going to work for you: mate/cinnamon/xfce/kde .. whatever

[kwisher]

Thanks zz,

I have a few friends and family on LMDE and I'm not quite ready to move them to UP4 yet. I will most likely wait until I can physically visit their machines to do the update to UP4 and get Mate working for them.