The countdown for Debian Lenny has begun with the project team putting the code in deep freeze. The release of Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 is expected mid-February.

Debian Linux founder and former OpenSolaris chief Ian Murdock is taking over the role of chief strategist for cloud computing at Sun Microsystems.

The remote package update manager program apt-dater is now available in version 0.7. It performs software updates on a mass of remote hosts.

The Ubuntu Developer Week, which began yesterday and runs until Friday, is a perfect opportunity to look over the shoulders of the Ubuntu developers.

Core components of the Sun Java System Web Server 7.0 are now available as open source. Re-named Open Web Server 1.0, Sun Microsystems has released the server under the BSD license.

Debian developers have determined the outcome: proprietary components are acceptable, paving the way for Lenny, the next free distro of Debian GNU/Linux 5.0.

The Debian-based distro Sidux will shortly have a new version, code-named Pontos, that will concentrate on getting the Kernel 2.6.27 changes integrated error free.

Newly appointed CTO of the Linux Foundation and kernel developer Ted Ts'o is appealing to the Debian project to adopt a more pragmatic attitude about its Linux distro. The provocation for his advice is the current controversy over Debian's next 5.0 "Lenny" release.

Current balloting for Debian Lenny's future has led to strife in the organization. Secretary of the free project, Manoj Srivastava, has resigned his position. A possible consequence is that the next version will undergo further delay in its release.

The Debian Project has released a sixth update for the current stable version of Gnu/Linux 4.0, codenamed Etch.