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Debian Linux releases version 4.0 'Etch'

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
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Stephen Shankland

Debian, a longstanding and steadfastly noncommercial Linux project, released version 4.0, called Etch, on Sunday.

The new version, under development for 21 months, includes a graphical installation process, an encrypted file system and authentication to verify integrity of downloaded updates, the project said in a Sunday announcement. And it includes the Iceweasel browser and Icedove e-mail software--versions of Firefox and Thunderbird that have been renamed because of a branding issue involving the Mozilla project.

Debian serves as a base for the Ubuntu version of Linux. Debian project leaders also released an update to version 3.1, called Sarge. (Debian releases are named after Toy Story characters; the unstable version under development is called Sid.