I’m aware of Debian’s reputation for not having the most up-to-date software in its repository but have just noticed that Thunderbird is on its current version. Which makes me ask:

When does Debian update a package? And how does it decide when to?

I’m particularly interested in when it will make available the upcoming major release of GIMP to 3.0.

  • Eugenia@lemmy.mlEnglish
    122·
    1 year ago

    Gimp 3 is scheduled to be released in May, around the time that Debian 13 is about to come out. Given that Gimp is never on time, and that Debian will only include stable software in their repo, you won’t see Gimp 3.x on Debian for another 2.5 years (the next major release).

    However, don’t fret. There’s a way to run Gimp 3, even now, without overwriting the 2.10.x version of Gimp that comes with Debian: https://github.com/ivan-hc/GIMP-appimage/releases That’s how I run gimp 3 on my Debian too, I just download the 3.0-rc1 .appimage file, make it executable, and it’s up and running.

    • ManiacDriver@lemm.ee
      9·
      1 year ago

      Flatpack is one of the official ways to install the RC:

      If you have Flatpack on your system, go to https://www.gimp.org/downloads/devel/ and click the GNU/Linux option, there will be a button to install it.

      If the button doesn’t work, the page says:

      Flatpak additional instructions

      If the link above doesn’t open your software installer, install with following command:

      flatpak install --user https://flathub.org/beta-repo/appstream/org.gimp.GIMP.flatpakref

      Run with following command line:

      flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP//beta

      To update:

      flatpak update

      Note: If you installed both the stable and beta repositories, the desktop (menus, etc.) will see only one version at a time. To make sure your desktop sees the development version, run this command:

      flatpak make-current --user org.gimp.GIMP beta

      Or respectively to restore the stable version as the visible GIMP application:

      flatpak make-current --user org.gimp.GIMP stable

      You may also create shortcuts running specifically one of the other version.

      • Eugenia@lemmy.mlEnglish
        32·
        1 year ago

        I don’t like flatpaks. Some builds don’t support printing, for example. Same for snaps. That’s why I always prefer appimage from these types of binaries, but my favorite always remains the repo versions.

  • Shareni@programming.dev
    101·
    1 year ago

    I’m aware of Debian’s reputation for not having the most up-to-date software in its repository

    Yes, it’s a stable distro. Contrary to what most Linux users think, that term only means that the distro is unchanging. That means only necessary updates are released (security fixes for example).

    when it will make available the upcoming major release of GIMP to 3.0.

    Maybe in the next version, if the gimp release happens soon enough it gets tested.

    Just use an external package manager like flatpak to install fresh packages. The only reason I could run MX (Debian) for about a year was because I installed almost every user package through nix, and used Debian ones for the system packages.

  • c10l@lemmy.world
    6·
    1 year ago

    You can always use APT Pinning to grab GIMP and its dependencies from testing without touching the rest of the system.

    Or you can just run testing or sid as your base system. My gaming rig is based on testing but pulling Mesa and video derivers from experimental and sid and I haven’t had any issues with it. Been running it for about 2 years now this way.

    https://wiki.debian.org/AptConfiguration

  • moonpiedumplings@programming.devEnglish
    5·
    1 year ago

    Some software is so complex and difficult that Debian does not maintain it on their own, and instead follows the upstream release cycle.

    Browsers are one such example, and as you’ve discovered for me, Thunderbird is probably another.

    Also, please do not recommend testing for daily usage. It does not receive critical security updates in a timely manner, including for things that would effect desktop users. Use stable, Sid, or another distro. Testing is for testing Debian ONLY, and by using Debian Testing, you are losing the advantage of immediate security fixes that come from literally any other distro.

  • steeznson@lemmy.world
    2·
    1 year ago

    They get all the patches and minor upgrades in a timely fashion, similar to other distros. The major version updates do not come as readily though.

    • unknowing8343@discuss.tchncs.de
      61·
      1 year ago

      Minor upgrades don’t usually come to Debian at all, unless they are fixing some critical vulnerability or something, but that is usually patched over the previous version anyway.

  • N0x0n@lemmy.ml
    22·
    1 year ago

    Some people will probably disagree with me but I consider Debian stable as a server distribution not as a daily drive system.

    Debian testing is probably the better choice if you want to daily drive Debian or consider or more up to date distro. If you’re relatively new to GNU/Linux, don’t bother with bleeding edge distros or exotics ones like Arch, EndeavourOS, Gentoo, NixOS…

    If you find your way to distrowatch.com you will see EndeavourOS very high in the rankings, but it’s a rolling release distribution. While it’s easier to maintain/install than Arch, it has a learning curve and needs regular attention and reading the docs/forum.

    I have seen a lot of people recommend the following:

    • Linux mint
    • Pop! OS
    • Fedora
    • OpenSUSE