stable etch?
 

hi i was wondering if etch has been released as a stable distro yet. i have checked debian.org but they say that sarge is the latest stable release with no mention of an etch release date. i googled the etch release and a bunch of sites said that it was scheduled for december 4th which has come and went. i was wondering if anyone has any info about it becuase i can't find any.

release update - main blockers for release
http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel.../msg00008.html

Unofficial RC-Bugs Count
http://bts.turmzimmer.net/details.php

There are still many bugs that need to be ironed out before Etch will release.

Keep in mind that Debian only releases a Stable version when it is considered bug free on many platforms not just x86.
Debian -- Ports
http://www.debian.org/ports/

Etch has been more than "stable" enough for desktop use for quite a while, if you are wanting to use it on a desktop go for it; if you are wanting to use it as a server you might want to wait till it releases.

I've used the last three versions of Etch, beta 2,3, and now I'm running Etch Release candidate 1. I've been running RC1 for several days now and I have not encountered any bugs. Interesting to note that Etch RC1 easily identified, set-up my video card, monitor settings, whereas Kubuntu failed in this regard (I had to manually set-up xorg at a command prompt for Kubuntu.)
I found Etch beta 3 to be buggy. Etch release candidate 1 is very good indeed, I recommend it:-) The netinstall iso went very quick.

been running etch RC1 since its release....did business card install.....works fine for me...

well the thing with debian is that they don't really have specific release dates. They decided not to do that because that would put pressure on the developers which would lower the quality of the software.
Debian etch will be release once all the goals that were stated at the beginning have been met (http://www.debian.org/releases/etch/releasenotes).

The netinstalliso for Debian Etch RC1 is 100-150 MB. I went to check out the business card install, it is 20-30 MB. What is the difference between the netinstalliso and the business card install? Is the business card a really compact install? Just curious:-) I may try the business card install when Etch is officially released:-)

if i'm not mistaking the business card install downloads all the files he needs (even for installation) from the net (only works with ethernet , so no dsl or modem), and the network install has some of the required packages included already.

Thanks for the explanation, restless:-)
Happy New Year!:D