There is a nice script that tells "Why is package X not in testing yet?" This is what it says about Nautilus:

http://bjorn.haxx.se/debian/testing.pl?package=nautilus

HTH (if you can parse it) :)

You can always check out why a package hasn't migrated to testing yet by going to debian's site under debian packages. The reasons that nautilus is being held back are here: http://release.debian.org/migration/testing.pl?package=nautilus

Lenny is _testing_. Anything and everything could be broken and it won't be fixed until someone feels like fixing it.

I don't understand why anyone is surprised.

If you want the latest packages, run "unstable". If you want stability, run "stable".

Bigg, you're trying to make Lenny into some kind of continually updated "stable", and it isn't.

If I may expand on this idea a bit:

Stable is for servers, and maybe newbies to Linux. Someone who wants it to "just work", who don't know nothin bout software versions, and doesn't care.

Then, as experience grows, as software versions become important or just because (like me) one likes to dance near the edge of the cliff, then run Unstable.

But testing is _testing_. It is not for servers, it is not for systems you expect to work, it's neither the latest software versions nor guaranteed to work _at_all_.

I made the same mistake when I first ran Debian. I read the descriptions and thought "testing" would be right for me since I'm not computer illiterate. But then something didn't work. But before I could blame Debian, someone let me know what "testing" really was.

My hope is that someone reading this article and the comments will realize the difference between the perception of "testing" and the reality, before they get discouraged.

Patrick and Jezuch -- thanks for the tip on how to figure out when a package will be reading for Debian Testing.

I fully realize that running Testing is not like running Stable, despite the popular contention that Ubuntu is more like Debian Unstable and Debian Testing is reportedly more stable than Ubuntu, with, of course, Debian Stable being way, way more stable than all of the above.

That said, I have very high hopes for Debian Lenny. GNOME looks so much better, and I await better hardware configuration -- especially wireless -- with the newer kernels. The Debian Project is one of the best things about the free, open-source software movement, and that's only becoming more true as time goes on.

Bob, I agree with your characterization of Testing as being something in which you can expect things to be broken.

And I fully respect the way the Debian Project goes about its work of vetting packages in the distribution as those packages move from Experimental to Unstable, Testing and Stable. The fact that Debian is neither owned by nor beholden to any corporate interests is also a very good thing. I see the Ubuntu project -- based on Debian though it is -- adopting many of Debian's aspects, despite the heavy involvement of Canonical. I hope (and do think) that Ubuntu's popularity will lead many users to examine the distribution that makes Ubuntu what it is, namely Debian. That's what happened to me.

For my own use, I have a constant flow of distros -- some based on Slackware, others on Debian (including Slackware and Debian themselves) -- on my various boxes. While I like a lot of the finishing "touches" that Ubuntu adds to Debian (such as better fonts for CRT monitors, although the Debian fonts are great for LCD screens, and Debian's fonts can also be made to look better on CRTs, a tweak I've done a couple of times), I've also had problems with Ubuntu that I never have had with Debian.

And the relative simplicity of Ubuntu is a powerful lure, especially for new or casual users. But I've always said that just about anybody can and should run Debian. The more "mystery" about Debian that is explained, the better we'll all know how the project works, what it has to offer, and why we should support it -- even by using Ubuntu and giving credit to Debian where it's due.

All of that said, I've been using Debian Lenny on my Gateway Solo 1450 laptop, where it runs very, very well. And on my testing desktop (on which I've run a few dozen distros over the past year), I've pretty much been running Ubuntu 6.06 LTS -- as trouble-free a Ubuntu experience as I've ever had; I can only hope the next LTS will be this good.

Hah, it seems that I need to update my bookmarks. Patrick's link looks more "canonical" to me ;)

Apt is magical, but there's a lot of little elves working the levers.

I comment it in my blog on Nov 26. The post is in Portuguese but the instructions are easy to follow. I rebuild the sid nautilus and eel libraries in lenny. It is available at http://profs.if.uff.br/tjpp/blog/entradas/bug-do-nautilus-no-lenny-backport