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News and Editorials

A look at Mandriva 2007

The first release candidate for Mandriva 2007 is available in a variety of different editions. Some include GNOME, some KDE. Each edition supports several languages, but not all languages are supported in every edition. Some editions include non-free software, so look for "free" in the filename for an edition with 100% free software.

What's new since Mandriva 2006? According to the release notes there's GNOME 2.16 and KDE 3.5.4, 3D desktop support with AIGLX and Xgl, the 2.6.17 kernel is based on 2.6.17.11, with ALSA 1.0.12 final and i965 support. There is a new 'Ia Ora' Mandriva theme and new configuration tools for VPN, 3D and firewalls.

There are still a few known issues with this release candidate including a couple of issues for those running under KDE or using bluetooth. The most notable involve rpmdrake not uninstalling packages correctly and the text-based install not working.

Overall, Mandriva 2007 is shaping up to be a nice release. The final version should be out soon according to the schedule.

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New Releases

The first RHEL5 beta

Red Hat has released the first beta version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. "This is the first Red Hat Enterprise Linux release that includes Xen based open source virtualization technology. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Beta 1 release contains virtualization on the i386 and x86_64 architectures as well as a technology preview for IA64. We are particularly interested in your feedback on the Xen technology."

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openSUSE 10.2 Alpha4 Release

The fourth alpha release of openSUSE 10.2 is available. The release features a 2.6.18rc5 SMP kernel with all kernel module packages (kmp) and the Xen packages, GNOME 2.16 Beta, openSUSE branding and more.

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Distribution News

Debian news

Steve McIntyre presents Bits from the 2IC covering Summer of Code projects, Sarge r3 and the third d-i beta release, Debian popularity growing Latin America, Etch release, GR vote, DebConf 7, Debian presentation at La Laguna University in Tenerife, and a planned BSP marathon. Steve also covers some news, some plans and a plea for help regarding CD/DVD builds.

The first call for votes has gone out on a constitutional amendment to address the procedures related to handling assets for the project.

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openSUSE news

A new mailing list called opensuse-project has been announced for discussion about the openSUSE project. The openSUSE-bugs mailing list has also been announced. This one broadcasts all changes that are being made to bugs related to openSUSE.

The openSUSE project is looking for translators. "Check the translation statistics page for the current language support in our openSUSE distribution and help to improve it for 10.2."

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Discontinued SUSE Linux Distribution: 9.2

SUSE Security has announced that SUSE Linux 9.2 will be discontinued soon. "Having provided security-relevant fixes for more than two years, vulnerabilities found in SUSE Linux 9.2 after October 15th 2006 will not be fixed any more for this product. We expect to release the last updates around October 31st 2006."

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Ubuntu Edgy news

Ubuntu Community Manager Jono Bacon has announced a Ubuntu Developer Summit in Mountain View, California November 5 - 10, 2006. "UDS Mountain View is open for anyone to attend, but remember it is very developer focused, so probably unsuitable for those without an interest in participating in Ubuntu."

Tollef Fog Heen reports that main is frozen in preparation for the Knot 3 release.

Matthias Klose reports that packages for OpenOffice.org 2.0.4 release candidate 1 are available for testing. These packages include many bug fixes, additional translations, support for audio and video files in presentations and native packages for the amd64 platform.

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Distribution Newsletters

Debian Weekly News

The Debian Weekly News for September 12, 2006 looks at Debian at the Wizards of OS conference, 16 core MIPS server with Debian pre-installed, key management for APT, an Alioth incident report, a CD/DVD creation report, the call for votes on a constitutional amendment on asset handling, using the BTS for license issues, the status of the Internet superserver, the first Colombian Mini DebConf, a stable release update, and several other topics.

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Gentoo Weekly Newsletter

The Gentoo Weekly Newsletter for September 4, 2006 covers multiple package removals, UK Linux Awards, Free Linux Disk project fundraiser, GWN seeking writers and other topics.

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Ubuntu Weekly News #13

The Ubuntu Weekly News for September 9, 2006 covers Scott James Remnant's init-replacement upstart going live, Edgy getting GNOME 2.16 and KDE 4 alpha packages, Melissa Draper's interview with the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia and much more.

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DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 168

The DistroWatch Weekly for September 11, 2006 is out. "With many of the major distributions in the final stages of their development work, this is possibly the most exciting period of the year. It shouldn't be long before the new versions from Slackware and Mandriva are released, with Fedora, openSUSE and Debian following shortly. Mandriva Linux 2007 is now starting to look really good, while Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 "etch" is shaping up to be a real breakthrough for the largest Linux distribution project. Fedora Core is also getting a complete makeover - at least in the look and feel department. This issue is devoted to all the upcoming new releases, with further news covering the availability of KDE 4 packages for Kubuntu, a new major version of GParted LiveCD, and an interesting interview with the developers of PC-BSD. In our latest book review, we'll take a quick look at Ubuntu Linux For Non-Geeks by Rickfort Grant."

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Minor distribution updates

Foresight Linux 0.9.8, with GNOME 2.16 (GnomeDesktop)

GnomeDesktop introduces the release of Foresight Desktop Linux 0.9.8, with GNOME 2.16, Conary 1.1.3 and more.

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LFS LiveCD x86-6.2-3

The Linux From Scratch (LFS) LiveCD Team has announced the release of the x86-6.2-3 version of the LFS LiveCD. "This version is built using LFS 6.2 and many BLFS packages from the SVN branch. Source packages for LFS 6.2, and the LFS book itself, are included on the LiveCD. The CD is also suitable as a host for building x86 and x86_64 CLFS systems."

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OpenLab beta released

OpenLab has announced the release of OpenLab 4.Zbeta. "Now for the changes since alpha. Some major changes are prevalent - for starters we've fixed all the reported bugs from alpha, implemented every single feature request and updated virtually every core package. Check out the complete changelog here!"

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Package updates

Fedora updates

Updates for Fedora Core 5: db4 (bug fix), tar (fix tar-debuginfo package), gnome-screensaver (remove xscreensaver migration cruft), iproute (bug fixes), xscreensaver (gnome-screensaver compatibility), libbonobo (bug fixes), at-spi (bug fix for 64bit systems), vixie-cron (add patch for compatibility with RFC3834), imlib (fix dependency issue), frysk (new upstream version).

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Mandriva updates

Updates for Mandriva Linux Corporate 3.0 & Multi Network Firewall 2.0: squidGuard (fix a typo in the logrotate script).

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rPath updates

Updates for rPath Linux 1: stunnel (resolve a segmentation violation).

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Slackware updates

Slackware-current has seen quite a few changes this week, mostly bug fixes and cleanups in preparation for Slackware 11. There are new linux-2.6.17.13 packages in extra. See the full changelog for details.

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Ubuntu updates

Updates for Ubuntu 6.06 LTS: gftp_2.0.18-14ubuntu1~dapper1, clamav_0.88.4-1ubuntu1~dapper1, nmap_4.10-1~dapper1, rtorrent_0.5.3-1~dapper1, knetworkmanager_0.1~svn-r575138-0ubuntu2~dapper1, darcs_1.0.8-1~dapper1, libtorrent_0.9.3-1~dapper1.

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Miscellaneous Articles

Debian Etch Beta3 Graphical-mode installation With screenshots (Debian Admin)

Debian Admin has step-by-step instructions for installing Debian Etch. "Etch is the codename for the upcoming release of Debian, which will also be known as Debian GNU/Linux 4.0. Etch has been the testing "release" of the Debian distribution since the release of the current stable version, 3.1 (codenamed Sarge), on June 6th 2005. The project is currently aiming at a December 4 2006 release date. I have created easy debian etch installation process with nearly 50 images."

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Distribution reviews

DesktopBSD 1.0: FreeBSD for the desktop (NewsForge)

NewsForge reviews DesktopBSD. "DesktopBSD is version of FreeBSD customized for the desktop. Building upon FreeBSD 5.5-PRERELEASE, DesktopBSD 1.0 comes packed with desktop-oriented features such as KDE 3.5.1 and the DesktopBSD Tools, which include a graphical interface to the FreeBSD ports system. Underneath the familiar KDE desktop, DesktopBSD is still FreeBSD; in fact, you will find more references to "FreeBSD" than "DesktopBSD" throughout the system. That's because, as the DesktopBSD FAQ says, "DesktopBSD isn't a 'fork' [of FreeBSD] -- it's a customized FreeBSD installation that mainly consists of the DesktopBSD Tools and a collection of configuration files and software for desktop use.""

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Puppy Linux 2.02 Review (MadPenguin)

MadPenguin reviews Puppy Linux 2.02. "When we first started using Puppy, we were convinced it was simply a good distribution for those looking to revive older computers. After a few days with it, we simply cannot get over how friendly it is. For once, we have a distribution designed for older hardware that is actually utilizing new technology, not simply revamping what Knoppix provides. In short, it does not feel like another stripped down version of Knoppix. Another item that really "wows" us is the ability to run this distribution our way. Flash drives, CDs, or hard drive installation - it's all here. And thanks to a working wireless connection and a wide selection of software, we plan on running Puppy side-by-side with Ubuntu for a very long time."

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Page editor: Rebecca Sobol
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