First alpha of Mandriva Linux 2012 now available (The H) [LWN.net]

The H takes a look at the first alpha for Mandriva Linux 2012. "Nearly two months later than originally planned, the first alpha for Mandriva Linux 2012, code-named "Tenacious Underdog", has been released for testing. The new development release upgrades the KDE desktop to version 4.9.0 from August and brings improvements to the distribution's installer, which is now said to be smaller and faster; the installer's text mode is also noted to be working again. Other changes include the complete removal of the HAL (hardware abstraction layer) and the switch to Linaro's GCC 4.7 branch, as well as various package updates and bug fixes."