The developers have implemented a large number of changes and improvements

Apr 24, 2014 09:15 GMT  ·  By

Black Lab Linux 5.0.1, a distribution that is better known after its previous name, OS/4 OpenLinux, has been released and is now available for download.

Black Lab Linux is a distribution designed for general desktop and power users and comes with a lot of applications and features. This is more like a maintenance release for the 4.2.5 version, but there are so many changes that it can be considered a new release.

“Today the Black Lab Linux team is pleased to announce the release of its Enterprise edition 5.0.1 to current and prospective customers. With this release we have fixed a myriad of problems experienced with release 4.2.5. The fastest growing alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux has just gotten better.

“Black Lab Linux Enterprise 5.0.1 introduces our new release schedule. Customers told us they wanted individual releases to be supported longer, so we will be delivering service pack updates to the current version every 12 to 18 months. Now we are working on stability. With that, lets go over what has changed with Black Lab Linux 5,” reads the official announcement.

According to the changelog, a new Linux kernel has been implemented to bring better support for convertible PCs and more wireless adapters (the developers haven't said what the exact version is), PackageKit is now the preferred method to install packages and updates, VLC is now the default media player, Audacious is the default application for music playback, and a Font Manager has been implemented.

Also, support has been implemented for Office 365 subscribers and for Microsoft Office Online, a Citrix Receiver update has been implemented to improve remote connectivity issues, Google Chrome 34 has been added, Thunderbird is the default email client and features integrated Google Apps support, and Skype has been updated to version 4.12.

A number of smaller but not less important packages have been updated. For example, OpenSSH has been updated to version 6.2, Qt has been updated to version 5.2.1, Gstreamer has been updated to version 1.2, the GTKs have been updated to newer versions, and the Yum and RPM support has been updated and improved.

Keep in mind that Black Lab Linux 5.0.1 is a commercial enterprise and you can't just download and test a Live system. You can get a trial version by contacting the developers.

Check the official announcement for more details, features, and changes about this release. You can purchase and download Black Lab Linux 5.0.1 right now.