The Spring just got sunnier

Apr 30, 2009 06:50 GMT  ·  By

This is definitely a great time for Linux users all over the world. After Canonical showed off their latest Ubuntu distribution, it's time for Mandriva to take the spotlight. Yes, Mandriva 2009.1, also known as Spring, was released today after two Alphas, one Beta and two release candidates. There are a lot of exciting new features that will please all of Mandriva's fans and surely make others take a second look at what this distribution has to offer. Mandriva 2009.1 can be downloaded for free either as a CD, DVD (i586 and x86_64) or a Dual CD.

"Mandriva announces today the launch of the final version of Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring. Quicker, easier and even more secure this new version brings you a host of innovative functionalities. The Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring range is now available in the office format which corresponds to your choice, KDE, GNOME or LXDE and all this in more than 70 languages. Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring not only offers you the most advanced and easy to use Linux operating system on the market but also integrates a list of some of the most complete software." was stated in the official release announcement.

Without further ado, let's take a look at what Mandriva 2009.1 brings:

· New artwork - there are now different themes for each version of Mandriva you are using: Free, One, Powerpack and Flash. An exciting addition has to be the wallpaper that automatically changes depending on the time of the day; · GNOME 2.26.1 desktop environment - Evolution, Epiphany, Totem, Nautilus and more have been updated to improve the experience · KDE 4.2.2 - a desktop environment that is now mature, stable and, of course, very good looking; · LXDE and Xfce 4.6, the alternative, more lightweight desktops are also available in Mandriva 2009 Spring; the interesting Sugar desktop from the OLPC project is available too; · OpenOffice.org 3.0.1 - the latest version of the best open-source office productivity suite; · Mozilla Firefox 3.0.9 - the best Internet browser;

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· HDT (Hardware Detection Tool), providing in-depth information about your hardware before installing the operating system to the hard drive; · Draksnapshot brings system restore functionality to Mandriva; · Speedboot, a new, exciting technology reduces boot times by at least 25% on most systems; · Improved installer - users can now look at a partition's content right from either the DrakX installer or the diskdrake partitioners;
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· X.Org 1.6 - bringing improved detection/handling of input devices, proper multimedia keys recognition, fixes for Nvidia drivers and better support for Intel cards; · Netbook-friendliness - Mandriva 2009.1 improved support for all popular netbook models: the Asus Eee series, Acer Aspire One or MSI Wind; a special hybrid ISO that can simply be copied onto a flash drive makes the installation process an easy task; · EXT4 support - the powerful filesystem is now supported in the default Mandriva Kernel; · MSEC - the Mandriva Security Center got a new user interface, a plugin system and AppArmor support; · Drakxnet - the new powerful interactive firewall.
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Download Mandriva 2009.1 right now from Softpedia.