Thursday, October 9th 2008 – a special day for all Mandriva users. Why? Because the MANDRIVA S.A. just released into the wild the new and greatly improved version of the Mandriva Linux operating system. With the 2009 edition, Mandriva Linux will try to compete with the upcoming Ubuntu 8.10 (October 30th), and even to "steal" some of its devoted users. We remind everyone that Mandriva Linux is a freely available, community-based Linux distribution based on the RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) package management system. It includes popular desktop environments, such as GNOME 2.24 and KDE 4.1.2, and also the newly added LXDE, a lightweight and modern desktop that fits like a glove on old computers.
Highlights of Mandriva 2009:
· Revamped Control Center;
· Redesigned installer;
· Improved boot speed;
· Repositories are automatically configured;
· Better mirror management;
· Out of the box support for many webcams;
· Improved DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support) management;
· Improved language selection;
· Implementation of the PolicyKit and PackageKit technologies;
· Improvements to the Mandriva Windows Migration and Parental Control utilities;
· Live Upgrade (same as Ubuntu's update-manager tool);
· initscript improvements;
· Atheros wireless network (WLAN) drivers;
· Splashy boot splash system;
· Support for Netbook hardware like ASUS Eee PC, Acer Aspire One and the MSI Wind;
· Support for the Intel G41 graphics chipset;
· system-config-printer, the new printer configuration utility;
· and also lots of desktop improvements and new artwork!
Under the hood:· Linux kernel 2.6.27
· X.Org 7.4
· PackageKit
· ATI Catalyst 8.8
· NVIDIA 177.70
· GNOME 2.24
· KDE 4.1.2
· LXDE | · Mozilla Firefox 3.0
· The GIMP 2.4.7
· OpenOffice.org 3.0
· Compiz Fusion 0.7.8
· VirtualBox 2.0.2
· Google Gadgets
· FBReader |
Mandriva 2009 will be delivered, as usual, on 100% FREE edition CDs and DVDs for 32bit and 64bit platforms, the One edition, with KDE 4 and GNOME 2.24 Live CDs, and the Powerpack edition, which includes support from Mandriva and commercial applications such as LinDVD or Scilab). Download Mandriva Linux 2009 from
here and Mandriva One 2009 from
here. Users are encouraged to upgrade their existing Mandriva installations today!
