14 DAY TRIAL // Welcome to the 144th issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly!
The following Linux-based operating systems have been announced last week: Linux Mint Xfce 201104, SystemRescueCd 2.1.0 and CentOS 5.6. In other news: Canonical announced that it will no longer ship free Ubuntu CDs; the GNOME Project announced the final release of the popular GNOME 3 desktop environment; the KDE Project announced the release of the second maintenance update for KDE Software Compilation 4.6. For this week we've also prepared a nice tutorial, about how to install the GNOME 3 desktop environment under the Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system. The weekly ends with the video clip of the week, the new and updated Linux distributions, and the development releases.
Summary:
On April 6th, Clement Lefebvre and the community behind the Linux Mint project have announced a few minutes ago the final and stable release of Linux Mint Xfce 201104, a distro which is build on top of a Debian Testing package base and uses the same repositories as LMDE.
The most significant improvement is the performance boost and the team has released a series of comparison figures for memory consumption in the 32-bit live sessions of Linux Mint Xfce and Linux Mint 9 Xfce.
This boost in memory consumption has given Xfce a larger software selection. Amongst other changes we can mention the replacement of Exaile with Rhythmox as the default audio player, addition of VLC media player. Linux Mint Xfce 201104 now boasts almost the same software that can be found in GNOME based distributions.
Download Linux Mint Xfce 201104 now from Softpedia.
On April 6th, François Dupoux has announced today, April 6th, that SystemRescueCd Linux distribution has now reached version 2.1.0. SystemRescueCd 2.1.0 now uses the new 2.6.35.12 Linux kernel (long-term kernel: rescuecd + rescue64), but an alternative Linux kernel, 2.6.38.2 (the most recent one), is also available.
Highlights of SystemRescueCd 2.1.0:
· Updated the standard Linux kernel packages to version 2.6.35.12 (long-term kernel: rescuecd + rescue64); · Updated the alternative Linux kernel packages to version 2.6.38.2 (the most recent kernel); · Patched the alternative Linux kernel packages with loop-aes-3.6b (encrypt disks using AES); · Updated the testdisk utility to version 6.11.3 (checks and undeletes partitions + PhotoRec); · Updated the hdparm utility to version 9.36 (used to change hard drive parameters); · Updated the Xfce desktop environment to version 4.8; · Updated the gdisk utility to version 0.7.1 (the package has been renamed gptfdisk); · The 32-bit Linux kernel packges (rescuecd + altker32) have been compiled for i586 instead of i686.
Download SystemRescueCd 2.1.0 now from Softpedia.
On April 8th, Karanbir Singh proudly announced the release of the CentOS 5.6 operating system. Based on the latest update to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x line, CentOS 5.6 brings all of the updated packages and fixes from the popular Linux distro and packages them in a completely free version lacking Red Hat branding and artwork.
RHEL 5.6 was made available in January earlier this year. Since then, CentOS developers have been working on getting CentOS 5.6 out the door. It took longer than usual due to a combination of factors. The team is struggling with a lack of support which took its toll on the process. What's more, they're also working on getting CentOS 6.0, which is based on the latest and greatest Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.0, that came out in November last year, out the door.
Download CentOS 5.6 now from Softpedia.
· On April 5th, Canonical, through Gerry Carr, announced last evening (April 5th) that it will no longer distribute free CDs with the Ubuntu operating system, via the ShipIt Programme. The ShipIt service was created back in 2005 to distribute free CDs with the Ubuntu OS, to millions of people around the world. With regret we inform you that the ShipIt Programme has been closed! Users will not be able to order free CDs of Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) or any future version. Read more about it here.
· On April 6th, GNOME 3, the next evolution of the GNOME desktop environment, has just been released a few minutes ago. The GNOME developers have just announced today, April 6th, in a press release that the final and stable version of the popular GNOME 3 desktop environment is now available for download. GNOME 3 is a light desktop environment used in many popular Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, etc. GNOME 3 comes after five years of hard work and it brings totally redesigned user interface, a lot of hot new features, improved applications, new translations and updated documentation. Read more about it here.
· On April 6th, the KDE developers announced the second maintenance release for KDE Software Compilation 4.6. This is a minor update, focusing on bug fixing and translation updates. KDE Software Compilation 4.6.2 is the second in a series of monthly bug fixing releases to the KDE Software Compilation 4.6 series and it brings various translation updates and improvements. Everyone should update their existing KDE SC machines running version 4.6.1 or earlier (see a short tutorial below). Read more about it here.
Tutorial of the Week: How to Install GNOME 3 on Ubuntu 11.04
· GNOME 3 is the next evolution of the GNOME desktop environment, and it has been released on April 6th, 2011, on mirrors worldwide. GNOME 3 is a light desktop environment used in many popular Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Mandriva, PCLinuxOS, etc.
The following tutorial will teach you guys how to install the highly anticipated GNOME 3 desktop environment on the Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system. We've tested the tutorial on the beta version of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) distribution.
Read the entire tutorial here.
Video Clip of the Week: GNOME 3
· For this week we've posted a video clip that previews the main features of the next generation GNOME 3 desktop environment. The video has 46 seconds, and it was posted by thesilviu. Enjoy!
· Elementary OS 0.1 · Liquid Lemur Beta 1
Distributions Updated Last Week:
· AUSTRUMI 2.3.3 · CacheGuard OS 5.6.4 · CTKArchLive 0.7 · Redo Backup and Recovery 0.9.8 · PureOSlight 1.1 · 4MLinux Game Edition 2.1
· Mageia 1 Beta 1 · Salix OS 13.37 Beta 2 · SimplyMEPIS 11.0 RC2 · Slackware 13.37 RC4
See you again on April 18th for another issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly.