14 DAY TRIAL // Welcome to the 150th issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly!
The following Linux-based operating systems have been announced last week: Grml 2011.05, Super OS 11.04, Kororaa 14, Oracle Linux 6.1, Mandriva 2011 Beta 3, Legacy OS 2 and Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 1. In other news: Oracle has ceded control of the OpenOffice.org code base to the Apache Foundation. For this week we've prepared a nice tutorial, about how to install the Fedora 15 operating system and two interesting reviews for the DeVeDe 3.16.9 and 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 May 29th, Michael Prokop has announced the release of Grml 2011.05, codenamed Just Mari, based on a recent snapshot of Debian Unstable. Grml 2011.05 includes a new kernel and several new features and changes, like the inclusion of the ratpoison window manager.
Highlights of Grml 2011.05:
· iPXE has replaced gPXE;
· Core scripts previously found in grml-scripts are now shipped as grml-scripts-core to facilitate reuse on plain Debian systems;
· Due to popular demand, the ratpoison window manager is included once again;
· grml-debootstrap adds the security repository for stable and testing installations;
· grml-quickconfig will be executed on grml-small;
· More complicated disk configurations (LVM and SW-RAID, though not stacked on each other) are supported when booting Grml via grml-rescueboot or with the findiso= and live-media= bootoptions.
Download Grml 2011.05 now from Softpedia.
On May 30th, Hacktolive.org announced the stable and final version of Super OS 11.04, their Ubuntu 11.04 based Linux distribution with "super powers." Super OS 11.04 includes extra apps, patches, utilities and other useful packages that are missing from a standard Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) default installation.
Highlights of Super OS 11.04:
· Based on Ubuntu 11.04;
· Linux kernel 2.6.38-8;
· GNOME 2.23.1;
· Unity 3D interface;
· LibreOffice 3.3 office suite;
· Ayatana overlay scrollbars;
· Google Chrome 11;
· Opera 11;
· Adobe Flash Player 10.3;
· Oracle Java Runtime Environment 6 plugin;
· Offline support to install Nvidia, ATI and Broadcom drivers;
· Support for installing Windows Wi-Fi drivers;
· Support for portable application (RUNZ);
· Included App Runner to easily run scripts and programs;
· Added File mounter to easily mount ISO, RAR, ZIP, TAR.GZ files;
· Ubuntu Tweak;
· aMSN;
· Skype;
· Wine 1.2.2;
· Winetricks;
· Gufw 11.04.2;
· Live USB creator;
· wvdial (PPP dialer);
· Wubi installer;
· Added Super OS software repository;
· Much more usable for offline users;
· Updated all packages from the Super OS repository.
Download Super OS 11.04 now from Softpedia.
On May 31st, Chris Smart announced the immediate availability of Kororaa 14, codenamed Nemo, a Fedora 14 remix that aims to improve usability and the "out-of-the-box" experience. Kororaa 14 comes in KDE and GNOME flavours and defaults to packages most people will want to use, like Firefox, VLC and so on. Another tweak is an easy way of installing graphic card drivers and the Flash plugin.
Kororaa relies on its Fedora source for most packages, but switches things around in some areas to make sure that new users will have as little customizing to do as possible. The final version of Kororaa 14 comes with KDE 4.6.3, the latest stable version. Firefox 4 is bundled in both the GNOME and KDE versions, with the latter using the Oxygen theme for better integration.
Download Kororaa 14 now from Softpedia.
Also on May 31st, Oracle announced the release of Oracle Linux 6.1, Oracle's Red Hat Enterprise Linux clone. Since Oracle doesn't stray too much from the original, there aren't any big changes compared to RHEL 6.1, apart from Oracle's own "Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel" being used by default.
Oracle bundles its own kernel version, for both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures, and makes it the default used, however, the RHEL kernel is there as well and can be used by selecting it at boot. Oracle Linux 6.1 removes all of the Red Hat branding, the logos and the regular release notes replacing them with its own. It also modifies some of the packages to remove mentions of Red Hat, repositories and so on.
Download Oracle Linux 6.1 now from Softpedia.
On June 1st, Mandriva announced the immediate availability for testing of the third and last Beta version of the upcoming Mandriva 2011 Linux operating system. Mandriva 2011 Beta 3 is powered by Linux kernel 2.6.38.7 and features KDE Software Compilation 4.6.3, new UI theme, new TimeFrame feature, updated packages and lots of bug fixes. Mandriva 2011 Beta 3 is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures
Highlights of Mandriva 2011 Beta 3:
· Linux kernel 2.6.38.7; · KDE Software Compilation 4.6.3; · New UI (user interface) theme for KDE and KDM; · Added new features in Stack Folders, System Panel, and System Start Menu; · Added new TimeFrame feature (provides semantic desktop function); · New interface for Dolphin; · DKMS drivers; · Non-free firmware; · Mozilla Firefox 4.0.1; · Mozilla Thunderbird 3.1.10; · LibreOffice 3.3.2; · Clementine 0.7.1; · K3b 2.0.2; · KTorrent 4.1.1; · Shotwell 0.10; · SMPlayer 0.6.9; · Systemd 27; · Syslinux 4.
Download Mandriva 2011 Beta 3 now from Softpedia. Remember that this is a beta release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended for testing purposes only.
Also on June 1st, John Van Gaans proudly announced the release of Legacy OS 2, a Puppy Linux base distro aimed at legacy hardware. The focus of Legacy OS 2 was on usability and, of course, making sure that everything worked with older hardware even if it meant using older versions of the apps included.
Highlights of Legacy OS 2:
· Asunder 1.6.2;
· Gwenview 1.1.8;
· K9copy 1.0.4;
· Kadu 0.6.0;
· Kalcul 0.1;
· Kamix 0.6.6;
· Kdocker 1.3;
· Kid3 0.5;
· Koverartist 0.3.2;
· Ksquirrel 0.8.0;
· Kuake 0.3;
· Mandvd v2.2;
· Mrxvt 0.5.1;
· Multimedia converter 1.5;
· Oregano 0.40.4;
· Pconvert v2.15-1;
· Qalculate v0.7.2;
· Quacc v3.5;
· Rekordmydesktop 0.3;
· Screensaver mu-v0.2;
· Tuxpaint 0.9.14;
· Xvidcap 1.1.5;
· You2pup 2.1.4.
Download Legacy OS 2 now from Softpedia.
On June 2nd, Canonical announced the first Alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system. The big news is that the Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 1 is built on top of the GNOME 3 desktop environment.
Highlights of Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 1:
· Linux kernel 2.6.39; · GNOME 3; · GTK3; · Unity 2D; · Mozilla Firefox 5 Beta; · Transmission 2.13; · NetworkManager 0.9; · Nautilus 3.0.2; · GNOME Orca 3.0; · gsettings instead of gconf.
Download Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 1 now from Softpedia. Remember that this is an alpha release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended for testing purposes only.
Other News:
· On June 1st, After several months of tensions and controversy, Oracle is now announcing that it will be donating OpenOffice.org in its entirety to the Apache Software Foundation to be part of the group's incubator program. The move comes after Oracle's clear disinterest in the office suite along with some moves which hurt the community around it, determined many of the people involved with the project to create The Document Foundation and fork OpenOffice.org into LibreOffice. Read more about it here.
Tutorial of the Week: Installing Fedora 15
· Fedora 15, also known as Lovelock, was released on May 24th, 2011, and it brings the highly anticipated GNOME 3 desktop environment with the GNOME Shell interface, a new search tool, Deja Dup, GTK+ 3, RPM 4.9, Mozilla Firefox 4, LibreOffice 3, and much more.
The following tutorial will teach all Linux users how to install the recently released Fedora 15 (Lovelock) operating system on their personal computers.
Read the complete tutorial here.
Review of the Week: DeVeDe 3.16.9
· DeVeDe is a software that falls under the oldies category, but with features that makes it useful even by today's standards. It may not be the most complete DVD authoring program, but it gets the job done, with minimal hassle and accessible options for everyone.
DeVeDe is a reliable software and as long as users don't require too many features, it should prove more than enough for the average user. It's regularly maintained (although no updates were issued in the last six months) and it integrates great with the Unity interface of Ubuntu 11.04.
Read the entire review here.
Review of the Week: Ubuntu 11.04
· Ubuntu 11.04, dubbed Natty Narwhal, is one of the most controversial distributions to be launched in recent years, but not in regard to other operating systems. It's hard to anticipate how it will fare, however it's safe to say is one of the biggest leaps, in terms of accessibility, any developer has taken for quite some time.
Ubuntu can only keep itself on the edge and in competition if it improves and changes faster than users expect. Change drives the innovation and Canonical has proved, with Unity, that they can compete in the next decade with all the major players in the world, when it comes to great operating systems.
Read the entire review here.
Video Clip of the Week: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" Alpha 1 First Look and Initial Impressions
· For this week we've posted an 1080p video clip that previews the main features of the Ubuntu 11.10 Alpha 1 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system. The video has 7 minutes and 24 seconds, and it was posted by thisweekinlinux. Enjoy!
· AnikOS Alpha 3
· Zenix OS 2.0
Distributions Updated Last Week:
· MeeGo for IVI 1.2
· CacheGuard OS 5.6.10
· PLATYPUX 7.0
· 4MLinux Media Edition 2.2
· SlimPup 2.4
· Mageia 1
· SmoothWall Express 3.0 SP3
· Netrunner 3.1
· Ylmf OS 4.0
· Fedora Xfce Spin 15
· Fedora LXDE Remix 15
· Fedora LiveCD 15
· Fedora KDE LiveCD 15
· Fedora KDE LiveCD 15
· Caixa Magica 16
· Chakra GNU/Linux 2011.04-r1
· R.I.P. 13.0
Development Releases:
· Parsix Linux 3.7 Test 1
· Pardus Linux 2011.1 Beta
· SliTaz GNU/Linux 20110531
· ALT Linux 6.0.0-20110531
· OpenNode 1.1 RC1
· openSUSE Linux 12.1 Milestone 1
· openSUSE GNOME Live CD 12.1 Milestone 1
· Scientific Linux 6.1 Alpha 1
· Edubuntu 11.10 Alpha 1
· Xubuntu 11.10 Alpha 1
· Kubuntu 11.10 Alpha 1
· Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud 11.10 Alpha 1
· Ubuntu Server 11.10 Alpha 1
· Tiny Core Linux 3.7 RC3
See you again at the end of next week for another issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly.