14 DAY TRIAL // Welcome to the 46th issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly!
This week's editorial talks about the Ubuntu Developer Summit. In the Linux distribution announcement section you will find the following releases: Clonezilla Live 1.2.2-14, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.8, NetSecL 2.4, ArtistX 0.7 and Puppy Linux 4.2.1. In other news: AMD announced the release of ATI Catalyst 9.5 video driver suite for Linux systems and the GNOME developers released the second maintenance version of GNOME 2.26. Last week we also published an in-depth review of the Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) operating system. The weekly ends with the video clip of the week, the latest Linux distributions released/updated last week and the development releases.
Summary:
Editorial: Ubuntu Developer Summit - by Daniel Pop-Silaghi
· If you are a Linux geek in general and an Ubuntu fan in particular, you are probably aware that today marks the beginning of yet another edition of the Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS). Simply called UDS Karmic Koala, this four-day (Monday 25th through Friday 29th) massive gathering will, as its name suggests, draw the general lines of the next Ubuntu version, scheduled for release at the end of October. And not only that, but this is a great chance for developers around the globe to meet up and more efficiently discuss various issues.
A quick look through the 272 "blueprints" set to be discussed during the Summit unveils some rather exciting changes coming to Karmic. First of all, I know many of you expect the major interface overhaul promised by Mark Shuttleworth himself. Well, there is indeed an entry called "Karmic Artwork" scheduled for the last day, but more detailed information is not available yet. Another blueprint discusses the implementation of Plymouth and further improvements in the start-up area. We'll just have to wait and see.
But the look of an operating system shouldn't concern us as much, so let's see what else will be on the "menu" at this year's UDS. Though expected sometime in April 2010, GNOME 3 already stirred interest among Ubuntu developers and they will discuss a possible synchronization with the next LTS release (also due in April 2010) and possibly an integration of some GNOME 3 packages in Karmic.
The first entries marked with "kernel" are related to improvements in areas like power management, Wi-Fi, SSD support or suspend/resume. The recently announced "Ubuntu One" service couldn't have been left out and while integration with the next Ubuntu is almost certain, there is also a possibility we'll see a setup wizard for it in the Ubiquiti installer too. Speaking of which, if the otherwise short Ubuntu installation process bores you to death, you'll be happy to know that work has already started on enhancing it with a nice "feature slideshow."
The new notification framework introduced in Jaunty is another major topic and is sure to be much improved in time for Karmic. If you're a fan of Xfce and love its lightweight profile, there is a chance you are probably not so excited with its quite "heavy" implementation in Ubuntu; so, there will be some discussions focused on making Xubuntu lighter, especially by changing its default application set.
Ubuntu Developer Summit Location (image copyright batega)
A rather interesting topic is the installation of updates right from the system installer (an option that is available in Mandriva), to provide a true "out of the box" experience. Though not a bad idea, the download and installation of possibly more than 100 updates could make the OS install process a very long one.
The Rhythmbox media player could be replaced by Banshee, as another entry suggests. Though personally I would have no problems with Banshee (especially considering the possibility of Rhythmbox being discontinued), some may frown upon the fact that it's built in Mono.
The LZMA compression algorithm is, unsurprisingly, gaining more and more popularity and, given the fact that Ubuntu barely fits on a regular CD, LZMA could be used for future deployments. According to the blueprint, this, if implemented, could reduce the size of the ISO with up to 175 MB.
Another in-depth topic focuses on how Ubuntu can be improved in order to block unknown malware and trojans from penetrating the system. The discussion will cover many aspects of the OS from CD handling or Bluetooth permissions to instant messaging or email.
There are a lot of other interesting topics (cloud computing, Xorg improvements, etc.) so, if you didn't have the chance to participate in this year's Ubuntu Developer Summit, you should definitely check its homepage. Hopefully, this meeting will be as productive as possible and Ubuntu 9.10 will prove to be the most exciting release ever.
Linux distributions announced last week:
On May 18th, Steven Shiau announced a new stable release of his system-cloning Linux distribution, Clonezilla 1.2.2-14, which is using the Debian Lenny repositories (as of May 17th, 2009) and is powered by Linux kernel 2.6.29-4.
Highlights of Clonezilla Live 1.2.2-14:
· Ext4 support in Partclone; · The option -z4 (LZMA algorithm) was added for drbl-ocs and ocs-sr; · Added a new filename format for partition images; · Separate Beginner and Expert modes were added; the Beginner mode will load the default parameters; · There is now the option of mounting HFS+ partitions with the "-o force" parameter; · Added default NTFS support in Partclone; · Updated language files; · Syslinux 3.80; · The makeboot.sh program was improved; · Ocs-onthefly will now ask for y/n input in its questions; · Bug reporting is easier through the ocs-live-bug-report program; · Added w3m; · /home/partimag will be created when booting; · The live-netdev parameter was added to live-initramfs; · Clonezilla ISOs are, from this release, hybrid, meaning users can transfer the Live image to flash drives; · Users can now enter the command line interface from ocs-live-necfg; · Save and restore tasks menus are now properly arranged; · Canceling image or device name input yields an additional "exit" option; · The ocs-onthefly will prompt the command and options while running in interactive mode; · Partclone.ntfsreloc will change the start sector in the metadata of NTFS partitions data after restoring; · Memtest, freedos and network boot will use the syslinux/isolinux submenu; · The "-g auto" option will now only search for the grub config partition within the restored disk; · Fixed a bug that prevented ocs-live-dev from using grub to create bootable Clonezilla live devices; · Fixed a bug in partclone.ntfs that incorrectly displayed the size for current NTFS volumes.
Download Clonezilla Live 1.2.2-14 right now from Softpedia.
Also on May 18th, Red Hat announced the immediate availability of the final release of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.8 operating system. Besides the usual bug fixes and software updates, there are also the new features that come with every stable release. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.8 is available for 32-bit and AMD/Intel 64-bit architectures.
Highlights of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.8:
· The virtualization performance was greatly improved; · Improved the autofs filesystems; · Samba updates for better interoperability with the Microsoft Windows operating system; · Improved the overall performance; · Improved filesystem support; · Improved storage support; · The GNU Compiler Collection was updated to provide better support for developers.
On May 20th, Iuri Stanchev announced the release of a new version of his Slackware-based Linux distribution, after seven months in development. NetSecL 2.4 features the latest X.Org drivers that were also reconfigured to start after a few-second delay, giving users time to enter the console in order to make any necessary changes. NetSecL 2.4 comes with 82 updated packages and 19 bugfixes.
Highlights of NetSecL 2.4:
· Metasploit was updated to the latest version; · Ruby is part of the installation again; · Improved SATA drives support through a new kernel configuration, with the IDE module still available; · The penetration package now includes tools like: 0trace, Dmitry or Evilgrade; · Dazuko_FS replaced Dazuko; · NetSecL packages were generated with the CruxPorts4Slack portage system; · Latest version of X.Org.
Download NetSecL 2.4 right now from Softpedia.
On May 21st, Marco Ghirlanda announced the immediate availability of ArtistX 0.7, now created using the popular Remastersys Live CD creation program. Being powered by the Linux kernel 2.6.27, ArtistX 0.7 is still based on the Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) operating system and features the GNOME 2.24 and KDE 4.2 desktop environments. ArtistX 0.7 comes packed as a Live DVD and it includes over 2500 free multimedia (audio/video) applications.
Highlights of ArtistX 0.7:
· Based on Ubuntu 8.10; · Linux kernel 2.6.27; · GNOME 2.24; · KDE 4.2; · 3D desktop effects powered by Compiz Fusion; · Ubuntu multimedia packages; · Ubuntu installer.
Download ArtistX 0.7 right now from Softpedia.
On May 22nd, the Puppy Linux team announced the first maintenance release of Puppy Linux 4.2 (Deep Thought). Puppy Linux 4.2.1 comes with an improved Abiword 2.6.3 (with 2.6.6 plugins) for better handling of .doc and .docx Microsoft Word file formats; still, some documents will require the Liberation ttf fonts to be installed on your system. Due to some printing issues, the developers decided to return to the 1.3.10 version of CUPS, from 1.4 Beta 2. This also led to printing support from the Geany, Leafpad and Gnumeric applications.
Highlights of Puppy Linux 4.2.1:
· Downgraded CUPS to version 1.3.10; · Pwidgets was updated to version 2.0.8; · Updated Pcrypt to the 17 May 2009 release; · Updated the MIME-types in ROX 2.6.1; · Patched the GTK+ Xinput and the b43 broadcom driver; · Updated Pmusic to version 0.6.4; · Updated Pschedule to 0.7.
Download Puppy Linux 4.2.1 right now from Softpedia.
· Advanced Micro Devices announced on May 18th the release of ATI Catalyst 9.5 proprietary Linux display driver, for both x86 and x86_64 architectures. With version 9.5, the ATI Catalyst driver updates the software to version 8.612. Unfortunately, this release doesn't bring any new features, only some improvements and bug fixes. Read more about it here.
· After exactly 35 days from the first maintenance release of the popular GNOME 2.26 desktop environment, the development team proudly announced on May 20th the immediate availability of GNOME 2.26.2. This new release fixes many of the bugs found in the previous version and it also brings a few interesting features. Read more about it here.
Review of the Week: Ubuntu 9.04
· From the review: In only a few years of existence, Ubuntu reached a very high level of popularity. With the slogan "Linux for human beings," Canonical clearly aimed to provide a smoother transition for the regular desktop users who wanted a change in their everyday computing experience. Though some may question Ubuntu's true contribution to open-source innovation, one cannot deny its important part in popularizing GNU/Linux and freeing a lot of users from proprietary software restrictions and high costs.
Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jacakalope) is no doubt worthy of the hype that surrounds it. Though far from being a massive overhaul (Karmic Koala will most likely take care of that), there are a lot of under-the-hood improvements and tweaks that allow Ubuntu to keep its Linux distro "crown." It's definitely not the perfect operating system but it appears that Ubuntu is on a clear ascending path. Hopefully, Canonical will be quick to fix some of the more obvious issues that could keep some from hopping on the Jaunty bandwagon. But for most, upgrading to Ubuntu 9.04 is a no-brainer. You'll get more speed, more stability, a better look, modern notifications and up-to-date software. Our final conclusion is that Ubuntu 9.04 is the perfect solution for daily office tasks and for most home users, except hardcore gamers (of course).
Read the full review here.
Video Clip of the Week: ArtistX - Sound and Video Applications
· For this week we decided to post a video clip that shows how many applications for sound and video are available in the ArtistX Linux distribution. The video is 1 minute and 11 seconds long and it was posted by grahaz10. Enjoy!
· Xange 2009 · OWASP Live CD Feb 2009
Distributions Updated Last Week:
· GParted LiveCD 0.4.5-2 · rPath Linux 2.0.1 · Tin Hat 20090519 · R.I.P. 8.7 · eeZos 0.6 · Ikki Boot 2.2 · Baltix 4.0 · CentOS Live CD 5.3 · Tiny Core Linux 1.4.3 · Vinux 1.5
· Musix GNU+Linux 2.0 Beta 1 · Nexenta OS 2.0 RC3 · Moblin 2 Beta · Zorin OS 1.0 Beta · ZevenOS 2.0 Preview · grml 2009.05 RC1 · Wolvix Cub 2.0.0 Beta 1
See you again next Monday, June 1st, for another issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly.
The Softpedia Linux Editorial Team.