14 DAY TRIAL // The XBMC developers have released a new Alpha for the successor of the XBMC project, Kodi. The project recently entered feature freeze, so this update should be all about fixes.
The latest stable release for XBMC is 13.2 and this is the final branch of the application with that name. The developers have been working for quite some time on the replacement, and by the looks of it, they are getting closer with each new version.
XBMC stands for Xbox Media Center and there was a time when that name made sense. It's been many years since the software no longer performs this specific function, so it's understandable that the makers of this project would want to change the name. The decision was made a long time ago, so the Linux community should find it easy to adapt.
This might be the last Kodi 14.x alpha version
"Kodi 14, which we gave the codename 'Helix', is slowly heading towards beta status. In this possibly last alpha release, we continue to focus on stability and user friendliness. Around 117 pull-request (code changes) have been added past month in a variety of areas. There aren’t many additions that could be picked out as a real 'features’. However we will highlight some of the main visual changes so far"
"re-Touched is actually a slightly redesigned Touch skin with a different home screen layout and various tweaks in some areas. However we felt like we had to replace it with a more fresh and easier skin. PVR is still not included, as such you will need a different skin should you wish to use it, noted the devs in the announcement.
Despite the fact that Kodi should technically be in feature freeze, the changes made to the application are quite important. For example, support has been implemented for sub-channels in PVR, users should be happy to know that DSD audio is now available, the mouse should now work properly in Blu-ray menus, the 4K playback has been added for the Android with the AMLcodec package, and a few other fixes have been implemented.
More details about this version can be found in the official changelog. You can download the latest Kodi 14.0 Alpha 4 release from Softpedia, but keep in mind that it's still under development. Bugs and other problems are still present, so tread with caution.