14 DAY TRIAL // Welcome to the 137th issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly!
The following Linux-based operating systems have been announced last week: Tiny Core Linux 3.5, Mandriva 2011 Alpha 1, SystemRescueCd 2.0.1, Parted Magic 5.10, Pardus Linux Corporate 2, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.9 and Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS. In other news: Canonical announced the schedule for the Ubuntu 11.04 Developer Week which will took place between February 28th and March 4th; Softpedia introduces a new software called Bleeding Edge, the universal software installer for Ubuntu. For this week we've prepared a nice tutorial about how to sync Firefox add-ons, bookmarks, preferences, history and tabs in Ubuntu and other OSes. The weekly ends with the video clip of the week, the new and updated Linux distributions, and the development releases.
Summary:
On February 13th, Robert Shingledecker announced the immediate release of Tiny Core Linux 3.5, the first update of 2011, coming two months after the previous one. A few packages have been updated in Tiny Core Linux 3.5, notably BusyBox and the FLUFF File Manager, and there are a lot of changes for the inner workings of the minimalistic Linux distribution.
Highlights of Tiny Core Linux 3.5:
· Tce-audit false 'delete' messages cleaned up; · Tce-remove now supports tce-audit/appsaudit; · Wbar_rm_icon updated to support tce-remove; · Added highlight on FAILED md5 checking to appsaudit; · Wbarconf - more bar position options added; · Services now support nested daemon starting;
· Appbrowser Mirror Selection updated to support mirror.tcz extension; · Tc-config crond call updated and removed duplicate crond script; · Scripts cleaned up to remove extra spaces for smaller files;
· fsck replaced by busybox fsck; · Thinkpad_acpi.ko moved from base to extension; · Corrected typo in .desktop item for fluff file manager; · Corrected permission on protect option bfe file; · New logo tag line. "Fast. Easy. Modular. Extendable."
· BusyBox 1.18.3 plus additional patches; · Zsync 0.6.2; · FLUFF file manager 0.8.9; · New autoscan-devices and rotdash compiled - for improved boot performance; · Updated tc-functions for call to autoscan-devices; · Updated tce-audit builddb to not force fetch of all .dep files when no tce.db exists; · Updated appsaudit to support removing ondemand uninstalled extensions without rebooting.
Download Tiny Core Linux 3.5 now from Softpedia.
On February 15th, Eugeni Dodonov announced the first alpha build of the upcoming Mandriva 2011 operating system. Mandriva 2011 Alpha 1 comes with all the major components and new features expected to land in the stable release. Some packages have been updated from the initial Technology Preview release and work was finalized on some of the big new features, like the switch to the RPM package management system.
Highlights of Mandriva 2011 Alpha 1:
· Linux kernel 2.6.37; · RPM 5.3.8 (20110125); · KDE SC 4.6.0; · GNOME 2.32.1; · XFCE 4.8.0; · X.Org Server 1.9; · Firefox 4 Beta 11; · Chromium - all branches, stable and unstable; · Clementine 0.6; · NetworkManager 0.8.2; · Systemd 17; · GCC 4.5.2; · OpenSSL 1.0.0d; · Wine 1.3.13.
Download Mandriva 2011 Alpha 1 now from Softpedia. Remember that this is an alpha release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only.
Also on February 15th, François Dupoux announced the release of SystemRescueCd 2.0.1 operating system, the first update after the big version number change. SystemRescueCd 2.0.1 brings newer kernels, like usual, both the standard, stable options as well as the alternative, more up-to-date ones. Gparted, one of the most important packages in the data recovery and system repair distribution, has also been updated.
Highlights of SystemRescueCd 2.0.1:
· Linux Kernel 2.6.35.11 - the standard option, both the 32-bit and the 64-bit version; · Linux Kernel 2.6.36.3- the alternative option, both the 32-bit and the 64-bit version; · Memtest86+ 4.20 - comes with support for Intel Sandy-Bridge and AMD Fusion chips; · X.Org Server 1.9.4; · GParted 0.8.0; · initramfs updated; · Name resolution in initramfs environment fixed; · atl1c driver in standard kernel for Atheros AR8151 Gigabit devices upgraded.
Download SystemRescueCd 2.0.1 now from Softpedia.
Also on February 15th, Patrick Verner announced the immediate availability for download of the Parted Magic 5.10 Linux distribution for partitioning tasks. The new release is powered by a new kernel and has lots of updated packages. The new Parted Magic 5.10 has been released just five weeks after Parted Magic 5.9 was announced on January 12th. It brings new applications, updated applications, a new kernel, a new web browser and a couple of fixes.
Highlights of Parted Magic 5.10:
· Linux kernel 2.6.37; · GParted 0.8.0; · FSArchiver 0.6.12; · NTFS-3G 2011.1.15; · gDisk 0.6.14; · HDT 0.4.1; · Conky 1.8.1; · gzip 1.4; · hdparm 9.37; · xz 5.0.1; · ms-sys-2.2.1; · nwipe-0.04; · SquashFS-4.1; · libxml2-2.7.8.
Download Parted Magic 5.10 now from Softpedia.
On February 16th, Ozan Çağlayan proudly announced the release of Pardus Linux Corporate 2. The enterprise edition of Pardus Linux puts an emphasis on stability and speed and comes with several differences from the user-oriented Pardus Linux 2011, notably the choice to use the old KDE 3.5 desktop environment over the current KDE SC 4.x. Apart from the desktop environment though, everything else is rather up to date, with a modern Linux kernel, the latest stable version of the Firefox browser and the latest LibreOffice release.
Highlights of Pardus Linux Corporate 2:
· Linux Kernel 2.6.35.11; · KDE Desktop Environment 3.5.10; · LibreOffice Office Suite 3.3.1.1; · Mozilla Firefox Web Browser 3.6.13; · Xorg 1.7.7; · GIMP 2.6.11; · Python 2.6.5.
Download Pardus Linux Corporate 2 now from Softpedia.
Also on February 16th, Red Hat announced the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.9 operating system. This is the final minor update to what is now the oldest officially supported Red Hat release, after which Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 will move into the third and final phase of support. The current stable release is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, available since last fall. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.9 comes with several updates, bug fixes and better hardware support.
The latest release includes better support for some Intel processors, due to an utility which updates the CPU microcode at boot time. The OProfile now supports Intel Xeon (Nehalem) processors, Red Hat says. Also included in the update is the latest stable version of the popular Mozilla browser Firefox 3.6.13. KornShell has been updated to ksh93t+. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.9 also includes a long list of kernel bug fixes, all labeled as urgent or high-priority. There is now support for the Intel architectural performance monitoring subsystem arch_perfmon.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.9 updates can be downloaded by all existing RHEL subscribers via the Red Hat Networks service.
On February 18th, Kate Stewart from Canonical announced the second maintenance release of the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) operating system, which incorporates numerous security fixes and updates. The Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS release brings to its dedicated users a lot of security updates and corrections, all with a single goal: to keep Ubuntu 10.04 LTS a stable and reliable Linux distribution!
Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS fixes some installation bugs, various upgrade issues, improves support for many hardware components, and fixes annoying desktop bugs. Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS release is available for Ubuntu desktop/server users, Kubuntu desktop and Xubuntu desktop users (see download links at the end of the article).
Download Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS right now from Softpedia.
· Canonical, through Daniel Holbach, announced on February 11th the schedule of this year's first Ubuntu Developer Week. The Ubuntu 11.04 Developer Week event will take place from February 28th to March 4th, 2011, and will cover several aspects of Ubuntu development, from crash-courses in getting started with working on Ubuntu to more advanced topics. Read more about it here.
· On February 17th, Softpedia presented a new application, called Bleeding Edge, which is a Linux script designed for the popular Ubuntu operating system. Bleeding Edge installs players, codecs, media players, fonts, drivers, etc. It also cleans up the system. Bleeding Edge is a graphical software installer, an application that will make your life easier, allowing you to install the most used and popular software. From multimedia codecs and system fonts, media players and web browsers, to docks and burning software, Bleeding Edge can do them all. Read more about it here.
Tutorial of the Week: How to Sync Firefox Add-ons, Bookmarks, Preferences, History
· The following tutorial will teach our readers how to easily backup, restore and sync their Firefox add-ons, bookmarks, passwords, preferences, history and tabs, on all systems!
Do you have lots of Firefox add-ons installed? Ever wondered if there's an easy way to backup and restore your Firefox's add-ons, preferences, history, passwords, bookmarks, and even the opened tabs?
Look no further! We have the solution right here, and it is easier than you think. Even if we tested on Ubuntu 10.10, the following tutorial is for Linux, Windows and Macintosh users, and it will teach you how to keep your Firefox extensions, bookmarks, passwords, preferences, history and tabs in sync across multiple computers.
Read the entire tutorial here.
Video Clip of the Week: Pardus Corporate Edition 2 - Linux Distro Review
· For this week we've posted an 720p high-definition video clip that presents a review of the recently released Pardus Corporate Edition 2 operating system. The video has 11 minutes and 25 seconds, and it was posted by quidsup. Enjoy!
· Mageia Alpha 1 · eXPress-linux 2011 · FrameOS 6 · Hanthana Linux 14.5 · Progress Linux 1.0.0 Pre 1 · Exherbo Linux
Distributions Updated Last Week:
· Turtle Kevux 0.9.2 · CRUX PPC 2.7 · JayOS 20100601 · Berry Linux 1.07 · GParted LiveCD 0.8.0-1 · Astaro Security Gateway 8.102 · Xubuntu 10.04.2 LTS · Kubuntu 10.04.2 LTS · Ubuntu Server 10.04.2 LTS · R.I.P. 11.4 · Clonezilla LiveCD 1.2.8-3 · Bodhi 0.1.6 · Superb Mini Server 1.5.6 · Puppy Linux "Wary" 5.1 · Visopsys 0.7 · Xange 2011.02
· Salix OS Xfce Live 13.2 Beta 1 · Chakra GNU/Linux 0.4 Beta 2 · PC/OS 11 Beta 1 · Scientific Linux 6 RC1 · VectorLinux 7.0 Beta 1.1
See you again on February 28th for another issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly.