14 DAY TRIAL // Welcome to the 161st issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly!
The following Linux-based operating systems have been announced last week: Linux Mint 11 LXDE, GNOME 3 Live, Linux Mint Debian 201108 RC, Puppy Linux 5.2.8 and BackTrack 5 R1. In other news: Mozilla released the highly anticipated Thunderbird 6.0 mail client for Linux operating systems; Mark Shuttleworth presented the improved Unity interface of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system. For this week we've prepared a very nice tutorial about how to install Linux kernel 3.0 on 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 August 16th, Clement Lefebvre proudly announced the immediate availability for download of the LXDE flavor of Linux Mint 11, which brings several enhanced features, a revamped Software Manager and Update Manager, as well as newer packages and under-the-hood improvements.
Linux Mint 11 LXDE features a refreshed Software Manager. It now has a flashy splash screen, better and bigger icons as well as more categories. The Update Manager also got some work and Linux Mint says it's now faster and safer. One change that makes a lot of difference is that the rules for all packages are now contained within the Update Manager and don't need to be downloaded every time. This way, the Manager can skip a few steps and get you your updates faster. When new rules are available, a update for the Update Manager is issued.
Download Linux Mint 11 LXDE now from Softpedia.
On August 17th, The GNOME Project has released live images, based on both Fedora and OpenSuSE, that feature GNOME 3 in its purest form. These images can be burned on CDs, DVDs, or you can simply use an USB drive.
You can use the GNOME 3 Live images to get a feel of the new desktop environment, developed and designed from scratch, and see how you like it for yourself, regardless of all the online talk. While GNOME 3 already ships with several Linux distros, Fedora 15 for example, if you want an unaltered experience, you're probably best off with the GNOME-released builds.
Download GNOME 3 Live based on Fedora now from Softpedia.
Download GNOME 3 Live based on openSUSE now from Softpedia.
On August 18th, Clement Lefebvre proudly announced the immediate availability for download of a Release Candidate version of the Debian flavor of Linux Mint. Linux Mint Debian 201108 RC is based on the very latest packages available in Debian Testing.
The ISOs contain all you need to get your system going, but once it's running you won't have to install it ever again, since all packages will be updated as new versions come in. This is one of the main differentiating factors between the regular Linux Mint, based on Ubuntu.
Download Linux Mint Debian 201108 RC now from Softpedia.
On August 19th, Larry Short announced the immediate availability of the Puppy Linux 5.2.8 operating system. Puppy Linux 5.2.8 drops support for (really) old computers and uses libraries build for i689 processors and above.
The latest release is also the most customizable, with new options available for users, as well as more art to choose from. Puppy Linux 5.2.8 is the second big update to the lightweight distro this year. The most recent is Puppy Linux 5.2.5, which came in April. The newest update comes with fresher packages but also some new features.
Download Puppy Linux 5.2.8 now from Softpedia.
On August 19th, Offensive Security announced the immediate availability for download of the first point release of the very popular BackTrack 5 operating system. BackTrack 5 R1 is an update release to the original BackTrack 5 operating system released on May 10th, 2011, and it brings over 100 bugfixes, over 30 new scripts and 70 tools updated, and lots of other general improvements.
Highlights of BackTrack 5 R1:
· Based on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS; · Linux kernel 2.6.39.4 (with wireless injection patches); · KDE 4.6; · GNOME 2.6; · 32-bit, 64-bit and ARM support; · Metasploit 3.7.0; · Forensics mode (a forensically sound instance); · Stealth mode (without generating network traffic); · Initial ARM image of BackTrack (for Android-powered devices); · ...and many more!
Download BackTrack 5 R1 now from Softpedia.
· On August 15th, Mozilla managed to launch all of its 'ships' at the same time, Firefox 6, Thunderbird 6 and SeaMonkey 2.3. The latest update to Mozilla's popular desktop email client is based on the Gecko 6 layout engine, the one that powers Firefox 6, and comes with several fixes and improvements. One thing in particular should be of interest to Linux users, the default email client check in Thunderbird 6 now works with some newer Linux distributions, so it should be easier to set up the Mozilla suite as the default email app. Read more about it here.
· On August 16th, Mark Shuttleworth announced on his blog that the Unity interface introduced in the Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) release, will be much improved for the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system. The improved Unity interface that will be introduced with the Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) release on October 13th, features a richer set of "Scopes and Lenses," instead of the old "Places" function. Read more about it here.
Tutorial of the Week: How to Install Linux Kernel 3.0 on Ubuntu 11.04
· At the request of our readers, the following tutorial will teach Ubuntu users how to install the Linux kernel 3.0 packages on their Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system.
Announced by Linus Torvalds on July 21st, Linux kernel 3.0 brings nice features, such as Btrfs data scrubbing and automatic defragmentation, Berkeley Packet Filter JIT filtering, unprivileged ICMP_ECHO, XEN Dom0 support, wake on WLAN, lots of new drivers and support for many hardware components, support for Microsoft Kinect, support for Apple iSight webcam, support for AMD Llano Fusion APUs, and much more.
Today's tutorial is for those of you who want to install Linux kernel 3.0 on their Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) systems. In other words, with this guide, we will teach you, step by step, how to install Linux kernel 3.0 on your existing Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) installation, replacing the old 2.6 kernel.
Read the complete tutorial here.
Video Clip of the Week: Ubuntu 11.10 Linux Kernel 3.0.1, Gnome 3.0.2, Light Display Manager (LightDM) Review
· For this week we've posted an 720p HD video clip that showcases some of the features of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system. The video has 5 minute and 37 seconds, and it was posted by novelldesktop. Enjoy!
· Zorin OS Educational 5 · Arc-live Linux 0.6.5
Distributions Updated Last Week:
· BG-Rescue Linux 1.1.2 · BlankOn Sajadah 7.0 · Matriux Krypton · Salix OS LXDE 13.37 · bioknoppix 0.2.1
· Clonezilla LiveCD 1.2.10-6 · ALT Linux 6.0.0-20110816 Beta
See you again at the end of next week for another issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly.