14 DAY TRIAL // Welcome to the 79th issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly!
The following Linux-based operating systems were announced last week: SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Beta 4, Toorox 01.2010, VLOS 2.0 Beta 1, Elive 1.9.56 and Mandriva Linux 2010.1 Alpha 1. In other news: the Ubuntu community announces that a comprehensive Ubuntu Manual will be available with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS; the KDE community released the first Release Candidate version of the upcoming KDE 4.4 Software Compilation suite. The weekly ends with the video clip of the week, the latest Linux distributions released/updated and the development releases.
Summary:
On January 5th, Warren Woodford announced the fourth Beta release of the upcoming SimplyMEPIS 8.5 operating system, also the first announcement for 2010 from the MEPIS company. For SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Beta 4, the development team worked hard to improve the KDE4 look and feel, after listening to various requests and suggestions from the community. Moreover, some important applications such as Mozilla Firefox, OpenOffice.org, initramfs-tool, klibc, and grub-gfxboot were updated. EXT4 enhancements are also present in this development release.
Highlights of SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Beta 4:
· Linux kernel 2.6.32.2; · EXT4 filesystem; · KDE SC 4.3.4; · Mozilla Firefox 3.5.6-1; · OpenOffice.org 3.1.1-12; · Google Gadgets 0.11.0; · Kdenlive 0.7.6; · Kipi-plugins 1.0.0; · Sun Java Runtime Environment 6; · Adobe Flash Player 10.
Download SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Beta 4 right now from Softpedia. Remember that this is a beta release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only.
On January 6th, Jörn Lindau announced the new and improved Toorox 01.2010 Gentoo-based distribution, bringing the first 64-bit version of the Toorox operating system. Toorox 01.2010 comes with bleeding-edge packages, such as Linux kernel 2.6.32 and KDE Software Compilation 4.3.4. The installer was updated to create a separate partition for /home, and the boot loader can now be installed on a floppy disk or a single partition.
Highlights of Toorox 01.2010:
· Support for 64-bit architecture; · Linux kernel 2.6.32-gentoo; · KDE SC 4.3.4; · Installer improvements; · Support for UMTS connections; · Support for pptp-vpn connections; · gFTP replaces KFTPgrabber, as the main FTP client; · Added Mixxx, audio mixer tool (digital DJ system).
Download Toorox 01.2010 right now from Softpedia.
On January 7th, the hard-working developers behind the VLOS project proudly announced the immediate availability of the first Beta release of the upcoming VLOS 2.0 operating system. With Linux kernel 2.6.32 and lots of new and popular applications on board, VLOS 2.0 Beta 1 is a Live DVD based on the ever-popular Gentoo Linux. VLOS 2.0 Beta 1 is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures.
Highlights of VLOS 2.0 Beta 1:
· Linux kernel 2.6.32; · Automatic detection and configuration of Nvidia video drivers; · Automatic detection and configuration of ATI Radeon video drivers; · Installed the Linux kernel sources; · Automatic mount of NTFS partitions; · Automatic 3D desktop effects powered by Compiz (once the video driver was activated); · Added Adobe Flash Player 10; · Added Sun Java Runtime Environment; · Added Gwibber, a client for Twitter; · Added OpenOffice.org office suite; · Added Wine, to easily emulate Windows applications; · Ability to sync iPod touch and iPod 3Gs, via Gtkpod and Ifuse; · Installed the Hulu desktop; · Added Skype, Pidgin, eMeSeNe and Empathy instant messengers; · Added InkScape vectors drawing tool; · Added The GIMP image editor.
Download VLOS 2.0 Beta 1 right now from Softpedia. Remember that this is a beta release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only.
On January 8th, the Elive team announced yet another unstable release of their Elive Live CD Linux distribution, now at version 1.9.56. Being powered by Debian, the Enlightenment E17 desktop environment and Linux kernel 2.6.30, the new Elive 1.9.56 brings support for 3G phones, the latest version of Adobe's Flash Player and installer fixes.
Highlights of Elive 1.9.56:
· Updated Linux kernel packages to version 2.6.30; · Added 300 new operators in order to support more 3G phones; · Automatic connection of a 3G phone, at boot; · Automatic saving of connection configuration for 3G phones; · Updated Adobe Flash Player to version 10.0.42.34; · Fixed some installer issues, regarding booting of Windows OSes.
Download Elive 1.9.56 right now from Softpedia. Remember that this is an unstable release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only.
On January 9th, Mandriva announced the first Alpha release of the upcoming Mandriva Linux 2010.1 Linux distribution, due for launch in early July this year. The Mandriva Linux 2010.1 Alpha 1 release includes only bleeding-edge packages, starting with Linux kernel 2.6.32 RC3 and continuing with KDE Software Compilation 4.4 Beta 2, Mozilla Firefox 3.6 Beta 5, OpenOffice.org 3.2 Beta 3, Amarok 2.2.2 Beta 1, or GNOME 2.29.4.
Highlights of Mandriva Linux 2010.1 Alpha 1:
· Linux kernel 2.6.32 RC3; · KDE SC 4.4 Beta 2; · GNOME 2.29.4; · Mozilla Firefox 3.6 Beta 5; · OpenOffice.org 3.2 Beta 3; · Amarok 2.2.2 Beta 1; · QT 4.6.0; · KTorrent 3.3; · Digikam 1.0.0; · Kipi-plugins 1.0.0; · Google Chrome 4 Beta; · Nouveau driver; · Mesa 7.7; · Intel video driver 2.10.0 RC2; · NTFS-3G 2009.11.14; · Glibc 2.11; · Munin 1.4
Download Mandriva Linux 2010.1 Alpha 1 right 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.
· The Ubuntu community proudly announced that the upcoming release of the popular Ubuntu operating system, due for launch in late April this year, would come with a comprehensive manual! The manual is created as we speak and it will be ready to accompany the final release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. The Ubuntu manual will be designed for beginners in Linux and Ubuntu (of course) and it will contain essential how-tos, guides, basic information about Linux and its components, and everything one needs to know after installing Ubuntu. Read more about it here.
· The hard-working people behind the KDE community project announced on January 8th the RC1 version of the upcoming and highly anticipated KDE Software Compilation (KDE SC) 4.4. This development version brings improvements and bug fixes in various areas, especially for Nepomuk and Plasma. The KDE Software Compilation is composed of the KDE Plasma Workspace, the KDE Applications and the KDE Development Platform. Read more about it here.
Video Clip of the Week: KDE SC 4.4 Preview (Part II)
· For this week, we've posted the second part of a video clip that showcases the features of the upcoming KDE Software Compilation 4.4. The video has 5 minutes and it was posted by GIMPMan1972. Enjoy!
· Greatest Debian Rescue CD RC1 · Chrysalis Live i386 RC1 · Xodus Live 503 i686 Rescue CD/USB RC1 · SqueezeBox Live i686 squeeze/testing
Distributions Updated Last Week:
· SYS 0.23-r4 · Ubuntu Privacy Remix 9.04r3 · ttylinux 9.1 · Webconverger 6.0
· Unity Linux 2010 Beta 2 · Nexenta OS 3.0 Alpha 3 · Tiny Core Linux 2.8 RC2 · Pardus Linux 2009.1 RC · Clonezilla LiveCD 1.2.3-24 · Frugalware Linux 1.2 Pre2
See you again next Monday, January 18th, for another issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly.