Thursday, September 27, 2012

Ubuntu 12.10 beta 2 has been released

The second and final beta release of Ubuntu 12.10, code name "Quantal Quetzal", is ready for testing: "The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the final beta release of Ubuntu 12.10 Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products. Some of the new features available since beta 1 are: Quantal beta 2 includes the 3.5.0-15.23 Ubuntu Linux kernel which is based on the 3.5.4 upstream Linux kernel; Unity has been updated to version 6.6 which contains the new default web application in the launcher, a new shopping lens, improvements to the dash and multiple bug fixes; GNOME has been updated to 3.5.92 for most components (some to 3.6.0); accessibility is turned on by default.


Ubuntu is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customise and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. "Ubuntu" is an ancient African word, meaning "humanity to others". The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.
 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Release Schedule for Ubuntu 13.04

For Ubuntu 13.04, the developers decided to return to a normal development cycle and modified the release schedule to two Alpha versions, one Beta release and one Release Candidate. Without further ado, here's the official release schedule for Ubuntu 13.04.

Alpha 1 December 6th, 2012
Alpha 2 February 7th, 2013
Beta March 7th, 2013
Release Candidate April 18th, 2013
Final Release April 25th, 2013

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Fedora 18 alpha has been released

The delayed alpha build of Fedora 18 has been released: "The Fedora 18 'Spherical Cow' alpha release is plumping up! This release offers a preview of some of the best free and open-source technology currently under development. Features: NetworkManager hotspots improve the ability to use a computer's WiFi adapter to create a network hot spot; the redesigned installation system adds flexibility to the installation process while simplifying the user interface; desktop updates galore - GNOME 3.6, KDE Plasma Workspace 4.9, Xfce 4.10, Sugar 0.98, and the introduction of the MATE Desktop in Fedora.



The Fedora Project is an openly-developed project designed by Red Hat, open for general participation, led by a meritocracy, following a set of project objectives. The goal of The Fedora Project is to work with the Linux community to build a complete, general purpose operating system exclusively from open source software. Development will be done in a public forum. The project will produce time-based releases of Fedora about 2-3 times a year, with a public release schedule. The Red Hat engineering team will continue to participate in building Fedora and will invite and encourage more outside participation than in past releases. By using this more open process, we hope to provide an operating system more in line with the ideals of free software and more appealing to the open source community.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Mandriva Linux 2012 Alpha has been released

Per Øyvind Karlsen has announced the availability of the first alpha release of Mandriva Linux 2012: "As many of you might already be aware of, our first Mandriva Linux 2012 alpha has been ready for release for almost a week now, yet it only made its way to the public mirrors today, so with that I declare it as officially released! Some of the highlights since 2012 Tech Preview include: faster, smaller and much improved installer; installer text-mode is now working again; a slimmer, much-improved and fixed rescue mode; dual architecture CD image has been improved with a more complete set of packages filling it and also LXDE now shipped with it and installed by default; switch to Linaro's GCC 4.7 branch has been completed; HAL has finally been put to rest for good...."


Mandriva Linux was launched in 1998 under the name of Mandrake Linux, with the goal of making Linux easier to use for everyone. At that time, Linux was already well-known as a powerful and stable operating system that demanded strong technical knowledge and extensive use of the command line; MandrakeSoft saw this as an opportunity to integrate the best graphical desktop environments and contribute its own graphical configuration utilities to quickly become famous for setting the standard in Linux ease of use. In February 2005, MandrakeSoft merged with Brazil's Conectiva to form Mandriva S.A., with headquarters in Paris, France. The company's flagship product, Mandriva Linux, offers all the power and stability of Linux to both individuals and professional users in an easy-to-use and pleasant environment.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Snowlinux 3 "E17" has been released

Lars Torben Kremer has announced the release of Snowlinux 3 "E17" edition, a Debian-based distribution featuring the latest Enlightenment 17 desktop: "The team is proud to announce the release of Snowlinux 3 E17. Today is a very important day for Snowlinux. It is getting a new project with the latest E17 build desktop environment. Snowlinux 3 E17 is based upon Debian 7.0 'Wheezy' and is powered by the Linux 3.5 kernel. We're using DuckDuckGo as the default search engine. It has Firefox 14.0.1, Thunderbird 14, AbiWord, Shotwell, Audacious and GNOME MPlayer installed by default. New features: desktop profiles (SnowOSX, Snowlinux Classic, Snowlinux GNOME 2); live installer; Snowlinux LightDM theme; Plymouth; Neptune E17 theme and Faenza icons; terminal colors; Linux non-free firmware...."


Snowlinux is a set of Linux distributions based on Debian's latest stable release and featuring four different desktop environments - GNOME, KDE, LXDE and Xfce. It aims to be user-friendly, incorporating many useful tweaks and carefully selected software applications. The project also develops a separate, Ubuntu-based edition featuring the MATE (a GNOME 2 fork) desktop.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Zentyal 3.0 RC2 has been released

Heidi Vilppola has announced the availability of the second and final release candidate for Zentyal 3.0, an Ubuntu-based server distribution: "The Zentyal development team is glad to announce that the second release candidate of Zentyal 3.0 is now available for download and testing. This version is based on the new Ubuntu 12.04.1 installer and besides all the bug fixing done since the first release candidate, it features a new Samba 4.0 beta8 and lots of additional improvements and polishing. The release of the Zentyal 3.0 is almost here, so your help in finding bugs now is more important than ever to make Zentyal 3.0 the best release in history. So, don't forget to report any bugs you come up with, either through the bug tracker or the official Zentyal forum."


Zentyal (formerly eBox Platform) is a unified network server that offers easy and efficient computer network administration for small and medium-size businesses. It can act as a gateway, an infrastructure manager, a unified threat manager, an office server, a unified communication server or a combination of them. These functionalities are tightly integrated, automating most tasks, avoiding mistakes and saving time for system administrators. Zentyal is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and runs on top of Ubuntu.
 

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Ubuntu 12.10 named "Quantal Quetzal" beta 1 has been released

Kate Stewart has announced the availability of the first beta release of Ubuntu 12.10, code name "Quantal Quetzal": "The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the first beta release of Ubuntu 12.10 Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products. Some of the new features now available are: consolidated client images now support the logical volume manager (LVM) as well as full disk encryption; Update Manager has been renamed Software Updater and now checks for updates when launched; a new X.Org stack has been introduced which includes X.Org Server 1.13 candidate versions, Mesa 9.0, and updated X libraries and drivers; Unity has been updated to version 6.4 including support for dash previews and coverflow view.


Ubuntu is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customise and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. "Ubuntu" is an ancient African word, meaning "humanity to others". The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.