bLoG-[at]-hYPeReND

Today, the KDE community released KDE 4.2.0, codename “The Answer” which brings improved Desktop User Experience, Applications and Development Platform. KDE 4.2.0 comes packed with new features, improvements, and bug fixes.

Here a brief overview of what users can expect from this released.

Desktop User Experience

• Further refinement of the Plasma desktop interface makes organizing your workspace easier.

• New and improved applets.

• KWin offers smooth and efficient window management.

• New and improved workspace tools to increase productivity. 

• Support for several new languages have been added.

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On Oct 30, 2008, the Ubuntu developers team have announced the availability of the official of Ubuntu 8.10, codenamed Intrepid Ibex and is now ready for downloading.

Ubuntu 8.10  features a new version of the Gnome 2.24 which brings some new applications and a wide range of improvements for developers and end users such as support for tabs in Nautilus, a new FreeDesktop.org-compliant audio theme system, and a new screen resolution utility that can leverage XRandR.

Ubuntu 8.10 has also gained Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS), a framework which will automatically rebuild kernel modules when new versions of the kernel are released. This improvement will hopefully prevent third-party drivers from breaking when kernel being updated.

The new version of NetworkManager, which included in Ubuntu 8.10, adds support for managing multiple active devices simultaneously, enabling 3G connectivity, managing PPP and PPPOE connection and managing devices with static IP configurations.

Ubuntu 8.10 introduces the “last successful boot” feature, which will allow users to boot from the last working kernel configuration by selecting a special item on the boot manager list at start-up.

The 8.10 release also has a “guest session” feature. The User Switcher panel applet now provides an extra entry for starting a Guest session. This creates a temporary password-less user account with restricted privileges: the account cannot access any users’ home directories, nor permanently store data. When the guest using the machine signs off, any personalized or identifying information on the guest account is deleted.

The next major version is Ubuntu 9.04, which is Jaunty Jackalope and is scheduled for release in April 2009.

Intrepid Ibex is available for download from the Ubuntu web site. For more information, check out the release notes and the official announcement.

Novell have released openSUSE 11.0, the latest free version of its Linux operating system distribution which then will be the base for Novell’s award winning SUSE Linux Enterprise products.

OpenSUSE 11.0 comes with the latest versions of KDE and GNOME, with KDE 4.0.4 replaced KDE 3.5 as the default KDE. With DVD installer, you can choose to install KDE or GNOME during the installation process.

The openSUSE Project is proud to announce the release of openSUSE 11.0 — everything you need to get started with Linux on the desktop and on the server. Promoting the use of Linux everywhere, the openSUSE Project provides free, easy access to the world’s most usable Linux distribution, openSUSE.

 

The 11.0 release of openSUSE includes more than 200 new features specific to openSUSE, a redesigned installer that makes openSUSE even easier to install, faster package management thanks to major updates in the ZYpp stack, and KDE 4, GNOME 2.22, Compiz Fusion, and much more.

Features of openSUSE 11.0 are:

• New Installer

YaST, which is the default installer in openSUSE get a stunning new look. The dark green-grey theme is used throughout openSUSE 11.0 for splash and boot screens. The installer also underwent many changes to make the installation both easier and quicker. The developer said that you can perform a complete openSUSE installation in under 20 minutes!

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Robert Strohmeyer wrote on PC World website about two well known Linux distributions, Ubuntu 8.04 and Fedora 9.

Ubuntu 8.04

Ubuntu 8.04 is the best-assembled and most polished Linux distribution I’ve ever used. Ubuntu 8.04 performs well where Windows XP and Vista screech to a halt, particularly on older hardware. And since it comes with OpenOffice.org, Firefox, Evolution Mail, and a host of other apps right out of the box, it may be the best way to breathe new life into a seemingly moribund PC.

Ubuntu 8.0.4 offers a level of functionality comparable to that of Mac OS and Windows, from delivery to installation to daily use. Unfortunately, the ties that bind all Linux distributions–primarily a lack of support for major Windows- and Mac-based business, design, and gaming applications–still hold Ubuntu back from mass popularity. For users with such moderate computing needs as Web browsing, e-mail, and basic document creation, however, Hardy is a compelling option.

Fedora 9

For users who are already familiar with Linux, Fedora 9 is an excellent choice. Robust security features and installation options make it somewhat more versatile than Ubuntu, which offers a more streamlined (and therefore more restricted) installation. For most users, though, including millions interested in trying Linux for the first time, Fedora lacks the polish and ready-to-run simplicity of its more popular rival.

 You can read the rest of article here.

About a week ago, Fedora 9, codename Sulphur was released to the public. Fedora 9 comes with a lot of new features and updated softwares such as the latest Gnome 2.22, KDE 4.0.3, Xfce 4.4.2, Mozilla Firefox Beta 5, Open Office 2.4 and a 2.6.25 based kernel. Here are some of reviews about Fedora 9 that I have found over the internet.

Linux.com conclude that:

Aside from the problems with PackageKit — and, to a lesser extent, the inclusion of KDE 4.0.3 — Fedora 9 manages to balance innovation with a high degree of usability. Over the last few months, Fedora has been increasingly compared favorably with Ubuntu on both accounts, and, to a large extent, it deserves this praise. If anything, it has probably exceeded Ubuntu in innovation, with at least a dozen major new ideas in every release. It is a rare release, too, in which Fedora’s menus and dialog do not show minor tinkering to fine-tune the user experience.

Yet the problems in Fedora 9 emphasize how difficult a balance the Fedora project tries to maintain. The fact that improvements are coming for both KDE and PackageKit, and that, meanwhile, workarounds exist, is beside the point — these facts are lucky accidents, and nothing that Fedora has done.

Although Fedora’s innovations make it one of the more interesting distributions to use and watch these days, the project needs to temper its creativity with more consideration of how changes affect users. Perhaps these relatively minor problems will help the distribution correct its release policies before a major disaster happens in a future release.

Source: Fedora 9: Leading edge or bleeding edge?

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Before this, I have talked about installing the greatest Linux distribution Ubuntu 8.04, Hardy Heron using Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 here. Alternatively, you can use VirtualBox to install Ubuntu 8.04 under your windows environment.

VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a X86 virtualization software package developed by Sun Microsystems Inc. You can get VirtualBox for free since it is released under GPL license. Click here to go to the download page.

Requirements

• Intel or AMD processor.
• 1 GB of Memory. 512 MB will work but you might experience bad performance.
• Enough free hard disk space.
• A supported host operating system. Windows (primarily XP) or Linux distributions on 32-bit hosts and on 64-bit hosts. (Support for Mac OS X is currently in development)
• A supported guest operating system. Click here to check the list.

You can check the tutorial on how to install Ubuntu 8.04 using VirtualBox here. This graphical tutorial will show you steps that you need to follow to get Ubuntu 8.04 works under Windows Vista.