
If you are a newbie to Linux or a Linux pro or someone who wants to experiment but is really not sure about what Linux flavor to choose, we have some good news for you!
The Red Hat sponsored Fedora Desktop Project rolled out its number 13 release, codenamed “Goddard” with improvements aimed at both new and experienced Linux users. Goddard adds a few nifty features to the Linux system like Plug-and-go printer support, open drivers for Intel, ATI, and NVidia hardware, and a crafty new desktop shell to try out.
The new Fedora 13 release comes six months after Fedora 12′s debut and continues to enhance the Linux operating system experience for its users. Fedora 13 includes improved virtualization, along with other developer, desktop and server improvements.
“We have a number of features designed to make Fedora a more pleasant release for everyone that uses it, not just the super hackers among us, but also the people that are just discovering open source for the first time, and everyone in between,” Fedora Project Leader Paul Frields told InternetNews.com. “All the improvements are grouped around making hardware work better for people with a minimum of fuss,” he said.
The automatic printing and experimental GNOME Shell are great additions. And the new open 3D drivers give a huge relief to anyone who ever had to download NVIDIA’s proprietary drivers for a Linux system. The hardware was recognized and utilized but the operating system did not have real control over it. Setting up things like dual monitors is a true headache with proprietary drivers, so the more natively supported video hardware available for Linux, the better its chances at becoming a really usable workspace.
The new Fedora 13 release comes as Red Hat is ramping up its development effort for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (RHEL). While Fedora benefits from contributions made by Red Hat staffers, Frields doesn’t think that the Fedora Project has been starved for resources as a result of RHEL 6 development.
“We get a lot of support from Red Hat as a sponsor and from Red Hat engineers because they really look at Fedora as being an intrinsic part of their jobs,” Frields said. “Making things work well in Fedora makes things better for Red Hat in the future versions of RHEL.”
Fedora 13 is a free download, and should work on most Intel and PowerPC-based systems. Read the release notes for an overview of the new stuff.
Looks like I will have to change my Macbook to a triple boot system now!