Fedora 9 is stepping forward with their first Beta, and it looks like it has quite a few quality enhancements that both GNOME and KDE users alike will appreciate. Being a KDE fan myself I’m extremely happy to see that the Fedora team has taken the time to integrate the new KDE 4.0 into the operating system. And it apparently works so well that they decided to make 4.0 the default for anyone using the KDE desktop. I could be wrong, but I believe Fedora is the first to make KDE 4.0 the default for that type of desktop.
There has been a lot of work going on that will make this an incredible release, and you’ll even see the improvements during the installation. Now you’ll be able to resize ext2, ext3, and NTFS partitions during the installation process making it easier to install Fedora on a drive that isn’t empty.
That’s not all you’ll find in Fedora 9 either. Here are some of the other features you’ll find in Fedora 9 Beta:
- GNOME 2.22
- Helpful world time clock
- Better file system performance
- Security improvements
- Power management at the login screen
- The ability to dynamically configure displays
- Better Bluetooth integration
- Improved podcast support
- And many other enhancements
- KDE 4.0.2, which includes a brand new desktop and panel with many new concepts:
- Integrated desktop search
- Brand new visual style called Oxygen
- New multimedia API called Phonon
- New hardware integration framework called Solid
- Firefox 3 Beta 5
- Native look and feel
- Desktop integration
- The new Places that replaces bookmarks
- Reworked address bar
- NetworkManager Improvements
- Ad-hoc support, so that you can easily form a network with any near-by wireless devices
- Support for mobile broadband cards (GSM/CDMA) through PPP
- System-wide network configuration through Network
Manager with PolicyKit - Support for creating and installing to encrypted filesystems
My download of Fedora 9 Beta is still in the process of finishing, but for those of you who decide to give it a whirl post your thoughts in the comments below.
Firefox 3 Beta 5
cool.
Well looks like it’s shaping up well, I hope the computer science department would upgrade to Fedora 9 before I go back for Masters.
If I install this Beta will I have to reinstall the full version when it comes out or will it just update itself?
That caught me a little off guard as well since it hasn’t officially been released. I’m guessing that they grabbed a release candidate, but it’s not like it matters that much since the operating system is a Beta release itself.
I’m not 100% sure about that, but I believe you’ll have to reinstall the full version. Normally updates are only available if the developers put together an update package with the necessary files, and I don’t believe they’ll do that for a Beta release of an operating system.
How does this stack up with Ubuntu? I’ve always been curious to check out Fedora.
Is there any way to triple boot this safely on Mac OSX?
I’ve always been a fan of Fedora because it’s an incredibly stable operating system. It’s actually what the web server behind our site is running, and they are always pretty on top of the different technologies out there. I still like using Ubuntu a little better because of all the support out there, Fedora will likely be my solution for KDE now.
I’m not actually sure. When/if I get a Mac I’ll let you know.
That is one hell of a polished desktop
“How does this stack up with Ubuntu? I’ve always been curious to check out Fedora.”
I have found fedora has much better hardware support than ubuntu. My main PCs 8800 would not work at all with ubuntu straight from the box (command line only, no X at all.) And even with the nvidia drivers installed my Laptop’s graphics was not allowed to go above 800×600 despite the monitor supporting higher. On both machines fedora worked graphically first time using vesa, then installing the nvidia drivers was easy and allowed full functionality. Ubuntu also, despite claiming to have drivers for it in the restricted drivers menu, would not use my wireless card, fedora on the other hand without the installing of new drivers it worked first time.
In my opinion:
Ubuntu = more help online
fedora = better operating system, and more help for it than most other distrobutions.
Been using fedora now ever since i bought my new PC and have no intention to move back to ubuntu.
Hi there,
My laptop is undergoing the instalation of Fedora 9 full candidate. I wanted to know if anyone might know how one can install Windows designed software on Linux Fedora 9.
Any form of help will be much appreciated.
Please e-mail me @ lutendo.mulaudzi05@gmail.com if you can assist me in this regard.
yours in CHRIST,
lutendo