Mandriva 2009.0 [Alpha 2] Released

After an internal test version, the second (but first public) alpha release of Mandriva Linux 2009.0, unexpectedly announced as 2009 Spring Alpha 2, is hitting the mirror servers.

This alpha introduces several significant changes, most obviously the inclusion of KDE 4 - 4.1 beta 2, specifically - as the default version of KDE, and the latest development version of GNOME, 2.23.4. The kernel has also been updated to release 2.6.26rc7. We emphasize that the KDE change is a major one that is not yet entirely completed and likely to cause many bugs. As always - but more importantly than ever - not to use pre-releases in any critical situation; install them only on a test system or partition, or in a virtual machine.

Plans that will be implemented in 2009.0 Final : -

1. Improved boot time
2. Optional automatic removal of 'orphans' (no longer required packages) in the package management tools
3. The use of the increasingly popular and fast-maturing PackageKit and PolicyKit technologies
4. Improvements to the Mandriva Windows migration and parental control tools
5. A live distribution upgrade mode for MandrivaUpdate
6. A new design for the installer
7. Migration to KDE 4, OpenOffice.org 3, and Firefox 3
8. Splashy will replace Boot Splash
9. Live Upgrade (Same as Ubuntu Update Manager )

Development planning:The following editions are planned for each pre-release:

1. Free : x86-32 and x86-64 DVDs, x86-32 CD, dual x86-32 / x86-64 Mini CD - 100% free / open source software
2. One : KDE and GNOME x86-32 CDs, including proprietary drivers

Note: The Artwork hasn't changed yet.. It will be done in upcoming release !

Roadmap :-

1. Mandriva Linux 2009 Alpha 1 : 2008/06/25
2. Mandriva Linux 2009 Alpha 2 : 2008/07/10
3. Mandriva Linux 2009 Beta 1 : 2008/07/29
4. Mandriva Linux 2009 Beta 2 : 2008/08/19
5. Mandriva Linux 2009 RC 1 : 2008/09/03
6. Mandriva Linux 2009 RC 2 : 2008/09/23
7. Mandriva Linux 2009 Official Internal Release : 2008/10/02
8. Mandriva Linux 2009 Official Public Release : 2008/10/09

Download Mandriva 2009.0 Alpha 2 :

1. Free : X64 DVD ISO | i586 DVD ISO
2. One : Gnome ISO | KDE ISO

Source : Mandriva Linux 2009 Alpha 2 released

Linux Godfather urges revolt against Microsoft

By John E. Dunn, Techworld

Open source stalwart Richard Stallman has declared himself unfooled by Bill Gate's retirement. The founder might have gone, but the malevolent influence of his company is still with us, he has said in an article for the BBC.
In a biting attack on Microsoft, Bill Gates, and a number of other partners in software crime, including Apple and Adobe, the creator of GNU Linux repeats arguments he has set out many times before, though not to such a wide audience or at such a public moment in Microsoft's history.

Put succinctly, Microsoft is the worst exponent of a business model that has sought to tie computer users to a restrictive, morally unjust and expensive philosophy of computer use.

In his view, Microsoft enshrines anti-competitive behaviour, has invested in technologies that restrict the behaviour of PC users for no good reason, and has deliberately hampered compatibility with non-Microsoft software.
He even takes a swipe at the acceptance of the Office Open XML document standard earlier this year by the ISO, accusing Microsoft of packing the standards committee that approved it.

Anything else? He's not a big fan either of the high-profile Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, praised by many for its charitable giving in the developing world.
"These actions are intolerable, of course, but they are not isolated events. They are systematic symptoms of a deeper wrong which most people don't recognise: proprietary software," he writes.

The fact that Bill Gates has retired is beside the point, declares Stallman. What matters is the fact that the business model of the company he founded still holds sway over many users.

"But Gates didn't invent proprietary software, and thousands of other companies do the same thing. It's wrong, no matter who does it," says Stallman.
"Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, and the rest, offer you software that gives them power over you. A change in executives or companies is not important. What we need to change is this system," said an angry Stallman.

Once upon a time, Stallman's pitch for open source software would have sounded like a rant from software's Leninist margins, but this time, perhaps, he senses a moment of weakness for the world's largest software company.

Windows Vista has turned sour, interest in Linux is at an all-time high, and suddenly desktop operating systems don't look as all-defining of the future as they once did. Microsoft has invested in new technologies such as virtualisation, but it's by no means certain that Microsoft will automatically be its dominant force.

"Gates may be gone, but the walls and bars of proprietary software he helped create remain, for now. Dismantling them is up to us," he concludes.
Last week Stallman urged young people in France to take to the streets to protest against a new copyright law that affects the ability of citizens to watch DVDs using free software.
http://www.techworld.com/application...91&pagtype=all