| Fedora 8 proves popular and powerful |
Nov. 14, 2007
It took just three days before 54,000 copies of Fedora 8, the Red-Hat-sponsored and community-supported Linux distribution, were up and running.
Fedora 8 was released on Nov. 8. Fedora 8 enhancements include the expanded ability for users to create custom spins or appliances, increased security features, a new look and feel, and numerous technical advances.
If you don't like how Fedora 8 looks, works, or what's inside it, you can always create your own custom '”spin'” of Fedora. A spin is a combination of specific software to meet an individual user's requirements. This feature was first introduced in Fedora 7. In Fedora 8, the default system comes with four new spins: Games, Developer, Electronic Lab and KDE, which uses the popular desktop in place of Fedora's default GNOME desktop interface.
Users can also create their own Fedora spins. So, for example, if you wanted a small office standard desktop distribution, you could easily build one with OpenOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird for your essential office jobs, while leaving out everything else.
After the spin tools were introduced with Fedora 7, "they were championed by the community, effectively making freedom a feature of the distribution," said Jack Aboutboul, a community engineer for Fedora at Red Hat, in a statement. "The customization allows for massive time savings that allows engineers and community contributors to focus less on how to build the distribution and more on driving innovation."
Speaking of innovation, Fedora is a cutting-edge Linux distribution: It uses the newest Linux kernel, 2.6.23.1, and the new GNOME 2.20.1 and KDE 3.5.8. If you're not comfortable running with the newest of the new Linux and its applications, you might want to steer clear of Fedora 8.
On the other hand, the Fedora 8 download offers the option of GNOME, KDE-based Live CDs or a general-purpose installable DVD. The DVD also includes the software needed for workstations and servers.
Fedora 8 also includes improved Live USB support. With this, you can boot and run the entire distribution off of a USB key without touching the computer's hard disk at all. This enhancement makes Fedora attractive to those who wish to experiment with Linux without risking their data.
In a DesktopLinux interview, Fedora project leader Max Spevack said he thought this was one of Fedora 8's coolest features. "Since the entire distro can fit on a USB drive, everywhere I can go, I can take my desktop."
Fedora 8 also incorporates PulseAudio. This is a sound server that acts as a proxy for all of your audio applications. With PulseAudio, you can set different volumes for different applications, enable hot-plugging support for USB sound devices and send audio over your network.
The new Fedora also includes improved graphical tools for firewall configuration, enhanced printer management and an update for Bluetooth integration. Network Manager, the popular and easy-to-use wireless configuration tool, has also been updated.
As is customary with recent releases, Fedora 8 boasts an entirely new default look and feel on the desktop, all based on community artwork. The Fedora 8 theme of "infinity" includes a default background that changes shades, growing brighter or darker in accordance with the time of day. "It's a small thing," said Spevack, "but it, with the rest of the community-based art, looks great and adds some eye-candy spiffiness without requiring much of anything from a user's PC graphics.
—Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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