| Mandriva releases Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring |
Apr. 18, 2007
Most new Linux distributions nowadays come with a late-model kernel, virtualization support, and a 3D desktop. Mandriva's new Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring, however, includes all those must-have features, plus VOIP phone support, Google Picasa and Google Earth, and -- would you believe it? -- support for the Nintendo Wii remote.
First, the basics: Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring provides users with all the latest key open-source desktop environments, such as X.org 7.2, KDE 3.5.6 and GNOME 2.18. On the application side, Mandriva is offering OpenOffice.org 2.1, Firefox 2.0, and Thunderbird 2.0.
For a kernel, Mandriva Spring is using 2.6.17.13. However, said Francois Bandet, Mandriva's quality assurance engineer, "Don't look too hard at the kernel version number -- look at the ChangeLog. Our kernel
team continuously adds patches from newer kernels, extending our compatibility. We currently support a huge range of different hardware and are working on supporting even more in the future."
For virtualization, Mandriva claims that With Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring, users can manage their IT infrastructure by running many virtualized Linux and Windows operating systems simultaneously on a single physical machine powered by Mandriva Linux. 2007 Spring integrates four major virtualization technologies: VirtualBox, VMware, Xen, and QEMU, the processor emulator, with KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine). To manage these, the company provides Drakvirt, a Mandriva-developed configuration tool.
The France-based Linux distribution is also including the Metisse desktop manager. Metisse is not a 3D desktop, nor is it a new desktop per se. Instead, it's a tool for creating new types of desktop environments. So, for example, in Mandriva Spring 2007, it uses User Interface Facades to enable users to more easily change the look and feel of their desktops. Mandriva is the first major Linux distribution to embrace this innovative approach to the desktop.
Camille Repussard, Mandriva's marketing manager added in a statement, "Mandriva has decided to give its customers the best product yet by sharing freshness and innovation. We are therefore proud to be the only leading distribution to integrate outstanding, visionary technologies such as Metisse, as well as the more common Compiz and Beryl. At the same time, we have not forgotten the basics, and 2007 Spring provides everything customers need: stable, useful and friendly applications."
Among these useful and friendly applications are such relatively uncommon offerings as WengoPhone, an open-source software developed by OpenWengo, which uses the open SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) to provide VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).
Mandriva's newest Linux also includes Google Picasa, an application for organizing and editing digital photos, and Google Earth, the famous virtual globe mapping program.
The company also claims that Mandriva 2007 Spring has improved its laptop power management. This includes new graphical desktop applets (KPowersave and GNOME Power Manager) to track battery life, better frequency scaling; a new suspend tools framework; bootsplash support when hibernating and improved support for a wide range of laptops.
Last, but not least, Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring is compatible with the Nintendo Wii remote. With this, users can therefore use it instead of a regular joystick on Linux games. To the best of our knowledge, Mandriva is the first operating system to include Wii support.
Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring is available in five editions: Free; One, a live and install CD version; Discovery, for Linux beginners; Powerpack, for advanced users; and Powerpack+, for small businesses. The Discovery version costs 44 Euros ($39.90); Powerpack costs 69.90 Euros ($76), and the Powerpack+ runs 179 Euros ($184). Mandriva Club members get 20 to 25 percent off.
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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