SimplyMepis 6.0 alpha builds on Ubuntu bits

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Apr. 10, 2006

Mepis LLC on April 10 announced the first alpha release of SimplyMepis 6.0, which expands an earlier experimental release by replacing the KControl system configuration shell with the SystemSettings shell from the Ubuntu Project. The alpha release incorporates kernel 2.6.15 from the Ubuntu Dapper package pool, and features KDE 3.5.2, Mepis founder and chief developer Warren Woodford said.

The panel has been modified in response to suggestions recently solicited from the Mepis user community, according to Woodford. Some of the Kmenus have been rearranged to take advantage of metadata embedded in the kde shortcut files, and OnTheGo reliability has been enhanced by a delay on logout to prevent disk sync problems and an automatic fsck on login, he added.

"The Mepis community has been very helpful with suggestions and the support from the Ubuntu Project has been great," Woodford said. "By the time we've identified a problem, usually they have already fixed it! This gives us more time to work on integration and improvements. It was a big plus that Ubuntu recently decided to support KDE 3.5.2 for the current build cycle."

Woodford added that "we plan to break out components in the Mepis OSCenter into KParts that can be integrated into SystemSettings. We don't know if all of this will be done in time for the 6.0 release. If not, we'll continue to release the parts incrementally."

Morgantown, W.Va.-based Mepis, a longtime Debian Linux distributor, announced March 21 it is switching from Debian to Ubuntu as the basis for SimplyMepis. Woodford decided -- with plenty of input from the community -- that Mepis will do better for its users by depending upon Ubuntu, rather than Debian, for its foundation.

Ubuntu has a six-month stable release cycle that will enable Mepis to offer its customers a dependable release schedule, Woodford explained. "The switch to the Ubuntu pools was made to provide our users with a more stable underlying system. Of course it's important for our users that Mepis remains true to its unique vision. I believe this release demonstrates that we can combine the magic of the Mepis user experience with the goodness of the Ubuntu Foundation."

The 6.0-alpha1 bootable/installable CD includes more than 900 packages and features OpenOffice 2.0.2, Firefox 1.5.0.1, Thunderbird 1.5, Amarok 1.3.9, and JBidWatcher 1.0. Over 15,000 additional packages are available for installation from the Mepis and Ubuntu package pools.

SimplyMepis 6.0 is scheduled for final release around June 1, with the beta planned for a late April release, Woodford said.

The new release was synchronized to the upstream pools on April 8. The ISO image is available for download and testing in the MEPIS "testing" subdirectory at the MEPIS Subscriber's Site and public mirrors. For up to 14 days, alpha-testers are asked to send feedback to dev@mepis.org.

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