| Fedora 10 first impressions |
Nov. 25, 2008
 [Updated Dec. 1] -- Right on cue, the Fedora Project has updated its community-sponsored Linux distribution, notable for being "free for anyone to use, modify, and distribute." Fedora 10 features a really nice NetworkManager (no more calling it "NetMangler"), improved printer tools, and a host of enterprise improvements, too.
Meanwhile, the release today also signals that support for Fedora 8 will end on Christmas Day. Fedora's policy is to end-of-life a given Fedora N release one month after the release of Fedora "N+2."
In an interview today on InternetNews, Fedora Project Leader Paul Frields is claiming that Fedora is actually the largest Linux distribution, with 9.5-to-10.5 million users -- more than Ubuntu's claimed 8 million. I'd have guessed it to be fourth, behind SUSE, Debian, and Ubuntu, if we're talking global users. Counting Linux users is notoriously difficult, though, due to its myriad distribution channels. The story is here.
But regardless, quantity does not equate to quality, and the best distributions are not always the most popular. How does Fedora 10 hold up?
On the upside, it offers the newest integrations of Fedora-sponsored upstream projects, including:- NetworkManager (much improved! bravo)
- D-Bus
- PolicyKit
- PackageKit
- HAL
- FreeIPA
- SELinux
- PulseAudio
On the downside, it takes a lot of work to really make a Fedora installation usable as a personal desktop. That's due to the complete lack of codecs or any other non-free software, the confusing proliferation of weird security GUIs, and a little blood drawn here and there by the newness of some of the tools.
Then again, it's good enough for Linus Torvalds. Maybe you, too? Learn more by clicking below to read our "first impressions" review.
Fedora 10 mini-review
-- Henry Kingman
Do you have comments on this story?
Talkback here
NOTE: Please post your comments regarding our articles using the above link. Be sure to use this article's title as the "Subject" in your posts. Before you create a new thread, please check to see if a discussion thread is already running on the article you plan to comment on. Thanks!
Related Stories:
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
