Mandriva updates its Linux distribution for spring
Mandriva quietly launched Mandriva Linux 2008 Spring, the latest Mandriva Linux distribution featuring a number of updates since its last distribution release.
"The release has some really nice new features, and looks to be pretty solid and stable," said Mandriva Community Manager Adam Williamson wrote in his blog. "We're really happy with it."
Although its fanfare has recently been drowned out by up-and-coming distributions such as Ubuntu Linux from Canonical, Mandriva still remains a popular operating system, especially with new users. The latest verswion has been in the works for more than six months by Mandriva developers and the open source community, and features several new features aimed at making it easier for users to interact with the operating system.
KDE 3 version 3.5.9 is included to closely mimic the GUI of Microsoft Windows, enabling newcomers to open source to try Linux in a somewhat familiar environment. The support team also made it easier for users to sync their Windows Mobile, Nokia, and BlackBerry devices.
Most importantly for Asus EeePC users, Mandriva Linux 2008 Spring now works "flawlessly" with users no longer forced to make adjustments to the environment. For example, wireless networking and native resolution caused some Eee owners headaches.
The included Elisa multimedia center is a drag-and-drop capable feature that lets users store their photos, music, and videos.
Also included with the spring release is a new parental control tool that flags improper Web content before letting children see it. Parents can manually block certain Web sites and create time charts that limits the amount of time children have access.
Mandriva Linux 2008 Spring is available immediately for download for no cost to users (http://www.mandriva.com/en/download).