Red Hat's Fedora 8 hope: An all-purpose Linux foundation
Over the years, Red Hat's Fedora has made a name for itself as a version of Linux for enthusiasts, developers, and those who want to try the latest thing in open-source software. But a curious feature of the new version 8, released Thursday, is the ability to strip out the Fedora identity altogether.
The reason: Red Hat wants Fedora to be a foundation for those who want to build their own Linux products on a Fedora foundation. With Fedora 8, that's easier, because all the Fedora-specific elements are wrapped up into one neatly optional package, said project leader Max Spevack.
Red Hat is releasing Fedora 8 Thursday.
(Credit: Phoronix)"It becomes really easy to have a built-from-Fedora distribution that is branded in your own way," Spevack said.
That re-brandability is notable, given that even in the share-and-enjoy world of open-source software, people can become attached to their brands. But there's something in it for Red Hat, too: a potentially broader community.
Red Hat is vying with Novell's OpenSuse, Canonical's Ubuntu, and others for the attention of developers who can get involved in the project. A Fedora user no doubt is much more likely to become a Red Hat Enterprise Linux customer than the average Linux user. And while Fedora is free, RHEL is available only for a fee.
The ability to "re-spin" Fedora is attracting some interest. Among the Fedora-based variations that will be available are one for gaming, one for designing microprocessors, and one for programmers.
Those trying out Fedora can download what's called a LiveCD, which enables a computer to boot the operating system from a CD rather than from a disruptive installation on the hard drive. The LiveCD was introduced with Fedora 7, but Ubuntu got there first.
"Back when Fedora 6 came out a year ago, we didn't have a solid LiveCD at all. Ubuntu was killing us because they had it working," Spevack said. So Red Hat jumped on it, and Spevack thinks they even leapfrogged Ubuntu by making a variation that boots off a USB flash memory drive, he said.
"We recognized an area where we were lacking and fixed it in a way that now has set us up technically as being more advanced," he said.
Among other new features in Fedora 8:
• New software to do a better job detecting printers when they're plugged in, installing the appropriate driver automatically, and informing users as the process proceeds. "Plugging in a printer is one of those things that should just work. The new printer stuff we've got in Fedora 8 makes that a lot easier," Spevack said.
• A screen background that changes colors subtly as the day progresses, offering darker images at midnight, perking up as dawn approaches, and becoming bright blue mid-day.
• The PulseAudio application improves some audio abilities, for example letting users set different volumes for different programs or making sure that one user's music is hushed when the system is fast-switched to another user.
• The GNOME Online Desktop, which lets groups of users share information such as blog posting alerts or now-playing music information.
• The tickless kernel, a low-level feature designed to reduce power consumption and increase efficiency by letting the computer actually idle when it's not busy, is now available for 64-bit systems as well as the 32-bit systems that were supported when the feature arrived with Fedora 7.
• Another run at a longstanding problem with Linux, better support for laptop features such as suspend/resume, special keys, and monitor backlights.
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank. 
Wow! Plug and play and support for laptops. Welcome to the features introduced with Windows 95. Fedora is only 12 short years behind. Best of luck with your free Science Fair software project.
Windows really sucks in this regard. They have made these GUI wizards for everything, from connecting to network, to sharing a folder. All you have to do is click on some buttons. No typing text. This is so boring. Even my grandma can do it..
For WiFi love, go get Ubuntu - it's the distro that's least anal about proprietary drivers, and are not a problem in 99% of the cases.
(Note: most people don't ask about getting just a CLI, but as a guy who does this sort of stuff for a living on servers, here you go):
* If you don't want a GUI at all, type "linux text" at the prompt when you boot the install CD. No GUI will pop up after that, in either install or during runtime. You can always type "startx" or "telinit 5" at the CLI prompt if you do want the GUI to pop up. [b]OR...[/b] you can keep the GUI install, and whenever you want a CLI that badly, either pull up Terminal or hit CTRL+ALT+F1 and you get a std. TTY console. (CTRL+ALT+F7 takes you back to to the GUI).
> Linux still doesn't make the grade.
I really do hate to agree, but after 11 years of Slackware, I finally bailed after the grief of upgrading Slack 11 to 12. I bought a MacBook loaded with a couple of gig of RAM and, dang, if this just isn't turning out to be more fun than I've had on a system in a very, very long time.
It's not that Linux isn't close, but Slackware sure doesn't match the multimedia experience of my Mac. The Linux box is currently doing duty as a file server for some 130 gigs of MP3s. :)
/P
Instant custom distribution.
- How old is Fedora 8 now?
- by inachu January 13, 2008 6:07 AM PST
- I have a copy that is almost 2 years old at version 8.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(19 Comments)Their version branding is misleading.
Only difference is this one got a face lift.
To confirm this I installed the old one and the taask bar is at the bottom whereas this articles version is at the top. But both are version 8.
Articles version should be Version 9 or 8 1/2