At last something to make your summer hotter, far better than all these linux unaware suntanned chicks and chaps you would like to get along with on the beach. Forget them and go back home, full up your fridge with soya drinks (or your favorite one, but remember than fast assimilated sugar shorten your life expectancy). It is time to test your new air conditionner limits, switching on all the computers sitting arround to test this new Mandrakelinux 10.1 beta!
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The first thing you will notice is the new CD layout, no more Mandrake or Mandrake/RPMS, hail to the new structure! Everything related to install is now in /install, and everything related to media is now in /media. We could have make it the other way arround and test our ability to react in an unlogical environment, and prepare a new future mirror switch, but well. In this new structure, more specifically, you will find the old /images directory now into /install/images.
After the new structure you can check the software versions, linux kernel 2.6.8 rc2. You should select gnome 2.6 as default desktop cos we need tests reports, and use this opportunity to browse with Mozilla 1.7 and mail your new screenshots to your friends with Evolution 1.5.92.
Xorg is now the default and we will appreciate test reports via Testzilla. Hardware support is the more difficult part to achieve regarding the variety of devices, so please go the Testzilla website and register your hardware. As far as X server is concerned, now you will not have anymore this annoying bug preventing to launch new applications when you change your hostname.
Talking about hardware you need to install gnome-bluetooth and kdebluetooth to be amazed with the new autodetection for bluetooth PDA and mobile phones! Regarding system interaction we would like to improve the feedbacks users have from their system, and you will now find on the KDE desktop, and soon on the gnome one too, an applet to check if the network is up or not.
Printers are not left appart, several Foomatic bug fixed, especially one preventing OpenOffice.org from printing correctly. Much higher quality of black text printing on HPs DeskJets, Business Inkjets and OfficeJets. More Epson inkjets supported, bug fixes, and better photo quality. Update of the PostScript printer PPDs from HP, Kyocera and Okidata. Epson-Kowa laser printer driver now support the newest workgroup and high-volume laser printers. Lots of driver updates or introduced, especially for MicroDry printers (Alps MD-XXXX, Citizen printiva, Okidata DP-xxxx), and for a wide range of laser winprinters: Minolta PagePro 12xxW, 13xxW, magicolor 2300W, Canon LBP-460, LBP-660, Lexmark X74, X75, some Casio label printers.
Of course we have left some bugs inside, you will be pleased not to report the gorgious kernel panic at the end of installation, but do not hesitate going to Mandrakesoft bugzilla for any other bug. Please try however to search in the database to check that your bug has not yet been reported.
We have made a specific effort for a even better internationalization, and now arabic language is supported during installation, so help us testing it! Korean, Chinese and Japanese have also seen improvements, especially in the input methods, which now include anthy, uim and scim and several other packages such as kannadic.
The discs are three 650 MB ISO files, mainly because CD-RW are easier to find with that size. However the final version will be made with 700 MB ISO files, so please report any missing packages that would be usefull to have in the final version.
You will be able to find extra packages on the mirrors into the Mandrakelinux/devel/10.1/i586/media/main or /media/contrib directories, do not hesitate to add extra urpmi media!
Updates : Screenshots available here :
http://www.linuxbeta.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=41&slide=1
