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Fedora 12 "Contantine" Alpha is available! When Fedora 10 and 11 were released, users and press alike gushed: "Slick and stable... has a rock solid feel."  "Fast and easy."  "A great release."  What's next for the free operating system that shows off the best new technology of tomorrow? You can find out at:
Fedora 12 "Constantine" Alpha release is available! What's next for the free operating system that shows off the best new technology of tomorrow? You can see the future now at:


http://fedoraproject.org/get-prerelease
http://fedoraproject.org/get-prerelease


For this release, we slightly changed the way Fedora is distributed to the public. Instead of releasing an Alpha, Beta, Preview Release and Final version, we will only provide Alpha, Beta and Final versions for Fedora 12. Alpha in Fedora means "feature-complete and testable". That means that Alpha is publicly testable, not by just an anointed few. Beta means "code-complete and as bug-free as possible" and it should be as close to a final release as humanly possible. The final version should be released in November.
What's an Alpha release? The Alpha release contains all the features of Fedora 12 in a form that anyone can help test. This testing, guided by the Fedora QA team, helps us target and identify bugs. When these bugs are fixed, we make a Beta release available. A Beta release is code-complete, and bears a very strong resemblance to the third and final release. The final release of Fedora 12 is due in November.


To achieve a rock stable distribution, we also hope to repeat the crazy success of Fedora 11's Beta contest! Test five things in the Alpha that are important to you as a user. If you find a bug *and* report it, you get the free attention of a package maintainer on a problem personally important to you!  Do your part to make Fedora 11 that much better.
We need your help to make Fedora 12 the best release yet, so please take a moment of your time to download and try out the Alpha and make sure the things that are important to you are working. If you find a bug, please report it - every bug you uncover is a chance to improve the experience for millions of Fedora users worldwide. Together, we can make Fedora a rock-solid distribution.


https://bugzilla.redhat.com
https://bugzilla.redhat.com


Among the top features for end users, we have:
Among the top features for end users, we have:


* '''Faster and Smoother Graphical Startup''' - Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) is now enabled by default on Nvidia systems as well through the Nouveau driver. Fedora 10 originally included support for KMS but only for some ATI display cards. In Fedora 11, this was extended to Intel cards as well.
* '''Better webcam support''' - Out of the box support for a lot of new webcams has been extended further than ever.
* '''Better webcam support''' - Started in Fedora 10, adding out of the box support for a lot of new webcams has been extended in Fedora 12.
* '''Empathy as default IM client''' - Empathy is an instant messenger client replacing Pidgin, featuring better integration with the GNOME Desktop.
* '''Better Display Port support''' - Many new graphic cards have a Display Port nowadays, Fedora 12 adds a better support for them in X and kernel drivers.
* '''GNOME 2.27.90 beta and KDE 4.3''' - The latest code from the two main desktop environments and their many bundled supporting applications are part of this release. GNOME 2.27.90 is the latest GNOME version as of the Alpha release; GNOME 2.28 is planned for the final release.
* '''Empathy as default IM client''' - Empathy is an instant messenger client better integrated in Gnome which is going to replace Pidgin.
* '''Network Manager Mobile Broadband''' - By providing a database of preconfigured mobile broadband providers, supporting more hardware and permit to scan GSM networks, NetworkManager makes the use of mobile broadband much easier.
* '''Gnome 2.28 and KDE 4.3''' - The latest code from the two main desktop environments and all usual application that come with this release.
* '''Better Free Video Codec''' - The latest technology is found in the improved, free Ogg Theora video encoder, codenamed "Thusnelda."  Encoded video at very high definition now can meet or exceed the expectations of the most demanding viewer and material.
* '''Network Manager Mobile Broadband''' - By providing a database of preconfigured mobile broadband providers, supporting more hardware and permit to scan GSM networks, NetworkManager will make the use of mobile broadband much easier.
* '''PackageKit improvements''' - PackageKit now has plugins to install applications from a web browser, and from the command line if a user tries a command from a package not yet installed.
* '''PackageKit improvements''' - PackageKit now has plugins to install applications from a web browser and the command line when a user tries to open a document type that is unknown to the system.
* '''PulseAudio improvements''' - The PulseAudio volume control applet has been extended to support profiles, input switching and easy speaker setup.
* '''PulseAudio improvements''' - The PulseAudio volume control applet has been extended to support profiles, input switching and easy speaker setup.
* '''Better power management''' - Fedora 12 offers better power management features regarding CPU, disk and network I/O.
* '''Better power management''' - This release offers better power management features regarding CPU, disk and network I/O.
 
 
But wait, there's more! For developers there are all sorts of goodies:


* '''NetBeans 6.7''' - NetBeans 6.7 is the most recent version of Sun's excellent IDE.
For developers there are all sorts of additional goodies:
* '''PHP 5.3''' - PHP 5.3 has been integrated.
* '''Python FIXME''' - FIXME.


* '''NetBeans 6.7''' - NetBeans 6.7 is the most recent version of Sun's IDE.
* '''PHP 5.3''' - PHP 5.3 has been integrated as the popular web language.
* '''Eclipse 3.5.0''' - The latest release of the popular, open, and extensible development platform is included.
* '''SystemTap''' - Updates to this debugging capability include better documentation, tools, and examples; support for kernel tracepoint and modern gcc debuginfo ("dwarf") output; and Eclipse support for launching traces and graphing results.


Peek under the hood and there is still more:
Peek under the hood and there is still more:


* '''Better IPv6 in NetworkManager''' - NetworkManager has been extended to fully support IPv6 configurations through the GUI.
* '''Better IPv6 in NetworkManager''' - NetworkManager has been extended to fully support IPv6 configurations through the GUI.
* '''Automatic Bug Reporting Tool''' - Fedora 12 provides ABRT, a service that automatically reports application crashed to Fedora, without requiring the end user to have any special knowledge on error reporting.
* '''Automatic Bug Reporting Tool''' - This release provides ABRT, a service that automatically reports application crashed to Fedora, without requiring the end user to have any special knowledge on error reporting.
* '''RPM XZ payload''' - All the RPM's have been switched from Gzip to XZ (LZMA) compression to save space on mirrors and reduce download times.
* '''RPM XZ payload''' - All the software packages in Fedora have been switched from Gzip to the more efficient XZ (LZMA) compression method, to save space on mirrors and reduce download times.
* '''x86 optimized for Atom''' - The 32 bit version of Fedora 12 will be compiled for i686 with a specific optimization for Intel Atom processors used in many netbooks.
* '''x86 optimized for Atom''' - The 32 bit version of this release will be compiled for i686 with a specific optimization for Intel Atom processors used in many netbooks.
* '''GRUB ext4 support''' - Fedora 11 included Ext4 by default, however GRUB in that version did not support Ext4 and hence required a separate boot partition formatted as Ext3 or Ext2. Fedora 12 now includes a updated version of GRUB with Ext4 support.
* '''GRUB ext4 support''' - Fedora 11 included Ext4 by default, however GRUB in that version did not support Ext4 and hence required a separate boot partition formatted as Ext3 or Ext2. This release includes an updated version of GRUB with Ext4 support.
* '''Dracut - New Booting System''' - Up until Fedora 10, the boot system (initial ram disk or initrd) used to boot Fedora was monolithic, very distribution specific and didn't provide much flexibility. This will be replaced with Dracut, an initial ram disk with an event based framework designed to be distribution independent.
* '''Bluetooth Service On Demand''' - In order to support Bluetooth devices, the Bluetooth background service was started by default in previous versions of Fedora. In this release, the Bluetooth service is started on demand when needed, and automatically stops 30 seconds after last device use, reducing initial startup time and resources.
* '''Bluetooth Service On Demand''' - In order to support bluetooth devices, bluetooth background service was started by default in previous versions of Fedora. In this release, bluetooth service is started on demand when needed and automatically stops 30 seconds after last device use instead reducing initial startup time and resources.
* '''KVM improvements''' - Many improvements in KVM virtualization are found in this release: reduced memory consumption and improved performance, NIC hotplug, better disk I/O, modern PXE booting, support for flexible network configurations, and much more.
* '''KVM improvements''' - Many things have been improved for KVM virtualization; improved memory consumption, NIC hotplug, better disk I/O etc...
* '''NFSv4''' - Changed the default NFS protocol to version 4.
 


And that is only the beginning. A more complete list and details of each new cited feature is available:
And that is only the beginning. A more complete list and details of each new cited feature is available here:


http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/12/FeatureList
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/12/FeatureList


For release information, including common and known bugs, please refer to the release notes:
For more information including common and known bugs, tips on how to report bugs, and the official release schedule, please refer to the release notes:


http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Fedora_12_Alpha_release_notes
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Fedora_12_Alpha_release_notes


Thank you, and we hope to see you in the Fedora project!


[[Category:Docs Project]]
[[Category:Draft Documentation]]
[[Category:F12]]
[[Category:F12]]

Latest revision as of 18:10, 21 November 2009

Fedora 12 "Constantine" Alpha release is available! What's next for the free operating system that shows off the best new technology of tomorrow? You can see the future now at:

http://fedoraproject.org/get-prerelease

What's an Alpha release? The Alpha release contains all the features of Fedora 12 in a form that anyone can help test. This testing, guided by the Fedora QA team, helps us target and identify bugs. When these bugs are fixed, we make a Beta release available. A Beta release is code-complete, and bears a very strong resemblance to the third and final release. The final release of Fedora 12 is due in November.

We need your help to make Fedora 12 the best release yet, so please take a moment of your time to download and try out the Alpha and make sure the things that are important to you are working. If you find a bug, please report it - every bug you uncover is a chance to improve the experience for millions of Fedora users worldwide. Together, we can make Fedora a rock-solid distribution.

https://bugzilla.redhat.com

Among the top features for end users, we have:

  • Better webcam support - Out of the box support for a lot of new webcams has been extended further than ever.
  • Empathy as default IM client - Empathy is an instant messenger client replacing Pidgin, featuring better integration with the GNOME Desktop.
  • GNOME 2.27.90 beta and KDE 4.3 - The latest code from the two main desktop environments and their many bundled supporting applications are part of this release. GNOME 2.27.90 is the latest GNOME version as of the Alpha release; GNOME 2.28 is planned for the final release.
  • Network Manager Mobile Broadband - By providing a database of preconfigured mobile broadband providers, supporting more hardware and permit to scan GSM networks, NetworkManager makes the use of mobile broadband much easier.
  • Better Free Video Codec - The latest technology is found in the improved, free Ogg Theora video encoder, codenamed "Thusnelda." Encoded video at very high definition now can meet or exceed the expectations of the most demanding viewer and material.
  • PackageKit improvements - PackageKit now has plugins to install applications from a web browser, and from the command line if a user tries a command from a package not yet installed.
  • PulseAudio improvements - The PulseAudio volume control applet has been extended to support profiles, input switching and easy speaker setup.
  • Better power management - This release offers better power management features regarding CPU, disk and network I/O.

For developers there are all sorts of additional goodies:

  • NetBeans 6.7 - NetBeans 6.7 is the most recent version of Sun's IDE.
  • PHP 5.3 - PHP 5.3 has been integrated as the popular web language.
  • Eclipse 3.5.0 - The latest release of the popular, open, and extensible development platform is included.
  • SystemTap - Updates to this debugging capability include better documentation, tools, and examples; support for kernel tracepoint and modern gcc debuginfo ("dwarf") output; and Eclipse support for launching traces and graphing results.

Peek under the hood and there is still more:

  • Better IPv6 in NetworkManager - NetworkManager has been extended to fully support IPv6 configurations through the GUI.
  • Automatic Bug Reporting Tool - This release provides ABRT, a service that automatically reports application crashed to Fedora, without requiring the end user to have any special knowledge on error reporting.
  • RPM XZ payload - All the software packages in Fedora have been switched from Gzip to the more efficient XZ (LZMA) compression method, to save space on mirrors and reduce download times.
  • x86 optimized for Atom - The 32 bit version of this release will be compiled for i686 with a specific optimization for Intel Atom processors used in many netbooks.
  • GRUB ext4 support - Fedora 11 included Ext4 by default, however GRUB in that version did not support Ext4 and hence required a separate boot partition formatted as Ext3 or Ext2. This release includes an updated version of GRUB with Ext4 support.
  • Bluetooth Service On Demand - In order to support Bluetooth devices, the Bluetooth background service was started by default in previous versions of Fedora. In this release, the Bluetooth service is started on demand when needed, and automatically stops 30 seconds after last device use, reducing initial startup time and resources.
  • KVM improvements - Many improvements in KVM virtualization are found in this release: reduced memory consumption and improved performance, NIC hotplug, better disk I/O, modern PXE booting, support for flexible network configurations, and much more.

And that is only the beginning. A more complete list and details of each new cited feature is available here:

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/12/FeatureList

For more information including common and known bugs, tips on how to report bugs, and the official release schedule, please refer to the release notes:

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Fedora_12_Alpha_release_notes

Thank you, and we hope to see you in the Fedora project!