I though it would be nice to start of with a little history of Fedora. I hope I don't bore you too much. Don't worry it would be short and sweet, I promise.Fedora was first released in 2003 by Red Hat. You would probably be wondering how the name came about. When I searched fedora in wikipedia, it first returned me this - "The fedora is a soft felt hat that is creased lengthwise down the crown and pinched in the front on both sides." And it looks like this :
It's those kind that cow boys wear. So now, you would have known why Fedora. It is obviously to create a pun-ful link between Red Hat and Fedora. (If you still don't see it, both are hats). The first Fedora, Fedora Core 1 was released on 6th November 2003 and it was based on Red Hat's Linux 9. This initial Fedora came with Linux kernel version 2.4.19, GNOME Desktop Environment version 2.4 and KDE version 3.1.4. What do these actually mean? Let's check out KDE.KDE (K Desktop Environment) - This was first created by a student Mattrias Ettrich in 1996 when he was tired and bored of staring at the UNIX desktop with troubling aspects. If you don't know how a UNIX desktop looked like in the 90s, you can google it ans check it out. This is just a free software that allows a neat and user-friendly desktop environment for UNIX workstations. KDE 1.0 was first officially released in 1998. By the way, Mattrias wanted the K to stand for 'Kool' but later on the KDE development team proposed that K should stand for nothing in particular. It happens that the KDE mascot is a dragon.
GNOME Desktop Environment - Like its name suggests, this too is another desktop environment for use in UNIX workstations. There is just a small difference between KDE and GNOME. That is, GNOME allows graphical user interface, GUI (meaning, GUI allows you as the computer user to interact with your computer and its applications through graphical icons and visual indicators rather than observing text-based command-prompts to do your work on the computer.) Did you know that GNOME used to be the acronym of GNU Network Object Model Environment but later it was simply just Gnome. But don't underestimate its workability! Gnome's mascot is a gnome's feet. It's weird how computer scientists could be so creative.
Linux kernel - A kernel is basically the core of an operating system and its function is to support the shell and, tools and applications run in an operation system. A Linux kernel is simply one that supports the tools and applications of a UNIX workstation.
I wanted to explain these three terms partly, fro my understanding and so that readers who are not computer scientists could understand the Linux distros better and on a selfish note to make sure that they understand what I type here. Let's move on to Fedora!
Fedora 9 is the latest distro from Red Hat though there are other Linux users who still stick to the earlier cores.
I got most of my information on Fedora from wikipedia and it's official site, http://www.fedoraproject.org/ . This website has all that you need to know about Fedora 9. It gives the installation processes and the features available in Fedora 9. Nonetheless, I would be talking about a few of the interesting features that Fedora 9 has. In the next entry, I would compare Fedora 9 with the proposed Fedora 10.
What could attract one to Fedora 9?
In the previous entry, you would have viewed a video of an interview with the project leader of Fedora and he would have mentioned its liveUSB boot. What does that mean and why is that particularly eye-catching? It's particularly eye-catching because with a liveUSB boot in Fedora 9, you could store a whole operating system into your flash drive and the next time you want to boot it, all you have to do is simply plug in the thumb drive and boot the OS of your choice. This is useful because, you can bring your thumb drive anywhere and plug into any system and boot up your Fedora. This way of running an OS is much faster than running it from a live CD. The liveUSB boot also enhances your privacy and security because you can always carry the flash drive with you where ever you are or even store it in a secure location that only you know. On an individual scale, this kind of security doesn't really make a huge difference but as a larger scale, this security feature does a lot good. (Through this entry and research on liveUSB boot, I learnt about it only today!)
Fedora 9 also comes with the latest GNOME and KDE versions - GNOME 2.22 and KDE 4.0.2.
GNOME 2.22 comes with a new and improved world clock applet (just like the one in vista, just that in vista, it's called a gadget) which shows time according to the timezone and allows displays the weather conditions for multiple time zones simultaneously. This applet is expected to be a particularly useful one especially for travellers, international students, vacationers and even frequently-travelling businessmen, who use Fedora 9.
Another interesting improvement in GNOME is the rhythmbox which is the new default CD player and it comes with better Podcast support. That means, who can now rely on rhythmbox for quick upload or download of podcasts from anywhere. Podcast is a latest techno talk-about now and is used for almost anything - from music to lectures. Being able to upload your podcast and download a podcast with ease will really benefit.
Other than that, this new version of GNOME comes with better bluetooth which allows the synchronisation of Palm Pilots with the system. The file sharing aspect of bluetooth has been structured into the desktop rather than relying on other applications to start file sharing processes.
Fedora 9 is also accompanied by the latest KDE - KDE 4.02. This latest version comes with improved network management such that you can easily form a network with any nearby wireless device with the help of the NetworkManager. The new KDE desktop also includes new cute gadgets and more fluidity in managing them. Below is a snapshot of the new KDE. You can see that the sticky note gadget has more versatility in position in Fedora 9.
Above all, Fedora 9 is packaged together with the latest Firefox 3 Beta 5 browser. Many of my friends and Sir TWH has tried it and have commented that Firefox 3 is pretty impressive and much more diligent in enabling net surfing with ease.
With that, I leave you here to appreciate Fedora 9. From this entry, I've learnt that Linux is not all about the cool animations and graphics that allows your dialog box to dance but Linux is also cutting-edge when it comes to is internal workings. (Oh man! I should think about getting Linux right away!)
