Fedora 11 Desktop Edition

Fedora 11, the next release of the popular Linux distribution, is now available from the Fedora website. You can find full details of the major improvements and changes in this latest release in our previous post about the launch of Fedora 11, but to mention just a few, the release claims to have major speed improvements, boasting a 20 second startup, as well as overall speed improvements as ext4 is now used as the default file-system.

Another interesting feature is the ability to perform a minimal install, which amounts to about 500MB (at mount-point '/'), which should make this release more appealing to users running servers, or machines with older hardware. However, this does of course come at the cost of features.In addition, the latest versions of GNOME and KDE are included with the respective versions. The release was delayed several times due to last minute issues, however it is now officially available. You can see the screenshot tour here, showing the installation process and the desktops for both GNOME and KDE.

The release is now available through BitTorrent and direct download, however, at the time of writing, not all mirrors had Fedora 11 to download, so you may be better off using torrents if you cannot find a mirror. Custom Fedora 11 spins are also available, including the Fedora Games Spin and Fedora Xfce spin. For those wishing to upgrade, you must be using version 10 in order to upgrade to Fedora 11 through Yum. Users running Fedora 9 must upgrade to version 10 first, because of this. In case you aren't familiar with Fedora, it is a free, open-source Linux operating system, and the whole project is sponsored by Red Hat, a company providing enterprise Linux solutions.

The following are major features for Fedora 11:
*Automatic font and mime-type installation - PackageKit was introduced in Fedora 9 as a cross-distro software management application for users. The capabilities it offers thanks to integration with the desktop became more visible in Fedora 10, where it provided automatic codec installation. Now in Fedora 11, PackageKit extends this functionality with the ability to automatically install fonts where needed for viewing and editing documents. It also includes the capability to install handlers for specific content types as needed. Some work is still being completed to provide automatic installation of applications.
*Volume Control - Currently, people using Fedora have to go through many levels of mixers in different applications to properly set up sound sources. These are all exposed in the volume control on the desktop, making for a very confusing user experience. PulseAudio allows us to unify the volume controls in one interface that makes setting up sound easier and more pain-free.
*Intel, ATI and Nvidia kernel modsetting - Fedora 10 provided the first steps by a major distribution into using the kernel modesetting (KMS) feature to speed up graphical boot. We indicated at the time that we would be adding greater support for additional video cards as time went on. KMS originally was featured only on some ATI cards. In Fedora 11, this work is extended to include many more video cards, including Intel and Nvidia, and additional ATI as well. Although not fully complete, we have increased enormously the video card coverage of the KMS feature, with more to come.
*Fingerprint - Extensive work has been done to make fingerprint readers easy to use as an authentication mechanism. Currently, using fingerprint readers is a bit of a pain, and installing/using fprint and its pam module take more time than should ever be necessary. The goal of this feature is to make it painless by providing all the required pieces in Fedora, together with nicely integrated configuration. To enable this functionality the user will register their fingerprints on the system as part of user account creation. After doing so, they will easily be able to log in and authenticate seamlessly using a simple finger swipe. This greatly simplifies one element of identity management and is a great step in the evolution of the linux desktop.
*IBus input method system - ibus has been rewritten in C and is the new default input method for Asian languages. It allows input methods to be added and removed dynamically during a desktop session. It supports Chinese (pinyin, libchewing, tables), Indic (m17n), Japanese (anthy), Korean (libhangul), and more. There are still some features missing compared to scim so testing is strongly encouraged and reports of problems and suggestions for improvements welcome.
*Presto - Normally when you update a package in Fedora, you download an entire replacement package. Most of the time (especially for the larger packages), most of the actual data in the updated package is the same as the original package, but you still end up downloading the full package. Presto allows you to download the difference (called the delta) between the package you have installed and the one you want to update to. This can reduce the download size of updates by 60% – 80%. It is not enabled by default for this release. To make use of this feature you must install the yum-presto plugin with yum install yum-presto.
For further details refer to the Presto wiki page

Some other features in this release include:
*Ext4 filesystem - The ext3 file system has remained the mature standard in Linux for a long time. The ext4 file system is a major update that has an improved design, even better performance and reliability, support for much larger storage, and very fast file system checks and file deletions. It is now the default filesystem for new installations.
*Virt Improved Console - In Fedora 10 and earlier the virtual guest console is limited to a screen resolution of 800x600. In Fedora 11 the goal is to have the screen default to at least 1024x768 resolution out of the box. New installations of F11 provide the ability to use other interface devices in the virtual guest, such as a USB tablet, which the guest will automatically detect and configure. Among the results is a mouse pointer that tracks the local client pointer one-for-one, and providing expanded capabilities.
*MinGW (Windows cross compiler) - Fedora 11 provides MinGW, a development environment for Fedora users who wish to cross-compile their programs to run on Windows without having to use Windows. In the past developers have had to port and compile all of the libraries and tools they have needed, and this huge effort has happened independently many times over. MinGW eliminates duplication of work for application developers by providing a range of libraries and development tools already ported to the cross-compiler environment. Developers don't have to recompile the application stack themselves, but can concentrate just on the changes needed to their own application.

Hardware Requirements
Processor and memory requirements for PPC Architectures
*Minimum CPU: PowerPC G3 / POWER3
*Fedora 11 supports the New World generation of Apple Power Macintosh, shipped from circa 1999 onward. Although Old World machines should work, they require a special bootloader which is not included in the Fedora distribution. Fedora has also been installed and tested on POWER5 and POWER6 machines.
*Fedora 11 supports pSeries and Cell Broadband Engine machines.
*Fedora 11 also supports the Sony PlayStation 3 and Genesi Pegasos II and Efika.
*Fedora 11 includes new hardware support for the P.A. Semiconductor 'Electra' machines.
*Fedora 11 also includes support for Terrasoft Solutions powerstation workstations.
*Recommended for text-mode: 233 MHz G3 or better, 128MiB RAM.
*Recommended for graphical: 400 MHz G3 or better, 256MiB RAM.

1.2.2. Processor and memory requirements for x86 Architectures
The following CPU specifications are stated in terms of Intel processors. Other processors, such as those from AMD, Cyrix, and VIA that are compatible with and equivalent to the following Intel processors, may also be used with Fedora. Fedora 11 requires an Intel Pentium or better processor, and is optimized for Pentium 4 and later processors.

*Recommended for text-mode: 200 MHz Pentium-class or better
*Recommended for graphical: 400 MHz Pentium II or better
*Minimum RAM for text-mode: 128MiB
*Minimum RAM for graphical: 192MiB
*Recommended RAM for graphical: 256MiB

1.2.3. Processor and memory requirements for x86_64 architectures

*Minimum RAM for text-mode: 256MiB
*Minimum RAM for graphical: 384MiB
*Recommended RAM for graphical: 512MiB
1.2.4. Hard disk space requirements for all architectures

 

Download (Official link)
 

or Mirror 1 (yandex.ru)
 

For more links please visit the Get Fedora page.

Details: Fedora 11 Desktop Edition | 688.142 MB

Take your Blogging to the Next Level with Windows Live Writer

Windows Live Writer is a easy-to-use software that will make it easier to compose compelling blog posts using Windows Live Spaces or your current blog service. Blogging has turned the web into a two-way communications medium. Our goal in creating Writer is to help make blogging more powerful, intuitive, and fun for everyone. Writer has lots of features which we hope make for a better blogging experience. Some of the ones we are most excited about include:

WYSIWYG Authoring
The first thing to notice about Writer is that it enables true WYSIWYG blog authoring. You can now author your post and know exactly what it will look like before you publish it. Writer knows the styles of your blog such as headings, fonts, colors, background images, paragraph spacing, margins and block quotes and enables you to edit your post using these styles.

Writer also includes other views including HTML source-code editing and web preview mode. Now you don't have to waste time going through the process of publishing, refreshing, previewing, and tweaking your post to get it looking the way you want. It's all right there in Writer as you create your post.

Photo Publishing
Writer makes inserting, customizing, and uploading photos to your blog a snap. You can insert a photo into your post by browsing image thumbnails through the "Insert Picture" dialog or by copying and pasting from a web page.

Once you've inserted the picture, Writer provides contextual editing tools to modify size, text wrapping, borders, and apply graphic effects. Writer also allows you specify a smaller thumbnail to that will link to a larger image for detailed viewing.

Photos can be either uploaded directly to your weblog provider (if they support the newMediaObject API) or to an FTP server.

Map Publishing
Whether you are blogging about a vacation or a political conflict, maps are a great help in engaging the imagination of your readers. You can do this using Writer's ability to insert a Windows Live Local map directly into a post.

Even better is that the map can be customized directly within Writer - including changing the view to show road, aerial or bird's eye detail and by adding pushpins (including custom links and/or photos for each pushpin). When readers click on the map they get a larger view on the Windows Live Local site.

Here are some key features of "Windows Live Writer":
· Compatible with your blog service
Writer can to publish to Windows Live Spaces, SharePoint, WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, Moveable Type, Community Server, and many other weblog services.
· WYSIWYG editing
Writer knows your blog's visual theme. So you can see exactly what your posts will look like as you write them, before you publish. No more wasting time previewing your posts online.
· Rich media publishing
Writer makes publishing rich media as easy as sending e-mail. Insert and customize photos, maps, tags, and lots of other cool content-then click the "Publish" button. It's that easy.
· Powerful editing features
Creating compelling blog posts is much easier with the ability to insert and edit tables, check spelling as you type, and format and hyperlink content at your fingertips.
· Offline editing
Now you can blog anytime, from anywhere. Writer synchronizes drafts on your blog with changes you make when you're offline, so you don't have to worry about reconciling different versions.


Requirements:
· Processor: Minimum 800 MHz processor
· Memory: Minimum 128 MB of RAM (256 MB recommend)
· Hard drive: Up to 50 MB of hard disk space for installation; 15 MB to run the program
· Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 SP1 or later must be installed, although it does not need to be your default browser
· Software: Microsoft .NET 1.1 or later (Download now)
· Internet connection: Internet functionality requires dial-up or broadband Internet access (provided separately). Local or long-distance charges may apply.
· Display: Minimum 800 x 600 (1024 x 768 or larger recommended)

Download
or 

Download (Full offline Installer)

Details: Windows Live Writer | 5 - 133.57 MB

Raptor - Free Rapidshare Download Manager

Raptor is an application that manages your Rapidshare downloads. Just paste a Rapidshare link into it, and it will take care of the download for you. This means no more clicking back onto tabs to see if the waiting time has elapsed, because as soon as it's done so, Raptor will begin the download without prompting.

Simple and easy to use:
- user-friendly interface;
- supports list of downloads;
- Fast Update - check the availability of new versions of the program;

Start working with Raptor
There are several ways to start the download and you can use any of them.
- use the "Add Downloads" from the toolbar;
- using the "Add URL" in the main menu.

Work with a list of downloads
In the list of downloads are all files that are downloading or have been downloaded by Raptor.
- A list of downloads
- Selection of several elements in the list of downloads
- Dragging downloads with mouse and keyboard
- Context menu
- Status bar

Selection of several elements in the list of downloads
To improve the efficiency of the list of downloads, you can select several downloads at once. This is done by selecting the elements of the list when you press Ctrl or Shift. With several elements of the list, you can carry out operations against them just as well as over one element.
Dragging downloads with mouse and keyboard
After selection one or more elements from the list of downloads, you can easely drag them to any position. You can also move elements in the list using the shortcut Alt + "up-arrow" and Alt +"down-arrow ".
Context menu
After clicking the right mouse button on the element appears context menu from which you can conduct various transactions over the downloads. Depending on status of the download, some menu items may be unavailable.

Features
Raptor - is download manager of a well-known file hosting Rapidshare.
There is no need to follow links, look for the correct button, wait parts to download.
Just add to the list of all links and choose the folder to save the files, the rest will be made automatically!

Hotkeys
F4 - appears window "Add Download".
F5 - starts to download the selected file(s).
F6 - stops downloading of selected file(s).
Del - removes file(s) from the list of downloads.
Alt+Up - moves the element up in the list.
Alt+Down - moves the element down in the list.
Alt+F4 - closes the program.
Ctrl+C - copies the link to the clipboard.
Ctrl+V - inserts a link(s) from the clipboard to the window "Add Download".
Ctrl+A - selects all elements in the list.
F1 - appears window "User Manual".

 

Download
 

or Mirror 1 (Uploading)
 

or Mirror 2 (rapidshare)
 

or Mirror 3 (raptor.ucoz.co.uk)

Details: Raptor 2.11b | 2.04 MB