Fedora 12 "Constantine" Arrives

Next to Linux, the Fedora release code-named Constantine includes multiple new features, ranging from a fast Yum Presto plugin for package management and a network manager with 3G support to an experimental 3D acceleration for Radeon HD 2400 cards at installation. NVIDIA cards should also provide better resolution from the start with the alternative Nouveau driver.

The usual upgrade to the main components is reflected in Linux Kernel 2.6.31, GNOME 2.28, KDE 4.3.2 and the popular applications in OpenOffice 3.1.1. The bootloader implementation proves conservative, with Grub doing the job, with Grub 2 remaining unique to Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala."

As was the case with Mandriva's newest release, Fedora 12 provides a Moblin interface next to the GNOME and KDE larger desktops and the alternative LXDE. Moblin is especially interesting for netbook deployment.

Fedora is available as either a DVD image or distributed on CDs and various Live CDs versions. Even PowerPC users can get a piece of it. The release notes provide the full details.

Server admins can also get a first glimpse into future Enterprise Linux generations from Fedora 12. For example, the Anaconda installer supports iSCSI and even Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), albeit working with 10-Gbit/s Ethernet bandwidths only.

In the security area, Fedora 12 provides SE Linux sandboxes that separate applications into secure cells. The new ABRT 1.0 crash reporting tool allows users to file bug reports for usual applications, while the SE Linux Alarm Monitor can directly register SE Linux errors. Finally, the Fedora developers reduced as much as possible the access rights to certain server applications, by way of a new libcap-ng library.