| Fedora 13 "Goddard" beta emphasizes automation |
Apr. 14, 2010
 The Fedora project released a beta version of Fedora 13 (codenamed "Goddard"). The updated community Linux distribution is touted for features including automatic print-driver installation, the Btrfs filesystem, enhanced 3D driver support, revamped Python bindings, and the Zarafa groupware package, says the project.
As we reported last month when the Fedora 13 alpha was released, the Fedora project has focused considerable attention on automating commonly used functions for greater ease of use. The latest release of this traditionally techie-focused cutting-edge, community-driven upstream contributor to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is named after rocket scientist Robert Goddard. Expected to ship in final form in May, Fedora 13 follows the final release of Fedora 12 in November.
The automation is primarily due to enhancements to the RPM and PackageKit, which, for example, now offers automatic installation of printer drivers, according to the project. PackageKit is designed to respond to a wide variety of user actions, including the insertion of an unfamiliar CD type, and then offers to install appropriate software helpers, says the project.
The beta announcement also emphasizes the improvements to the distro's Python bindings, including a parallel-installable Python 3 stack that lets developers write and test code using either Python 2.6 or Python 3. Other noted highlights include improvements to the Gdb GNU debugger, enabling the delivery of unified information for C/C++ libraries and Python in the same running process.
Btrfs file system settles in
The announcement also touts Fedora 13's file system improvements, including enhancements to the Btrfs file system to allow for rollbacks of entire file-system states. This is said to be especially useful in application testing and system recovery tasks. Btrfs is also said to be easier to use thanks to improvements in the Anaconda installer, including an enhanced interface, and more storage options.
The project also points to the new Zarafa groupware replacement for Exchange as a major new addition to Fedora. Other Fedora 13 improvements, including the addition of new 3D drivers, such as the new open source Nouveau Gallium3D driver, or the new NetworkManager command-line interface, may be found in our earlier coverage, here.
Like Fedora 12, Fedora 13 is available in a Moblin Fedora Remix edition that is based on the netbook-focused Moblin distribution. Yesterday, the new open source MeeGo project, which is combining Moblin and Maemo into a single new Linux distribution for devices ranging from smartphones to netbooks, announced 27 new partners vowing support for the platform. Both Fedora and Ubuntu were noticeable no-shows on the list, which includes Linux distro providers Asianux, DeviceVM, Linpus, Mandriva, Metasys, Miracle, Novell, PixArt, Red Flag, TurboLinux, and Xandros.
Availability
The Fedora 13 beta announcement on Red Hat News may be found here, and Fedora 13 downloads in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions may be found here. As usual, the project is looking for feedback from users on the new beta. The final version is due in May.
-- Eric Brown
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