Fedora 算是 Red Hat 組織的 free linux 代表作,雖然這套 Linux 作業系統稱不上是非常穩定,不過卻也成為目前 linux distribution 幾個主流之一,它的存在也能激勵其餘這幾套主流產品的改進 Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, Mint…,然而這陣子 Red Hat 組織又釋出新的 Fedora 版本 11,我想最讓我關注的應該就是 Ext4 檔案系統,以及本身這套 Fedora 11 的穩定性,雖然 Red Hat 另外的產品線 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 穩定性足夠,不過由於是針對企業使用,故 RHEL 是套要收費的軟體,而維持 RHEL 穩定性的主要因素也是在於使用舊版穩定的 packages,而非如當今主流 Linux 都在追求新功能新套件.
從以前使用 Fedora 6~9 的經驗,讓我有點難以確認 Fedora 11 是否好用,因為不穩定的狀況似乎一直都存在著,不過由於剛好此版本有幾個新的 features,還是會吸引我想去使用它,它的新特性如下:
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 800×600. In Fedora 11 the goal is to have the screen default to at least 1024×768 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.
Release Notes:
http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes/f11/en-US/
Download Mirrors:
http://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/publiclist