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Updates

Some of the negative and positive characteristics of earlier versions of Fedora also appear in version 8. For example, the online repositories already contain numerous updates for a Fedora 8 completed and released less than a week ago – as in previous Fedora versions, this steady stream of package updates will probably not run dry for months to come. Therefore, broadband internet connections are advisable for Fedora users.

Some of the updates close security holes. Many other updates, however, are simply new versions of the programs Fedora contains. In this aspect, Fedora differs from other distributions like OpenSuse or Ubuntu, which usually keep to the same software versions in the six-monthly average time span between releases. Fedora sometimes even releases new software or drivers as "updates"; the RPM Update repository, for example, contains the Openchrome graphics driver which handles various VIA graphics chipsets and didn't manage to make it into Fedora 8.

Package updates ready to be installed

Even for software packages as vital as the Linux kernel the Fedora Project releases the occasional update which doesn't involve security issues; Linux version 2.6.23, which was released a month ago, became available as a regular update for Fedora 7 a few days ago. Fedora 8 is likely to follow the same tradition and will therefore probably update to versions 24 and 25 of Linux kernel 2.6 with its new functionality and improved drivers in a few months' time. This way, hardware support is improved continuously. To prevent users from being left with an unbootable system in case of a kernel problem, the current kernel always remains installed parallel to the updated one.

However, upgrading from an older version of Fedora to the latest one is relatively inconvenient: While other distributions allow users to upgrade while the system is running, Fedora officially only offers the upgrade option on the installation DVD. The Fedora wiki, however, contains instructions about how to use the Yum package management tool to upgrade a system while in operation. The next version of Fedora is planned to officially support this upgrade path.

The standard installation of Fedora 8 for x86-64 systems also installs a load of duplicate 32-bit and 64-bit software versions. This causes a flood of unnecessary downloads when updating and wastes root partition space – using Adobe/Macromedia Flash Player, for example, which is only available as a 32-bit application, would really only require a few of the 32-bit packages installed.

As is customary for Fedora, proprietary software like RealPlayer, Adobe Reader or Flash Player is not included; however, the latter can be obtained directly from Adobe as a Yum compatible package repository. Fedora's only non open source software are the firmware files required, for example, by some WLAN cards. The project only allows these as part of the distribution since the firmware is executed not by the host CPU but by the WLAN hardware itself.

Conclusion

Like other Linux distributions with a life cycle of six months, the new Fedora version offers numerous evolutionary improvements. Therefore, Fedora 8 should be the choice for new Fedora installations from now on; many users may also be tempted to upgrade from the previous version. Users of Fedora Core 6, in particular, should seriously consider an upgrade anyway since support for this version has ended.

However, there are only very few revolutionary new features in the distribution which otherwise worked pretty inconspicuously in our test. These would include, for example, the first segments of the GNOME online desktop as well as PulseAudio - the latter finally resolves some of the problems with audio output which have existed for years. It may, therefore, also become part of the next standard distributions of OpenSuse and Ubuntu.

Due to its very careful approach in terms of patented and licensed software and the self-imposed open source software restrictions, Fedora is not as newcomer-friendly as its two biggest competitors. However, Fedora attracts users with the highly current software in its package repositories which is even continuously updated and even enlarged by project managers during the distribution's support term. As this includes new kernel versions with all their new functions and drivers, hardware support especially for new hardware releases within the next few months is permanent in Fedora - with other distributions, users have to wait for the next upgrade or fire up their own compilers. (thl)

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