Mandriva 2011 arrives with Systemd

After several months of delays, the developers have released Mandriva 2011. The distribution includes Linux kernel version 2.6.38.7 and X.org 7.6 with X Server 1.10.3. Systemd has replaced the traditional SysVinit in version 2011.

The standard desktop environment is KDE 4.6.5, but current versions of Gnome 3, Xfce and various window managers are included as alternatives. The distribution's software range includes Firefox 5.0.1 and LibreOffice 3.4.2. Various changes have been made to the pre-installed standard programs: for instance, Thunderbird has replaced the Kmail KDE program as the default mail client, while Shotwell is now installed instead of Digikam for photo management. Both Kmail and Digikam can, however, be downloaded and installed manually from the software repository.

Other changes include Clementine replacing Amarok – Clementine is said to be lighter and more stable than Amarok – as the default music application, and the addition of Choqok, the KDE-based micro-blogging client. This is also the first version of Mandriva to use RPM5 by default.

A new addition is the MandrivaSync cloud service that enables users to store up to 2 GB of data online. Currently, the only way of synchronising data is with a client for Mandriva 2011, but the data can be accessed through a web browser.

Mandriva 2011 is available to download as a DVD image for 32-bit or 64-bit systems. Release notes give further information on installation and known issues. From the DVD, users can either start the live system, install the distribution, or generate a bootable USB Flash drive for installing Mandriva on computers that don't have an optical drive. The developers have released instructions for those who want to upgrade from Mandriva 2010.

(djwm)