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Fedora Project announced the release of beta version of Fedora 17, a free, open-source operating system. Fedora consists of an RPM-based collection of software applications and a Linux Kernel-based operating system. Packed with a number of unparalleled features, Fedora 17 is also called Beefy Miracle.
In essence, Fedora can be regarded as Red Hat Enterprise Linux’s free and community version. Fedora Project has tried its best to make the beta release of Fedora 17 as much complete as possible. Only the indentified bugs are expected to be fixed at the time of general release of Fedora 17. The following are some of the key features of the beta version of Fedora 17:
1. Updated GIMP
The beta version of Fedora 17 comes with an updated version of GIMP—GIMP 2.8, the open source and free alternative to Photoshop. GIMP 2.8 brings to Fedora 17 a number of improvements, such as on-canvas editing, layer groups, and single-window mode.
2. GNOME 3.4
Originally unveiled in March 2012, GNOME 3.4 brings about 41,000 improvements to Fedora 17. GNOME 3.4 is characterized by improved themes, search features in activities overview, and enhanced Contacts applications and Documents. In the meantime, a new application provides access to virtual machines.
3. A new PHP
The beta release of Fedora 17 comes packed with an updated PHP version—PHP 5.4. PHP stands for hypertext preprocessor and is a hugely popular scripting language. PHP is usually used by web developers to create dynamic website pages.
4. Under the Hood
The beta release of Fedora 17 is powered by Linux kernel 3.3. The updated version is complete with enhanced ext4 file systems and btrfs, support for Broadcom wireless chipset, GMA graphics, and a number of other enhancements and bug fixes. In the beta release of Fedora, Firewall has been made as the inbuilt firewall solution. In addition, Beta release of Fedora 17 features an updated OpenStack Essex.
5. KDE 4.8
Fedora 17 also features an updated alternative KDE desktop. The beta release of Fedora 17 offers KDE Plasma Workspace 4.8, including KDE Platform, KDE Applications, Netbook workspaces, and Plasma Desktop.
6. Developer tools
To top all enhancements, the beta release of Fedora 17 features an already released version of Juno, the Eclipse SDK’s iteration. In the beta release of Fedora 17, the primary compiler is GCC 4.7.x and Java 7, along with OpenJDK 7, is the default Java build and Java runtime toolset. In addition, Fedora 17 features an updated Erlang and Ruby 1.9.3, the Ruby language’s latest version.
It has not been many months when Fedora 16 was launched. However, the release of Fedora 17 has enhanced the free, open source operating system to a great extent. Despite all these enhanced features, Fedora 17 is not meant for production during the beta testing. Nevertheless, the beta release of Fedora 17 can be downloaded from the official website of Fedora Project without any charge. The final version of the Fedora software application is scheduled to hit the market on May 22, 2012.
