Mandriva 2011 approaches with final RC

One day later than expected, the Mandriva development team has issued a second release candidate for Mandriva Linux 2011. As is usual at this stage of development, the developers have focused on addressing more than 300 bugs and improving the overall stability of the distribution.

Mandriva Linux 2011 RC2 is based on the 2.6.38 Linux kernel and includes a new cursor theme, new icons and new wallpapers. Compared to the previous RC, VirtualBox guest additions are now included by default, making it easier for VirtualBox users to test the release.

The Mandriva Linux 2011 RC2 desktop Other changes include support for more Atheros and Intel network cards, better support for 3G USB modems, and updated printer drivers, as well as more 700 added or changed packages. The developers also note that ATI and NVIDA proprietary drivers have been removed from the default image as "they don't want to work properly with cool graphic effects," noting that users can optionally install them from the repository.

Aimed at developers and early adopters, users testing the release are encouraged to provide feedback and report any bugs that they find. According to the 2011 Development wiki, the final version of Mandriva 2011 is scheduled for release on 29 August.

At the same time, the Mandriva development say that they have started work on a Long Term Support (LTS) release of Mandriva 2011, which is expected to arrive "by the end of the year".

More details about the second release candidate, including a list of known issues, can be found in a post on the Mandriva Blog. Mandriva Linux 2011 RC2 is available to download from one of the project's mirrors. The latest stable release of Mandriva Linux is version 2010.2, an incremental security and stability update from December 2010.

See also:

• Mandriva 2011 RC1 arrives after slight delay, a report from The H.
• Mandriva Linux 2010.x reaches end of desktop support, a report from The H.

(crve)