Ubuntu 13.04 Beta 2

Steve Langasek has announced the availability of the second beta release of Ubuntu 13.04, code name "Raring Ringtail": "The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the final beta release of Ubuntu 13.04 Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products. Together with Ubuntu 13.04, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu and Ubuntu Studio also reached final beta status today. We also welcome two new flavors, Ubuntu GNOME and UbuntuKylin, which are participating in the Ubuntu release process for the first time this cycle. Some of the new features available in Ubuntu 13.04 final beta are: includes the 3.8.0-16.26 Ubuntu Linux kernel which is based on the version 3.8.5 upstream Linux kernel; Unity has been updated to version 6.12." Read the release announcement and the technical overview for more details. Download: ubuntu-13.04-beta2-desktop-amd64.iso (787MB, SHA256, torrent). Also made available today were 13.04 beta 2 images for Kubuntu (download), Lubuntu (download), Xubuntu (download), Edubuntu (download), Ubuntu Studio (download) and UbuntuKylin (download).

ClearOS 6.4.0 Beta 2 "Community"

Peter Baldwin has announced the release of the second beta of ClearOS 6.4 "Community" edition, a CentOS-based server, network and gateway operating system designed for homes, hobbyists and small organisations: "ClearOS Community 6.4.0 Beta 2 has arrived. Along with the usual round of bug fixes and enhancements, this release introduces a new reports engine, a storage manager, an anti-malware file scanner, RADIUS, a basic POP/IMAP server, mail retrieval (Fetchmail) as well as upstream proxy support. Over the last few weeks, there was a lot of focus on squashing bugs and improving little usability issues. From the modernized installer to the easy to use Marketplace, ClearOS 6 has matured to be our best offering. It's not only the core platform that has had a facelift, but also the individual apps and solutions. For example, Zarafa's solution with two great webmail interfaces, Outlook support, and out-of-the-box mobile synchronization." See the release announcement and release notes for further details. Download (MD5): clearos-community-6.4beta2-x86_64.iso (666MB).

Linux Fedora 18 Beta Ready for Release Review

Fedora is an operating system known particularly for its stability and its extreme scalability , and It is no coincidence if it is used on many servers more or less “big”, but this never become known for punctuality, indeed: three or four lags development cycle have become accustomed over the years, but the development cycle of Fedora 18 really put to the test nerves of the team of developers and patienceusers.

In total six postponements , exactly with the release Alpha 1 , mainly due to ‘ incomplete some features more - first – and at was tragic besetting the ‘ Anaconda installer - then. According to what he says Phoronixhowever, the development team seems to be ready to spread the Beta in line with the ‘ utlima release schedule , which would see the set to release on November 27 in practice in a week. For the final version of the operating system, however, there will be wait until 8 January 2013.
And it must be said: able – finally – our heroes to release the long-awaited spherical cow?

Ubuntu 12.10 Beta 2

The second and final beta release of Ubuntu 12.10, code name "Quantal Quetzal", is ready for testing: "The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the final beta release of Ubuntu 12.10 Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products. Some of the new features available since beta 1 are: Quantal beta 2 includes the 3.5.0-15.23 Ubuntu Linux kernel which is based on the 3.5.4 upstream Linux kernel; Unity has been updated to version 6.6 which contains the new default web application in the launcher, a new shopping lens, improvements to the dash and multiple bug fixes; GNOME has been updated to 3.5.92 for most components (some to 3.6.0); accessibility is turned on by default." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information. Download (SHA256): ubuntu-12.10-beta2-desktop-i386.iso (751MB, torrent), ubuntu-12.10-beta2-desktop-amd64.iso (756MB, torrent). Updated CD and DVD images for Kubuntu (download, release notes), Xubuntu (download, announcement), Lubuntu (download), Edubuntu (download) and Ubuntu Studio (download) are also available.

Beta Testing Is Now Open For GNOME 3.6

The GNOME Project has recently released the first Beta version (GNOME 3.5.90) of the upcoming GNOME 3.6 desktop environment that brings more new features that will be added to the final release. The team will try to enhance these new features and will give great importance to fixing bugs from now until the release of the stable version of Gnome 3.6. Here are some of the features in this beta version:

• A redesigned panel for mouse and touchpad
• New mode-less overview
• More Configuration options for the Magnifier tool
• Enhancements for the Adwaita theme
• Rdesigned message tray, etc.

You should know that this is a beta release that is still under development intended only for testing purposes and not to be installed on production computers. Also, the next beta release (GNOME 3.6 Beta 2) will be available on September 5th, 2012. Here are some screenshots for GNOME 3.6 taken from here:

You can download GNOME 3.5.90 from here. For more information, click here.

FreeNAS 8.3.0-BETA1

Josh Paetzel has announced the availability of the first beta build of FreeNAS 8.3.0: "The FreeNAS development team is pleased to announce the availability of FreeNAS 8.3.0-BETA1. This is the first public release of the 8.3.0 branch of FreeNAS, which upgrades the underlying base system of FreeNAS to FreeBSD 8.3-RELEASE-p7. This update brings with it Version 28 of the ZFS file system, as well as a number of updates to the drivers and utilities in the base system. FreeNAS 8.2.0 brought with it the ability to install plugins, this functionality is present in FreeNAS 8.3.0 as well. At the moment upgrading the plugin jail to the version included with FreeNAS 8.3.0-BETA1 will cause plugins to stop working and will require re-installation and reconfiguration of all plugins to resume normal operation. Our recommendation at this time is to avoid upgrading working components of the plugin system." See the release announcement for notes on new ZFS file system features. Download: FreeNAS-8.3.0-BETA1-x86.iso (156MB, SHA256), FreeNAS-8.3.0-BETA1-x64.iso (168MB, SHA256).