Mandriva Delivers First Beta of 'Thor' Linux 2007

Published: August 1, 2006

by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Commercial Linux distributor Mandriva is looking for a few good nerds to help it put its "Thor" version of Linux, which will come to market as Mandriva Linux 2007, through the paces in its first beta.

Mandriva Linux 2006, which was launched last year, was the first implementation of the company's Linux to include the code it got by virtue of the formerly rival Conectiva and Lycoris acquisitions. At that time, Mandriva said that it would get on an annual upgrade cycle, adding features to its Linux in a more measured fashion and making the whole upgrade and patch issue less of a problem for its customers. Enterprise customers do not want so many releases in a year, as Mandriva has had to do by virtue of its acquisitions, which were made to improve its Linuxes for desktops and servers.

Mandriva Linux 2007 comes as a DVD or a six CD set for X86 and X64 processors; it has the Gnome 2.16 beta 1 or the KDE 3.5.3 interface. The distribution uses the Linux 2.6.17 kernel, and includes updates to the drakroam wireless facility that adds encryption. You can participate in the Thor beta by clicking here. Mandriva had initially planned to be in code freeze on the Linux version by August 1 and shipping by September 15, but has been running more than three months behind that schedule. The company has not provided a revised estimated ship date for Mandriva Linux 2007, but probably will as the beta program progresses.

RELATED STORY

Three Mandriva 2006 Linux Editions Come to Market