Announcing the release of Fedora 24 Beta!
by Dennis Gilmore
The Fedora 24 Beta is here, on schedule for our planned June final
release. Download the prerelease from our Get Fedora site:
- Get Fedora 24 Beta Workstation: a reliable, user-friendly, and powerful
operating system for your laptop or desktop computer
https://getfedora.org/workstation/prerelease/
- Get Fedora 24 Beta Server: make use of the very latest server-based
technologies available in the open source community
https://getfedora.org/server/prerelease/
- Get Fedora 24 Beta Cloud: build scale-out computing and utilize the next
generation of container deployment technology
https://getfedora.org/cloud/prerelease/
- Get Fedora 24 Beta Spins: alternative desktops for Fedora
https://spins.fedoraproject.org/prerelease
- Get Fedora 24 Beta Labs: curated bundles of purpose-driven software and
content
https://labs.fedoraproject.org/prerelease
- Get Fedora 24 Beta ARM: Fedora tailored for running on ARM-based devices
https://arm.fedoraproject.org/prerelease
What is the Beta release?
-------------------------
The Beta release contains all the exciting features of Fedora 24's
editions in a form that anyone can help test. This testing, guided by
the Fedora QA team, helps us target and identify bugs from the Alpha
version. When most of these bugs are fixed, we make a Beta release
available. A Beta release is code-complete and bears a very strong
resemblance to the third and final release. The final release of Fedora
24 is expected in June. We need your help to make Fedora 24 the best
yet. Please take some time to download and try out the Beta and make
sure the things that are important to you are working. If you find a
bug, please report it – every bug you uncover is a chance to improve the
experience for millions of Fedora users worldwide. This is a great
opportunity for non-programmers to contribute back to fedora. Together,
we can make Fedora rock-solid. We have a culture of adding new features
to software and pushing fixes to the upstream developers at the same
time. This means your feedback will help improve not only Fedora but
Linux and free software on the whole.
- <https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/24/Schedule>
- <https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_file_a_bug_report>
Fedora-Wide Changes
-------------------
Under the hood, glibc has moved to 2.23. This update includes better
performance, increased security, bugfixes, improvements to POSIX
compliance, and additional locales. The new library is backwards
compatible with the version of glibc that was shipped in Fedora 23.
We've also updated the system compiler to GCC 6 and rebuilt all of our
packages with it, providing greater code optimization and improved
program error catching.
Workstation
-----------
The Fedora 24 Workstation release will not default to Wayland, the next
generation graphic stack, but this is planned for future releases.
Wayland is available as an option, and the Workstation team would
greatly appreciate your help in testing it out. Our goal is to have one
full release where Wayland works almost seamlessly as a drop in
replacement for X11. At that point we plan to set it as the default
display server in Fedora. This new release also features GNOME 3.20.
There have been changes to the theming API in GTK+ 3. At this time the
API is under heavy development and will not remain stable. As a result,
applications that use custom CSS theming for example, may have rendering
issues. This could include default applications that come with Fedora 24
Beta Workstation. We request that users try out their favorite GTK+ 3
based applications and report bugs to the upstream developers so they
can be fixed in time for the final release.
Server
------
Fedora 24 beta server edition has also been more streamlined. Unnecessary
packages were removed and the installer has a smaller footprint. FreeIPA
4.3, an integrated security information management solution is now
included. The installation of replicas is streamlined by adding a
replica promotion method for new installs. A new topology plugin has
also been added to this version of FreeIPA that automatically manages
new replication segment creation. An effective replica topology
visualization tool is now available in the webUI.
Cloud
-----
We are working hard to make Fedora the best platform for containerized
applications, from base Fedora container images to a full-featured
platform as a service to run and manage them. To meet this goal, we are
packaging OpenShift Origin so it is easy to deploy. OpenShift Origin is
a distribution of Kubernetes, a container cluster manager from Google.
It is optimized for enterprise application development and deployment.
Origin makes it easy for developers to get started building applications
in containers and for operators to manage them.
Spins and Labs
--------------
Fedora Spins is an alternative Fedora version that offers alternative
desktop environments to the standard Fedora Workstation. Fedora
Workstation is built on the GNOME desktop. GNOME was chosen because it
provides an easy-to-use operating system for software developers, while
also being well-suited for standard desktop use. Our Spins make it easy
for people to try out alternative desktop environments. Everyone has
different needs and Spins are a great way for us to meet them. The
Fedora 24 spins beta release showcases KDE Plasma, Xfce*, LXDE,
Mate-Compiz, Cinnamon, and Sugar on a Stick* (Soas) all on the same
Fedora Base. Fedora Labs offers collections of software for specific
purposes: Games, Design, Robotics, and so on. They are pre-selected sets
of software ideal for events or audiences with specialized interests
that need corresponding software. Fedora 24 comes with a new lab focused
on Astronomy and contains a set of tools for astronomers and
astrophysicists.
*Note that the SoaS and Xfce spins are missing from the Fedora 24 Beta
release. We plan to fix this for the final release.*
ARM
---
ARM images are available as usual for several usecases. Fedora 24 ships
desktop images, such as Spins and Workstation, but also provides a
Server image. A minimal Fedora image completes the wide set of install
options for your ARM board.
Atomic Host
-----------
Fedora Atomic Host releases on a two-week schedule, and each release is
built on the latest overall Fedora OS. This schedule means the Atomic
Host is currently built on Fedora 23, but will switch to Fedora 24 when
we're out of Beta. You can try one of the newer features with recent
Fedora Atomic Host builds today. Since Fedora 23 was released, Atomic
Host has added a developer mode that gives a better developer experience
overall. When running in developer mode, the host will download and
start Cockpit and a tmux session to make it easier to work at the
console and obtain necessary information such as the root password or IP
address.
Issues and Details
------------------
This is a Beta release. As such, we expect that you may encounter bugs
or missing features. To report issues encountered during testing,
contact the Fedora QA team via the mailing list or in #fedora-qa on
Freenode. As testing progresses, common issues are tracked on the Common
F24 Bugs page.
- <https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Common_F24_bugs>
For tips on reporting a bug effectively, read "how to file a bug
report."
- <https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_file_a_bug_report>
Release Schedule
----------------
The full release schedule is available on the Fedora wiki:
- <https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/24/Schedule>
The current schedule calls for a beta release towards the beginning of
May, and the final release in early June. Be aware that these dates are
development targets. Some projects release on a set date regardless of
feature completeness or bugs; others wait until certain thresholds for
functionality or testing are met. Fedora uses a hybrid model, with
milestones subject to adjustment. This allows us to make releases with
new features and newly-integrated and updated upstream software while
also retaining high quality.
Flock 2016: Krakow, Poland
--------------------------
If you're a contributor to Fedora, or interested in getting more
involved, one way to engage with our community is through Fedora premier
events. The annual North American/European conference for Fedora
contributors is Flock, which takes place August 2-5, 2016 in Krakow,
Poland. Registration is now open at
<https://register.flocktofedora.org>. For more information about our
Latin American and Asia-Pacific Conferences, stay tuned for
announcements on the Fedora Community Blog:
- <https://communityblog.fedoraproject.org>
7 years, 11 months
