Mageia 4 Alpha 2 Released

Anne Nicolas announced the release of Mageia 4 Alpha 2 yesterday saying this is a "real" alpha with lots of breakage and fun, but developers burned the midnight LEDs and put out this desktop-focused tester. But as always the usual caveat this "is a testing release for finding bugs, to look out for important missing packages, a platform for further development leading to the beta stage and finally our first official release planned in February 2014."

The announcement said to look for more desktop environments and better integration in Mageia 4. It sounds like the desktops will be a major focus this release because as Anne said, "there is a lot of movement in this area at the moment. Everybody should then find the right one for them depending on their own needs." This release includes KDE 4.11, GNOME 3.9.11, and Mate and Cinnamon are in software repositories.

Other features include Linux 3.10.10, Xorg X Server 1.14.2, GCC 4.8.2, LibreOffice 4.1.1, and GIMP 2.8.6. Mageia 4 Alpha 2 uses systemd 206, Legacy GRUB, and new systemd network naming scheme. Don't expect any decoration changes this early and there are a few errata listings this release. One of the more interesting issues effecting all ISOs is "systemd Failed at step PAM spawning /usr/lib/systemd/systemd." It doesn't seem to stop the boot or prevent anything from working, but is being confirmed upstream and with user reports. For some reason, GRUB2 listing Mageia as Mageia Linux is a problem (I doubt anyone would have noticed). The live media defaulting to GRUB2 seems to be an issue for planners, but not for me. I say leave it if it works at all. Oh, and adding online media fails during install. See the list for others. Download yours at the usual location.

If Mageia 4 stays on schedule, Beta 1 should arrive on Halloween, Beta 2 is scheduled for Thanksgiving, RC for Wright Brothers' Day, and Final is due on Groundhog Day. No rest for the weary.

The Mageia 4 Alpha 2 KDE desktop