Mandriva 2011 RC 1 Released, Almost

Eugeni Dodonov announced the release of Mandriva 2011 RC1 earlier, but I'm still waiting for it to hit mirrors. He did actually said it was "coming," so his announcement could be considered a big ole tease. In fact, I hate it when a release is announced and we have to keep checking the mirrors for it to actually become available. But they do this every time.

Anyway, he said, "The images are built and are undergoing an internal testing right now, and unless any critical issues are discovered, they will be pushed to the mirrors in the coming hours! Those additional testings for RC1 images before their release to the mirrors was intended in order to certify that the final changes for the RC-stage of Mandriva 2011 release, containing the (almost) final UI and Desktop experience, do not result in any unexpected issues."

Dodonov also offered a bit of a preview as to what to expect. This release will have a whole new theme including "new login manager, desktop themes, plasma widgets, icons, backgrounds, splash screens, launcher, boot screens and desktop settings developed by ROSA Labs." As you might recall, Mandriva is trying to set itself a bit apart from the pack with 2011. So, I'm quite anxious to see what this new UI will look like.

Other tidbits:

- firefox 5.0
- x.org server 1.10.2 with most up-to-date video and input drivers
- pidgin 2.9.0
- kdepim 4.6.0 fully integrated into KDE
- latest grub2
- new mandriva-control-center
- gcc 4.6.1
- opera 11.50
- blender 2.58
- lots of other updated software

What a tease!

Actually, 2011 is running a bit behind schedule. Release candidate 1 was due May 9 and the final was expected June 13. There were issues with the migration to RPM5, so that's another question I'm interested in having answered. But like Mandriva, I'm going to just have to be a tease this evening. You can join me in the search for ISOs with this mirror list (although since it's a bit outdated, not all mirrors still participate).