SimplyMEPIS 3.4-3 - Finally Released

Morgantown, WV, February 9, 2006: SimplyMEPIS, version 3.4-3 is finally released. Any further changes will be made available as updates from the MEPIS pool. Look for 3.4-3 in the released subdirectory at the MEPIS Subscriber's Site and public mirrors.

The over 900 packages preinstalled in SimplyMEPIS 3.4-3 include Xorg 6.8, KDE 3.4.3, OpenOffice 2.0.1, Firefox 1.5, and a 2.6.15 kernel. As usual, SimplyMEPIS is multimedia-ready with integrated players for all major media types. For example, MAC and PC iPods should work seamlessly with Amarok.

Hardware detection and configuration is now handled in the kernel and with the dbus/hal/udev/pmount suite of apps, eliminating most of the old MEPIS meauto functionality. These new technologies have the potential to greatly improve the user experience by improving the integration of hardware with Linux. Unfortunately some Linux applications are not yet "udev aware" and this caused some unexpected challenges for MEPIS during the development cycle. Most of these problems were solved by using alternate packages or by custom configuration of the existing packages.

Warren says "I know that the community has been anxious for this release and may wonder why it has taken so long. Several times we thought we were ready and then another application released or another problem showed up. This is partially because we are dealing with new technologies developed by others. We don't have any control of their development or QA cycles. But it's also because we haven't had the resources to involve the community early on in our test cycle. We plan to change that for the next release, so more people will have the opportunity to participate in the process. We've already run some pools at mepis.org to get input from the community and soon I will start a blog where I answer questions from the community, explain what MEPIS is doing, share my experience, and give my opinions."

Warren continues "SimplyMEPIS used to be built on packages from the Debian unstable (Sid) pool and that worked well because the Debian pool changed slowly. Then the rate change increased in Sid and for this release we switched to Debian testing (Etch). But even Etch is becoming too unstable for our users needs. It took months of extra work to get this release out the door. We'll have to find a different solution for the future." "I do not mean to imply that there is anything wrong with Etch or Debian--quite the contrary. The Debian team is working very hard to build the next stable version of Debian. But they have no obligation or reason to consider our needs for a package pool that is stable on a 6 month cycle."

For more information about MEPIS and SimplyMEPIS, please contact:

Erin Melbert

About MEPIS

MEPIS LLC was founded in 2003 by computer industry veteran Warren Woodford, to meet his personal desire for a version of Linux that was easy to try, easy to install, and easy to use. Today MEPIS offers innovative Linux solutions for home users, businesses, hardware vendors, and vertical market solution providers. MEPIS was a founding member of the DCC Alliance where it contributed the Intel and LSB compatible kernels offered with DCC 3.0.

About SimplyMEPIS

SimplyMEPIS is available as a free download from public Linux mirrors. MEPIS subscribers also have access, sometimes early access, to MEPIS ISOs at the MEPIS subscribers ftp site. For a subscription or other products available directly from MEPIS, visit store.mepis.com. Boxed MEPIS products are produced for retail stores by TAFusion, see www.tafusion.com. MEPIS does NOT authorize third parties to sell MEPIS at Ebay!