SimplyMEPIS 6.0-alpha1 Linux Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9 A.M. EDT, April 10, 2006
Morgantown, WV, April 10, 2006: MEPIS has announced the alpha1 release of SimplyMEPIS 6.0. The ISO image is available for download and testing in the mepis 'testing' subdirectory at the MEPIS Subscriber's Site and public mirrors. For up to 14 days, please send feedback to
Alpha1 builds on the 6.0-experimental1 release. The KControl system configuration shell has been replaced with the SystemSettings shell from the Ubuntu Project. The panel has been modified in response to suggestions recently solicited from the MEPIS user community. Some of the Kmenus have been rearranged to take advantage of metadata embedded in the kde shortcut files. OnTheGo reliability has been enhanced by a delay on logout to prevent disk sync problems and an automatic fsck on login.
Warren Woodford, founder of MEPIS, commented on the work so far, "The MEPIS community has been very helpful with suggestions and the support from the Ubuntu Project has been great. By the time we've identified a problem, usually they have already fixed it! This gives us more time to work on integration and improvements. It was a big plus that Ubuntu recently decided to support KDE 3.5.2 for the current build cycle."
Woodford continued with a glimpse of what can be expected in the future, "We plan to breakout components in the MEPIS OSCenter into KParts that can be integrated into SystemSettings. We don't know if all of this will be done in time for the 6.0 release. If not, we'll continue to release the parts incrementally."
6.0-alpha1 was synchronized to the upstream pools on April 8. The MEPIS kernel is configured from kernel 2.6.15 in the Ubuntu Dapper package pool. The 6.0-alpha1 bootable/installable CD includes over 900 packages and features KDE 3.52, OpenOffice 2.0.2, Firefox 1.5.0.1, Thunderbird 1.5, Amarok 1.3.9, and JBidWatcher 1.0. Over 15,000 additional packages are available for installation from the MEPIS and Ubuntu package pools.
SimplyMEPIS 6.0 is scheduled for final release around June 1, 2006. Beta is planned for late April.
About MEPIS
MEPIS LLC was founded in 2003 by computer industry veteran Warren Woodford, to realize his personal vision 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 early adopters.
About Ubuntu/Canonical
Ubuntu is a free software GNU/Linux distribution that aims to provide a high quality desktop featuring the best of the free software application universe. The project is primarily funded by Canonical, Ltd, which also runs Launchpad.net, a free software web collaboration site. Canonical, Ltd is headquartered in Douglas on the Isle of Man.
