Redhat "Fisher" Beta

Redhat has released the first beta of its next Linux operating system upgrade, codenamed "Fisher", for the public to download. Version 7.1 features the new 2.4.0 kernel and a wizard to help you set up a basic firewall on your system. Redhat follows SuSE as the second major Linux distributor to incorporate the new Linux kernel in release editions of its software. As you may recall, Linux kernel 2.4 was released less than two weeks ago by guru Linus Torvalds.

Redhat Fisher also includes support for the Intel Itanium processor and improved XFree86 installation and setup guidance. A new setup for laptops has been added which features automatic PCMCIA card support.

In addition to a more extensive driver library, the release notes highlight support for "hot-pluggable" or removable devices has been added, which functions much like the "plug-and-play" in Microsoft Windows where drivers are automatically loaded when compatible devices are added to the system.

For more information click here and download the release notes, or skip directly to the download section on the FTP to grab it now. One known issue is that the minimal install of the system does not support NFS mounting.