Fedora 31 is here -- download the world's best desktop Linux distribution now
Is Fedora popular? Well, is any desktop Linux distribution truly popular in the grand scheme of things? I mean, look, Windows holds an insurmountable lead in the desktop operating system space -- it cannot be denied. Amongst Linux distributions, however, yes, Fedora is very popular comparatively. Why do people choose it over other distros, such as Ubuntu, MX Linux, or Manjaro? It's simple -- Fedora is a no-nonsense operating system with a genuine focus on free and open source software. Not to mention, it is fairly bleeding edge while remaining stable.
So, yeah, Fedora is wonderful. Today, however, the Linux distribution gets even better. You see, following the beta period, Fedora 31 is now available for download. Is it an exciting release? No, not really. Sure, enthusiasts will find themselves thrilled withe inclusion of the GNOME 3.34 desktop environment (with Qt Wayland by default), Linux 5.3 kernel, and Mesa 9.2, but otherwise, it is fairly boring. You know what? That's not a bad thing. In 2019, Fedora is simply a mature and stable operating system that only needs to follow an evolutionary path at this time -- not revolutionary. It stands alone as the world's best desktop Linux distribution.
"Fedora 31 Workstation provides new tools and features for general users as well as developers with the inclusion of GNOME 3.34. GNOME 3.34 brings significant performance enhancements which will be especially noticeable on lower-powered hardware. Fedora 31 Workstation also expands the default uses of Wayland, including allowing Firefox to run natively on Wayland under GNOME instead of the XWayland backend as with prior releases," says The Fedora Project.
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Matthew Miller, Fedora Project Leader explains, "The Fedora Project aims to bring leading-edge innovation to our users, and Fedora 31 delivers on that by bringing some of the latest advancements in open source technology to the operating system. Additionally, building and supporting the next generation of Linux operating system to better reflect the emerging realities of modern computing remains a critical focus for the Fedora community, showcased by the continued refinement of our emerging editions."
The Fedora Project shares other significant updates below.
- Updated compilers and languages, including NodeJS 12, Perl 5.30 and Golang 1.13. Additionally the “python” command will now refer to Python 3
- Support for Cgroupsv2, bringing kernel level support for the latest features and functionality around cgroups in the base packages of Fedora 31. This helps lay the foundation for improved performance and new capabilities in building and running containerized applications.
- Switching RPM compression to ztsd, which decreases the amount of compression time needed and improves the overall performance of processes using binary RPMs.
- Support for RPM 4.15, the latest version of the RPM Package Manager for enhanced performance and stability across all versions of Fedora.
To download Fedora 31 Workstation, please click here. Advanced users will want to grab an ISO, but if you are new to Linux and want to try Fedora for the first time, you can get the Fedora Media Writer for Windows (or macOS) to easily create installation media. Keep in mind, this is the first version of the operating system to be 64-bit only.
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