PARIS, FRANCE: Mandriva has announced the release of Mandriva Linux 2009. 2009 introduces the new KDE 4.1 as the default  desktop, along with a re-designed installer and Mandriva Control Center tools.

Key features include new graphical in-line upgrade capability, netbook compatibility, class-leading hardware support, and support for working with mobile devices. Other major new software versions include GNOME 2.24, OpenOffice.org 3, Mozilla Firefox 3, and kernel 2.6.27.
 
Beyond the features that contributed to the success of Mandriva Linux 2008 and Mandriva Linux 2008 Spring, Mandriva Linux 2009 integrates the latest innovations, from office applications to the latest virtualization technologies. Mandriva Linux 2009 gives you not only the most advanced and easy-to-use Linux operating system on the market but also the latest software demanded by the community.
 
"This new version has been designed to meet the expectations of our users and offers an ever more efficient solution to their needs. We have gone to great lengths to integrate this new environment in a way that ensures everyone can jump right in to using it, with a customized graphical theme, careful choice of the most powerful applications, and a default configuration tuned to your system's particular hardware," said the Mandriva team.
 
Changes include:
 
*An updated set of commercial applications in the Powerpack edition: Fluendo audio and video codecs, advanced touching-up of digital images with LightZone, virtualisation with VmWare, and Google applications;
 
*Complete overhaul of the graphic installer;
 
*Simplification and improved reliability of application installations and updates: notification of new distribution versions via Mandriva Online, and automatic configuration of official repositories;
 
*Latest versions of leading open source applications: integration of KDE 4.1, GNOME 2.24, OpenOffice.org 3, Firefox 3;

*Faster boot time;
 
*Improved parental control utility, now with time-based restrictions;
 
*Installer now capable of detecting low-resource systems or netbooks, and installing an appropriate environment (GNOME is default for netbooks);
 
*Detection and optional automatic removal of packages known as orphans (packages previously installed which are no longer required) to optimize free space and future updates;
 
*Constantly improving hardware support (kernel 2.6.27) with particular attention paid to netbooks.
 
Easy, 100 percent graphical synchronization with mobile devices: Windows Mobile 2002 and 2003 as well as Windows Mobile 5 and 6, all Blackberry devices, and many Nokia devices.