On Monday, Redhat 7.0 will be released. Tuesday, it will be available to the general public. This story on Maximum Linux tells what to expect.

http://www.maximumlinux.com/content/news/2000/09/21/11356


Exclusive: Big Changes in Red Hat 7.0
>>> September.21.2000

Red Hat has finally spilled the beans and given out info about the upcoming release of Red Hat 7.0. The official announcement will occur on Monday Sept. 25 (we got our grubby lil hands on it today) and the software will be available for everyone on Tuesday, Sept. 26. The biggest changes from 6.2 will be enhanced 3D support, higher security and added applications.

"Increased security, ease of use and manageability make Red Hat 7.0 a full-featured solution for enterprise IT departments, workstation users and developers," said Matthew Szulik, president and CEO of Red Hat.

Improvements to the OS have been put into three categories:

For Enterprise IT Departments - integrated security with OpenSSL for secure communication via the web; graphical configuration tools; MySQL database; and easy migration to the forthcoming 2.4 kernel.

For Workstation users - more customizable desktop environment; more software to choose from, including digital photography and diagram-drawing programs; increased security for default installations to protect users who use cable modems or ADSL to reach the Internet; and better 3D graphics support.

For Developers - enhanced internationalization sub-system, more complete C++ support with new compiler; updated development suite; and a preview of many new development tools such as the new GNU compiler for the Java programming language.

Clay Claiborne, president of Cosmos Engineering, beta tested Red Hat 6.9b and gave us a few tidbits on what to expect with 7.0.

"It's a lot more solid. It's running very nicely on our systems, it's been very stable, we haven't had any problems," Claiborne told us.

He also said XFree86 4 is set to default, so you don't have to worry about tinkering with code to get your newer graphics cards up and running. You can even install the 2.4 kernel, though it's not stable yet, so 2.2.17 is the default kernel included.

As choices in applications grow, so does the number of install disks. Claiborne said Red Hat will now come with two install disks, rather than the one that's shipped in the past. He points out, however, that just because there are more applications available to you, you don't have to load them all if your drive is a bit on the smaller side.

USB support, or the lack there of, has proven to be one of the negative aspects surrounding Linux as a consumer OS. Development for USB support has gone into high gear lately, and Claiborne says Red Hat handles it nicely -- even surpassing the competition in some cases.

"I was a bit surprised when I tried my Kodak DC 280," Claiborne said. "In Windows I have to put the flash card into an adapter which connects via a serial port and then Windows sees it as another drive and I have to take them off one by one. In Linux, I hook my camera up to my USB slot, run Gphoto and there are all my files."

Claiborne was also happy to report his HP 890 printer didn't have a problemunder USB, but he does admit there are still things which could dowith some improvement.

"I think there's still a lack in USB support right now," he said. "it still needs to work so that moduals automatically load."

Hand in hand with this announcement comes word of the Red Hat Network. The Network will give immediate access of Open Source files and products to developers. It will encourage them to build new drivers and help others do the same.

"As developers continue to port applications to Linux, they require new services that will enable them to take advantage of the breadth of open source development team.

Red Hat 7 will be available in three versions. Each will include productivity applications (some trial versions and some full) and detailed installation documentation. The versions are:

Standard: 60 days web support, 60-day free Red Hat Network trial, SRP of $29.95.

Deluxe: 90 days web support, 90-day free Red Hat Network trial, 30 days phone support, StarOffice software suite, SRP of $79.95.

Professional: 90 days web support, 180 days free Red Hat Network trial, 30 days phone support, 30 days Apache support, StarOffice software suite, SRP of $179.95.