Fedora 7 the latest version of the Linux distribution sponsored by Red Hat was released. This is the first Fedora release to incorporate and unify both the Core and Extra platform components, thus obviating the need for the traditional inclusion of the word “Core” in the distribution’s name. This is also the first release to be constructed with Fedora’s new build system, which will vastly simplify development of custom versions and derivatives.
Fedora 7 features the latest versions of many popular open-source software programs, including GNOME 2.18, KDE 3.5.6, Xorg 7.2, and version 2.6.21 of the Linux kernel, with integrated KVM virtualization support. The version of Xorg 7.2 included in Fedora 7 features extensive support for display hot-plugging, a much-anticipated feature that will hopefully eliminate the need for frustrating Xorg configuration tweaking typically required for multiple monitor configurations and projector support.
Fedora 7 also includes the NetworkManager utility for improved wireless networking, a new SELinux graphical configuration tool, support for Fast User Switching, a new Firewire stack, and support for the experimental Nouveau driver, an open-source alternative to NVIDIA’s proprietary drivers that could eventually provide complete support for hardware-accelerated 3D rendering.