Mageia 3 Alpha 3 Is Ready To Go

Following a slight delay, Mageia 3 Alpha 3 is now available for those interested in testing this Mandriva-derived Linux distribution.

Key changes for this third alpha release of Mageia 3 include re-factoring and cleaning the urpmi command, installation improvements, and many package updates. Mageia Linux also now uses OverlayFS for the Live environment images.

Mageia 3 Alpha 3 is packing the Linux 3.6.5 kernel, systemd 195, Perl 5.16.1, RPM 4.10.1, and various other new and updated packages. Interestingly, Mageia is still living with the legacy GRUB boot-loader and not the newer and commonly used GRUB2, but test packages are available.

More information on today's Mageia 3 Alpha 3 release can be found from the release notes and Mageia blog post. Mageia 3 is planned for release in late March of next year. The first beta release of Mageia 3 is expected in mid-December.