Software update: LinuxMCE 1.1 beta 2

A few days ago, the developers of LinuxMCE released the second beta version of the 1.1 branch made available. The new beta can only be downloaded via this torrent as an ISO file and takes up a bit more than 826 megabytes as a download. LinuxMCE is able to convert a Kubuntu installation into a full-fledged media center OS. The program includes a large number of tools to record and playback programs, as well as an extensive user interface to view various media on the screen. The LinuxMCE 1.1 series has an improved installation procedure in contrast to the 1.0 branch. In addition, the media center software no longer uses Ubuntu and Gnome, but Kubuntu and KDE. What else has changed in LinuxMCE 1.1 beta 2 can be read below:

What’s new with Version 1.1

LinuxMCE Version 1.1 for Kubuntu Feisty represents a significant change over 1.0. The code in LinuxMCE 1.0 was already quite stable, however, many users reported installation issues, too many scripts inherited from Pluto that took over the conf files, a kludgey integration with Ubuntu, and incomplete integration with MythTV. All these are addressed in the new 1.1. We will leave the beta cd on this site until enough people try it out and confirm there are no more installation issues, and then we’ll post the actual 1.1 release, hopefully around May 25.

Integration with KDE

The biggest change with 1.1 is that it is now based on Kubuntu, not Ubuntu, and integrates with the KDE Desktop. A problem with LinuxMCE 1.0 was that the window manager in the Gnome desktop in Ubuntu does not support compositing and some of the other extensions needed to deliver a rich multi-media experience. Therefore, in LinuxMCE 1.0, Ubuntu and LinuxMCE ran in separate X-sessions, so LinuxMCE could have its own desktop and window manager. However, you cannot have two X sessions both using hardware acceleration, therefore LinuxMCE forced Ubuntu to use Vesa mode, and the integration was messy. KDE, however, does allow use of XFWM, which supports compositing and all the other visual goodies, so now LinuxMCE runs entirely within the KDE desktop and can be installed/un-installed and started/stopped like a normal app, and simply appears as an additional KDE desktop.

Also, the KDE core developer, Aaron Seigo, has confirmed that KDE and LinuxMCE make a nice fit, and the plan is to integrate the LinuxMCE project into KDE for the highly anticipated KDE 4.0 release. Now with LinuxMCE, KDE will also deliver home/media PC users a media-rich experience with lots of eye candy and a 10′ UI. Many thanks to AMD, Pluto and Fiire for making the connection, and also for providing a lot of technical assistance.

New installer

The new installer includes a utility to test your video cards capabilities, and also caches on the CD the various 3rd party Kubuntu packages LinuxMCE depends on so the installation won’t fail if a mirror is unreachable, which was the #1 cause of installation problems with 1.0.

New Launch Manager and conf file management

A new Launch Manager allows you to start and stop LinuxMCE like a normal application, and also control the startup sequence. Additionally, whenever LinuxMCE needs to make changes to your configuration, such as setting up network booting for any thin clients, it will make a backup of your existing conf files, notify you of the changes, and let you manually edit them. Thus, for a total Linux newbie, LinuxMCE can still be a fully automated ‘black box’ solution requiring no knowledge of Linux internals, but it will no longer frustrate advanced Linux users who don’t want their configuration settings overwritten.

Known issues with 1.1 beta 2

All known issues with the LinuxMCE 1.1 beta 1 released on May 16 are fixed with this beta 2 released May 25. No known issues yet.

[break]