After more than eight months of development, the openSUSE project has released version 11.4 of the openSUSE Linux distribution. According to the developers, the major release includes significant improvements and new features, as well as the latest in free software applications.

The latest version of openSUSE is based on the 2.6.37 Linux kernel and features the KDE SC 4.6 desktop, as well as the latest stable release of GNOME 2.32 – the Xfce desktop environment was also updated to version 4.8.0 and an LXDE 0.5 option is available. Other changes include the complete removal of the HAL (hardware abstraction layer), new and updated drivers, including open Broadcom Wireless drivers, and improvements to Wacom support. The graphics drivers included with the system have also been updated, improving overall 2D and 3D acceleration.

Version 11.4 also marks the introduction of Tumbleweed, the project's rolling release repository. Tumbleweed contains the latest stable versions of projects, such as Firefox and Thunderbird, which should allow users to keep more up to date, as opposed to relying on a rigid, periodic release cycle for the entire distribution.

Package updates include Apache 2.2.17, version 1.4.26 of the lighttpd lightweight web server, the 0.8.54 ngninx HTTP and mail proxy server, VirtualBox 4.0.4, PostgreSQL 9.0.3, and Qt 4.7.1 and QtCreator 2.1. The OpenOffice.org office suite has been replaced with version 3.3.1 of the LibreOffice community fork and a pre-release version of Firefox 4, Mozilla's soon to be released open source web browser, is also included.

More details about the release, including desktop screen shots, can be found in the official release announcement. Version 11.4 of openSUSE is available to download for 32- and 64-bit systems as a DVD or LiveCD image from the project's web site.

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(crve)