Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) Alpha 1

Steve Langasek has announced the availability of the delayed first alpha release of Ubuntu 8.10, code name "Intrepid Ibex": "Welcome to Intrepid Ibex Alpha 1, which will in time become Ubuntu 8.10. Alpha 1 is the first in a series of milestone CD images that will be released throughout the Intrepid development cycle. The primary changes from Hardy have been the re-merging of changes from Debian and the upgrade of the Linux kernel to a pre-release version of 2.6.26. As with the beginning of any development cycle, the Intrepid one has seen the merge floodgates open once again. This merge not only brings in lots of new version of various packages, but also a fair number of totally new applications." Read the release announcement and release notes for further details. Only the "alternate" installation images have been made available with this release; download them from here: intrepid-alternate-i386.iso (698MB, MD5, torrent), intrepid-alternate-amd64.iso (697MB, MD5, torrent). Also released: Kubuntu 8.10 Alpha 1 and Xubuntu 8.10 Alpha 1.

Pardus Linux 2008

The Pardus development team has announced the release of Pardus Linux 2008, an independently developed desktop distribution with custom package management and system configuration tools: "New version of the Pardus project, Pardus Linux 2008, improved by the latest technologies and up-to-date applications, has been released. As always, Pardus 2008, is being freely distributed under the terms of GNU General Public License. In compliance with the main goals of the Pardus project, Pardus 2008 has lots of new features for ease of installation and use, both at the infrastructure and interface levels. In addition, Pardus 2008 provides enhanced hardware support, stable and reliable Linux infrastructure and numerous applications on a single CD." Visit the distribution's home page to read the release announcement and check out the release notes for information about new features. Download (MD5) the installation CD images from here: Pardus_2008-Kurulan.iso (695MB, torrent).

GoblinX 2.7 "Mini"

Flavio Pereira de Oliveira has announced the final release of GoblinX 2.7 "Mini" edition, a minimalist desktop live CD based on Slackware Linux: "GoblinX Mini 2.7 is released. After more than four months of development we are pleased to announce the availability of the new stable version. The GoblinX Mini edition is the son of GoblinX and contains only Xfce as windows manager and GTK+ applications. Main upgrades since RC2: added bookmarks to Xfce panel; corrected some small errors and bugs; upgraded some packages, interfaces and scripts; added xf86-video-openchrome, libmpd, cdstatus and Xfmpc; added some missing applications to Xfce menu; added extra folders to be used as package repository; added media package repository to Slapt-getrc; added package upgrade check to Xfce panel with Xfce4-smartpm-plugin; added interface to build module with Slapt-get help; added more Thunar and Nautilus actions; added Totem as audio CD player option." Visit the GoblinX news page to read the full release announcement. Download (MD5): GoblinX.Mini-2.7.iso (150MB).

CentOS 5.2

Karanbir Singh has announced the release of CentOS 5.2, a desktop a server distribution built by recompiling the source RPM packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2: "We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of CentOS 5.2 for the i386 and x86_64 architectures. CentOS 5.2 is based on the upstream release 5.2 and includes packages from all variants, including Server and Client. All upstream repositories have been combined into one, to make it easier for end users to work with. And the option to further enable external repositories at install time is now available in the installer. Further arch support for PowerPC, IA64 and SPARC are planned and will be released soon." Read the release announcement and release notes for more a detailed description of changes and new features. The CD and DVD images are available for download from the project's mirrors: CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-DVD.iso (3,834MB, MD5, torrent), CentOS-5.2-x86_64-bin-DVD.iso (4,388MB, MD5, torrent).

openSUSE 11.0

The long-awaited openSUSE 11.0 has arrived: "The openSUSE Project is proud to announce the release of openSUSE 11.0 - everything you need to get started with Linux on the desktop and on the server. Promoting the use of Linux everywhere, the openSUSE Project provides free, easy access to the world’s most usable Linux distribution, openSUSE. The 11.0 release of openSUSE includes more than 200 new features specific to openSUSE, a redesigned installer that makes openSUSE even easier to install, faster package management thanks to major updates in the ZYpp stack, and KDE 4, GNOME 2.22, Compiz Fusion, and much more." For more information please see the release announcement, product page and release notes. Download (MD5) the installable live CD images from here: openSUSE-11.0-KDE4-LiveCD-i386.iso (644MB, torrent), openSUSE-11.0-KDE4-LiveCD-x86_64.iso (683MB, torrent), openSUSE-11.0-GNOME-LiveCD-i386.iso (664MB, torrent), openSUSE-11.0-GNOME-LiveCD-x86_64.iso (681MB, torrent).

CCleaner 2.09.600

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware!

Cleans the following:
- Internet Explorer: Temporary files, URL history, cookies, Autocomplete form history, index.dat.
- Firefox: Temporary files, URL history, cookies, download history.
- Opera: Temporary files, URL history, cookies.
- Windows: Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files and Log files.
- Registry cleaner: Advanced features to remove unused and old entries, including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more... also comes with a comprehensive backup feature.
- Third-party applications: mRemoves temp files and recent file lists (MRUs) from many apps including Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, MS Office, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and many more...
- 100% Spyware FREE: This software does NOT contain any Spyware, Adware or Viruses.

Features of CCleaner 2.0:
* Complete rebuild in C++
With the requirements for a portable version, 64-bit compatibility and Windows Vista increasing against the limitations of the old architecture. We decided to rebuild the entire CCleaner application in highly optimized C++.
* Faster analyzing and cleaning
Each scanning process was rewritten from scratch and fully optimized. The result being a noticeable speed increase in all areas.
* Portable
CCleaner can now run from a USB thumbdrive and be installed/run on a computer without a complicated setup process.
* Compact
The rewrite removed all external file dependencies, so the main EXE is now half the size of the original program and support files.
* Redesigned User Interface
The original CCleaner user interface was looking a little dated, so the GUI was redesigned with a modern look, but without sacrificing speed or usability. New icons were created for the interface and the main program icon was updated with a more modern style.
* Exclusions
It is now possible to specify files, folders and registry keys to ignore from the cleaning process.
* Loads of little tweaks
Too numerous to mention them all separately, we've tried to improve CCleaner in all areas.

Changes in CCleaner v2.09.600:
- Added full support for Internet Explorer 8.0 beta.
- Improved Opera 9.5 support to fix cache cleaning.
- Improved interface for Startup tool.
- Changed memory management routines to reduce footprint.
- Fixed rare 64-bit performance issues.
- Added splitter bar to interface.
- Fixed repaint issues with certain themes.
- Fixed Spybot cleaning detection.
- Internal code optimizations.
- Updated installer engine to fix icon bug.
- Minor GUI tweaks.

Homepage - http://www.ccleaner.com

Size: 2.78 MB

Download

Download other CCleaner Builds

Performance and Reliability Update for Vista SP1

A reliability and performance update is available for download for Windows Vista Service Pack 1. This specific release targets all Windows Vista editions, provided that they have the first service pack integrated. The update comes with the promise of improving the performance and reliability of the gold version of Vista SP1, and is not addressed at the RTM SKUs of the latest Windows client. Two updates are up for grabs for both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista SP1. "This update resolves issues that may affect some Windows Vista SP1-based computers. These issues have been reported by customers who use the Error Reporting service or Microsoft Customer Support Services," Microsoft informed.

The Redmond company softened all the rough corners of the RTM build of Vista, including
problems related to stability and speed. However, while some issues survived, others were introduced specifically by SP1. The current update is designed to tackle performance, responsiveness, and reliability issues affecting Vista SP1 in a variety of scenarios. At the bottom of this article, you will find the complete list of improvements that the update will deliver to Windows Vista.

The Vista SP1 reliability and performance update signals that a practice started with Vista RTM is turning into a tradition for Microsoft. When SP1 was in the early stages of development, the Redmond giant started serving bits and pieces of the service pack for Vista RTM as performance, reliability, and compatibility releases through Windows Update and the Download Center. The end purpose is, of course, to decrease the level of reliance on service packs, and put the Windows Update infrastructure into the limelight.

The advantage of WU over service pack releases is that end users get much more rapidly resolves and enhancements for their operating system. As far as Microsoft is concerned, the evolution of Windows platforms in sips rather than in big gulps is preferred due to the flexibility it introduces, along with the obvious benefits for users. Still, the dependency on service packs in corporate environments is a factor which will continue to force Microsoft to focus on service pack releases, even though the company is slowly moving Windows Update to the centerstage.

According to Microsoft, "this update includes the following improvements on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer:

• This update improves the stability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by addressing some crashes that may occur when you try to check e-mail by using a POP3 e-mail client such as Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird. The crashes may occur on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer in the following scenario incoming POP3 and outgoing SMTP traffic monitoring is enabled.

• Both a third-party antivirus application and an antispyware application are installed, such as the following applications: ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite by Check Point Software Technologies and SpySweeper by Webroot Software.

• This update improves the reliability of the Windows Vista SP1 based-computers by addressing some problems that occur when you delete user accounts by using the User Accounts item in Control Panel. When this problem occurs, the system may stop responding (hang).

• This update improves the reliability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers that experience issues in which large applications cannot run after the computer is turned on for extended periods of time. For example, when you try to start Excel 2007 after the computer is turned on for extended periods of time, a user may receive an error message that resembles the following:
EXCEL.EXE is not a valid Win32 application

• This update improves the reliability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by reducing the number of crashes that may be caused by the Apple QuickTime thumbnail preview in Windows Live Photo Gallery.

• This update improves the performance of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by reducing audio and video (AV) stuttering. Such AV stuttering may occur when the audio or video component is streaming high definition content from a Windows Vista SP1-based computer that has a NVIDIA network adapter nForce driver version 67.5.4.0 that is installed to a Windows Media Center Extender device."

Download : Performance and Reliability Update for Vista SP1 (32)
Download : Performance and Reliability Update for Vista SP1 (64)

Microsoft Process Monitor 1.35

Process Monitor is an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity. It combines the features of two legacy Sysinternals utilities, Filemon and Regmon, and adds an extensive list of enhancements including rich and non-destructive filtering, comprehensive event properties such session IDs and user names, reliable process information, full thread stacks with integrated symbol support for each operation, simultaneous logging to a file, and much more. Its uniquely powerful features will make Process Monitor a core utility in your system troubleshooting and malware hunting toolkit. The software runs on Windows 2000 SP4/XP SP2/2003/Vista /x64.

Download : Microsoft Process Monitor 1.35