Korora Xfce

Korora Xfce is a free distribution of Linux, a custom edition of this Fedora-based operating system that uses the lightweight Xfce desktop environment and a great selection of open source applications.

Distributed as Live DVD images for the mainstream architectures

The Xfce edition of Korora Linux is available for download as Live DVD ISO images, supporting only 64-bit (x86_64) instruction set architectures. The ISOs must be written on DVD discs or USB flash drives of 2GB or higher capacity in order to boot them from the BIOS of a PC.

Boot options

The boot menu of the Live DVD ISO images is identical with the one used on all Korora editions, as well as many other Fedora respins. It allows you to start the live environment with default drivers and boot options or in safe graphics mode, perform a system memory diagnostic test, boot an existing operating system from the first disk, as well as to check the integrity of the bootable medium (only if booting from a DVD disc).

Low-on-resources desktop environment powered by Xfce

As mentioned, the distribution comes with a low-on-resources desktop environment that is both traditional and attractive, powered by Xfce. It uses a top panel for quick access to installed applications, as well as a bottom dock (application launcher). In addition, an intuitive and innovative welcome screen will help you learn more about this Korora editions.

A great selection of open source applications

The distribution comes with a great selection of open source applications, among which we can mention ownCloud client, GIMP image editor, RawTherapee RAW image editor, Shotwell image viewer and organizer, Inkscape vector graphics editor, Ekiga softphone, Mozilla Firefox web browser, LibreOffice office suite, Liferea news reader, and Mozilla Thunderbird email and news client.

Bottom line

Summing up, Korora Xfce provides users with yet another lightweight edition of this Fedora-based Linux operating system. We strongly recommend you to also check out some other Korora editions, with the Cinnamon, MATE, GNOME and KDE desktop environments.

What is new in this release:

• Images are 64 bit only, 32 bit users can still upgrade:
• Over the last few versions the demand for 32 bit ISOs has markedly decreased to the point where we feel it's no-longer necessary to provide install images for the platform. Starting with Korora 24, images will be 64 bit (x86_64) only, however those who have 32 bit systems already are still able to upgrade to Korora 24. If you have been running 32 bit Korora on 64 bit hardware we strongly encourage you to install the 64 bit version instead.
• No KDE Plasma release yet:
• We would dearly love to have a KDE iso ready to go, but we ran into a number of issues and decided to not let this hold up the release of Korora 24.. It is possible to upgrade a Korora 23 install of KDE to Korora 24 however there are some settings such as themes may need to be manually set up again.
• Pharlap has been deprecated:
• As previously announced, driver manager Pharlap will not be included in Korora 24. If you have any questions about drivers you can contact us via Engage or on IRC.
• Features:
• Cinnamon 3.0:
• This new release of Cinnamon includes lots of refinements. Refer to the Cinnamon Release Announcement for more details.
• GNOME 3.20:
• GNOME 3.20 also has improved support for the Wayland compositor. Refer to the GNOME Release Announcement for more details.
• Mate 1.14:
• This release mainly focused on bug fixes and improving support for GTK3.20. Refer to the Mate Release announcement for more details.
• Xfce 4.12:
• This release mainly focused on polishing the desktop and improving the user experience in various ways. Refer to the Xfce Tour for more details.
• But wait, there's more:
• Derived from Fedora 241, Korora benefits from Fedora's long tradition of bringing the latest technologies to open source software users.

What is new in version 23:

• Cinnamon 2.8
• This new release of Cinnamon includes lots of refinements. Refer to the Cinnamon Release Announcement for more details.
• GNOME 3.18
• GNOME 3.18 brings Google Drive integration in Files, automatic screen brightness and Touchpad gestures. GNOME 3.18 also has improved support for the Wayland compositor. Refer to the GNOME Release Announcement for more details.
• KDE Plasma 5.5.4
• A modern, stable desktop environment, KDE Plasma 5.5.4 sees a large number of improvements including better dpi support and improved memory use plus many bug fixes. Refer to the KDE Plasma Announcement for more details.
• Mate 1.12
• This release mainly focused on bug fixes and improving support for GTK3. Refer to the Mate Release announcement for more details.
• Xfce 4.12
• This release mainly focused on polishing the desktop and improving the user experience in various ways. Refer to the Xfce Tour for more details.

What is new in version 22 / 23 Beta:

• This release mainly focused on polishing the desktop and improving the user experience in various ways. Based on Fedora 23.

What is new in version 22:

• The Xfce spin has been updated to Xfce 4.12. This release has an enormous number of improvements, including HiDPI support, improvements to window tiling, support for Gtk3 plugins, and many improvements for multi-monitor support.
• Faster and better dependency management with DNF:
• With Korora 22 we're introducing a major change under the hood; we're now using DNF and hawkey to manage packages. DNF is much like the Yum software package manager (it's largely command-line compatible), but re-written and re-engineered to provide optimal performance and (along with Hawkey) provide a strict API definition for plugins and extending projects. DNF also makes use of the libsolv library initially pioneered by the openSUSE Project to provide faster and better dependency management.
• It also boasts a better performance and memory footprint vs. Yum, and is designed to have a cleaner codebase and be easier to maintain.
• Elasticsearch:
• Elasticsearch is full-featured and very popular self-standing open source indexing server, and now it's available by with just a "yum install elasticsearch" - no, wait, make that "dnf install elasticsearch" :-)
• GNU Compiler Collection 5:
• Korora 22 comes with GCC 5.1 as the primary compiler suite.
• Captive Portal Detection:
• Korora GNOME, by default, enables a captive portal detection that requests known content from a trusted Fedora server. If the request is redirected, a window automatically appears for you to interact with the portal's login webpage.
• To disable this feature, remove /etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/20-connectivity-fedora.conf
• Developer orientated firewall:
• Developers often run test servers that run on high numbered ports, and interconnectivity with many modern consumer devices also requires these ports. The firewall in Korora GNOME, firewalld, is configured to allow these things.
• Ports numbered under 1024, with the exceptions of sshd and clients for Samba and DHCPv6, are blocked to prevent access to system services. Ports above 1024, used for user-initiated applications, are open by default.

What is new in version 21:

• This release mainly focused on polishing the desktop and improving the user experience in various ways. The application finder has been completely rewritten and now supports creating custom actions matching a prefix or regex pattern. The Panel has seen improvements including a Deskbar mode where the panel is aligned vertically but the plugins are laid out horizontally which works really well on systems with wide screens.

What is new in version 21 Beta:

• This release mainly focused on polishing the desktop and improving the user experience in various ways. The application finder has been completely rewritten and now supports creating custom actions matching a prefix or regex pattern. The Panel has seen improvements including a Deskbar mode where the panel is aligned vertically but the plugins are laid out horizontally which works really well on systems with wide screens.

What is new in version 20:

• GNOME 3.10 represents another iteration to the new desktop which is also targeting native Wayland support.
• KDE Plasma Workspaces 4.11 brings a host of bug fixes, speed ups and improvements to the native applications including Kontact, KScreen and KGet.
• Application Installer brings a new interface for installing packages in GNOME.
• NetworkManager should be able to configure bond master and bridge interfaces with commonly used options and recognise their existing configuration on startup without disrupting their operation.
• LVM has introduced thin provisioning technology, which provides greatly improved snapshot functionality in addition to thin provisioning capability. This change will make it possible to configure thin provisioning during OS installation.
• Plasma-nm replaces the current network applet in KDE with a new one and bring the latest features in NetworkManager to KDE.
• SSD Cache is updated thanks to the recent kernel to support (fast) SSD caching of (slow) ordinary hard disks.
• VirtManager user interface for managing virtual machines has the ability to easily manage snapshots.