I've just gotten far enough along with the Mandriva 2010.1 Beta release to write about it, so why not fill the time with something interesting, and perhaps something to compare the Ubuntu Beta to?

Mandriva posted the final development release of Mandriva Linux 2010, complete with the Moblin v2.0 netbook environment. Based on Linux 2.5.31, Mandriva 2010 RC2 offers a choice of KDE 4.3.2 and GNOME 2.28 desktops, plus Intel Poulsbo chipset drivers, guest accounts, and the Nepomuk collaborative desktop.

Mandriva 2010.2 is an incremental update on top of Mandriva 2010.1, incorporating all the security and bugfix updates since its release.

I had a quick look at the Mandriva Linux 2010 GNOME edition and it turned out to be great. Having used Mandriva Linux 2009 and 2009 Spring GNOME, I was certain that this release is going to be as solid as stable as it ever was.

One of the better features of Mandriva Linux is its updates notification tool, which not only alerts you when there are available package updates, but also notifies the user when a new version is available - a distribution upgrade. This article documents my experience upgrading Mandriva One 2010 and Mandriva Free 2010 to Mandriva One 2010 Spring and Mandriva Free 2010 Spring respectively.

Time has came for first beta release for 2010 Spring version of Mandriva Linux. It’s now available through 32 and 64 DVD isos, as well as live-CD isos for GNOME and KDE on public mirrors

Many bug fixes in Mandriva tools especially in network tools. Bugfixes in KDE 4.3 and GNOME 2.27.90, Linux kernel 2.6.31 final release, Amarok 2.2 Beta 2. This release also comes with new integration of Nepomuk semantic desktop in KDE. This experimental functionnality helps you add notes to all your files, add some annotations and labels.

Ubuntu and Mandriva are two of the most popular desktop Linux brands. Both are backed by commercial entities. Ubuntu by Canonical Ltd., and Mandriva by Mandriva. Both are free to download and use, and have a vibrant, online user community. Ubuntu is a GNOME-based distro, while Mandriva One has separate iso images for GNOME and KDE desktop environments.

Mandriva team wishes you happy new year 2010 and is proud to propose the first alpha release for 2010 Spring. Together with these isos, you will find also technical specifications for this coming release.