Linux kernel 2.6.33 rc6 is now the default kernel in Mandriva Cooker. In this kernel, the anticipatory I/O scheduler has been removed, and there were again various performance improvements to the CFQ I/O scheduler, which is the default already for a long time. There were also different performance improvements to KVM virtualization (such as improved kernel context switching speed and IRQ scaling). There are power saving improvements in the Intel i915 driver (render standby and LVDS downclock, the latter being disabled by default for now), a new driver supporting VMware’s paravirtualized SCSI device, better support for ALPS DualPoint touchpad/trackpoint on some Dell laptops, and many other improvements to hardware support.
GNOME has been updated to development version 2.29.6. Epiphany enables Webkit’s page cache by default, which makes using the Back and Forward buttons much faster now There is also a new Epiphany extension available to view Youtube movies without having Flash installed. There were further performance improvements in the GLib library. Gnome Activity Journal, a tool which uses Zeitgeist to let you browse through the documents you recently worked on, is now available in Mandriva. Evolution opens attachments read-only to prevent accidentally loosing modification you might make. Vinagre now supports tunneling VNC connections over SSH. Gnome Color Manager, a utility to set up colour profiles for your monitor, is now packaged in Mandriva Cooker.
Firefox has been updated to the final 3.6 version. Ars Technica has an article giving an overview of some of the changes, which include Personas, better performance, and better support for HTML5 and other web standards.
Transmission 1.83 is now available in Mandriva Cooker. It adds support for magnet links and trackerless torrents and has many other improvements.
The popular media centre software xbmc is now available in Mandriva Cooker. Ideally for setting up a Home Theatre PC (HTPC) with Mandriva!
Spamassassin has been updated to version 3.3.0. There are new plug-ins and adaptations of the default scores for better spam detection. The rules now are in a separate spamassassin-rules package and by default sa-update is run on a daily basis to update them.
Songbird, an advanced music player, has been updated to version 1.4.3, which includes a new default look.