Novell showcases Linux Desktop 10

Novell showcases Linux Desktop 10

Novell is still some months away from releasing their next iteration of the Linux Desktop operating system. However, they had some interesting features to showcase to the media gathering where they displayed a working prototype of their upcoming version of Linux Desktop 10.

Nat Friedman, the company’s vice president of Linux desktop engineering was addressing the media at a keynote presentation at the Solutions Linux conference and trade show on the outskirts of Paris. He displayed a working Linux installation playing videos and MP3 music files. It even managed to successfully exchange music and videos with an Apple iPod and a digital camera. This upcoming update from the company would also have great features to lure in the business users.

However, the highlight of this update would be availability of simple features like ability to play digital media out of the box, which was not possible until now because of the patented nature of the mp3 file format. To get around this flaw, Novell developed their own MP3 player software, Banshee, for which it has licensed the patents. However, it would not be available under GPL license.

Friedman also showcased the advanced video playing capabilities of the open-source graphics subsystem, XGL that is being integrated into the operating system.