Fedora 12 is out in few mirrors.

one of the mirror

http://fedora.c3sl.ufpr.br/linux/releases/12/

Full mirror list

Few new features of fedora 12 are

• Dracut is a replacement for nash/mkinitrd
• Set Empathy as the default IM client
• Re-base to GNOME 2.28
• Rebase to KDE 4.3 and offer new features such as DeviceKit support
• Lots of new virtualization features
• Add support to Fedora for the Moblin Core NetBook/NetTop/MID desktop environment
• Rakudo is an implementation of the Perl 6 specification for the Parrot virtual machine
• Update libtheora to the 1.1 release
• Changing the base architecture to i686 and optimizing for current 32-bit processors

Complete feature list here

Windows only: Free application Portable Ubuntu for Windows runs an entire Linux operating system as a Windows application. As if that weren’t cool enough, it’s portable, so you can carry it on your thumb drive.

Built from the same guts as the andLinux system that lets you seamlessly run Linux apps on your Windows desktop, Portable Ubuntu is a stand-alone package that runs a fairly standard (i.e. orange-colored, GNOME-based) version of the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution. It just doesn’t bother creating its own desktop, and puts all its windows inside your Windows, er, windows.

The coolest parts about Portable Ubuntu are:

• It actually works (in most cases, on most systems).
• It fits on a (larger) thumb drive and can run entirely from it.
• It can work on, and save to, your Windows folders and files.
• It’s persistent, so changes you make and apps you install are carried around with you.
• It’s easily manageable from Windows, and works great on dual monitors.

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Big Blue has lost some friends in the clouds. This weekend, IBM was in the eye of a storm dealing with companies such as Google, Amazon.com, and Microsoft. The Internet search giant, the online retailer and the software behemoth all withdrew support for IBM’s effort to launch a cloud-computing initiative.

Members of the Cloud Computing Interoperability Forum (CCIF) also pulled their support.

The core issue behind the loss of support was IBM’s manifesto. Some companies weren’t happy about being invited late in the process, while others believe there are some political efforts under way.

Not an Open Process

The CCIF’s organizer, Reuven Cohen, said because the group represents members from various industries, it could not endorse just one document.

“I don’t think anyone had any issues with the document, that was hard to argue with and I’m an advocate for an open ecosystem for cloud computing,” Cohen said. “The issue is a lot of people in the community — small and big companies and individuals — believe cloud is an approachable technology.”

The CCIF could not endorse the manifesto because some of its members didn’t agree that it was an open and fair process. “They feared that it was overly political and may have agendas,” Cohen said.

“While Google isn’t party to the manifesto, we are a strong advocate of cloud computing, given the substantial benefits for consumers and businesses,” said Google’s Jon Murchinson. “We value industry dialog that results in more and better delivery of software and services via the Internet, and appreciate IBM’s leadership and commitment in this area. We continue to be open to interoperability with all vendors and any data.”

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Yahoo has just released a new application which brings their location-aware platform Fire Eagle to Facebook’s social network. The new app called “Friends on Fire” lets you easily share your current location with a set of trusted friends. Fire Eagle users can also share short, Twitter-like posts with each other. These are quick updates and tips tied to your location and displayed on a map within Facebook. In addition, the Fire Eagle team has also introduced a FireFox Extn that lets you update your location with just one click.

Friends on Fire

When you click the “Get Started” button in the Friends On Fire Facebook application, you’re redirected to Yahoo’s Fire Eagle page where you have to sign in with a Yahoo ID. If you don’t already have one, then you’ll need to create one here – an extra step that may be a bit off-putting for new users.

Once you’ve signed in, you must provide an email address for receiving important updates from Fire Eagle. You then must also specify at what intervals you want to receive an email that asks if you’re still comfortable sharing your location. The choices you’re given are “once per month,” “once every 3 months,” and “don’t bother.” Finally, you have to accept the terms of service and give the Facebook app access to your location.

Back in Facebook, you’ll be shown the other Fire Eagle users among your friends and given the opportunity to connect with them. You can also configure additional settings like how exact the location updates are, who can see them on the map, and whether or not the posts update your wall.

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IBM’s research scientists in India have developed a technology that will offer users the ability to talk to the Web and create ‘voice’ sites using mobile phones according to a news article in the Economic Times today.

Hyperspeech Transfer Protocol (HSTP), a protocol designed to seamlessly connect telephony voice applications, will enable users to browse across voice applications by navigating the Hyperspeech (the voice hyperlink) content in a voice application.

“People will talk to the Web and the Web will respond. The research technology is analogous to the Internet. Unlike personal computers it will work on mobile phones where people can simply create their voice sites,” IBM India Research Laboratory Associate Director Manish Gupta told the Economic Times.

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AVerMedia on Monday announced the launch of the AVerTVHD Volar Max, a new USB 2.0-based TV tuner that’s PC and Mac compatible. It costs US$70.

The AVerTVHD Volar Max is a TV tuner stick — a USB thumbstick that enables your Mac to receive HD digital television and unencrypted digital cable (ClearQAM) signals, at up to 1080i resolution.

The device includes AVerTV for Mac software to manage tuning, “timeshifting” and Personal Video Recording (PVR) features. It supports closed captions and digital surround sound.