We've opened the box for the Fedora 19 "Schrödinger's Cat" beta release
and confirmed it's alive! Ready to purr at the latest free and open
source technology? Download it now:

http://fedoraproject.org/get-prerelease

**** What is the Beta release? ****

The Beta release is the last important milestone before the release of
Fedora 19. Only critical bug fixes will be pushed as updates, leading
up to the general release of Fedora 19. Join us in making Fedora 19 a
solid release by downloading, testing, and providing your valuable
feedback.

Of course, this is a beta release, meaning that some problems may still
be lurking. A list of the problems we already know about is found at
the Common F19 bugs page, seen here:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Common_F19_bugs

Fedora 19 Beta's default configuration allows applications and users
with administrative privileges to install signed packages from the
official Fedora repositories (but no other packages) without
authentication or confirmation. This was inherited from PackageKit
upstream, is not Fedora's intended behavior, and will not be the case
for the Fedora 19 final release. More details on this issue and the
planned behavior for the final release can be found at
https://fedorahosted.org/fesco/ticket/1115 .

**** Features ****

Fedora 19 continues our long tradition of bringing the latest
technologies to open source software users. No matter what you do with
open source, Fedora 19 has the tools you need to help you get things
done.

A complete list with details of each new feature is available here:

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/19/FeatureList

=== Make new things ===
Would you like to play? Whether you're a developer, maker, or just
starting to learn about open source development, we have what you need
to bring your ideas to reality. Here's a peek at some of our new tools:

* 3D modelling and printing are enabled through a variety of tools,
including OpenSCAD, Skeinforge, SFACT, Printrun, and RepetierHost. By
bringing 3D printing tools into Fedora, you can get started with
what's ready-to-go in the repositories without having to download
binary blobs or run Python code from git.

* OpenShift Origin makes it easy for you to build your own
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) infrastructure, allowing you to enable
others to easily develop and deploy software.

* node.js is a popular Javascript-based platform for those building
scalable network applications or real-time apps across distributed
devices. Also included is the npm package manager, providing access
to over 20,000 programs and libraries available under free and open
source licenses.

* Ruby 2.0.0, just released in February, comes to Fedora while
maintaining source-level backwards compatibility with your Ruby 1.9.3
software. Also included: a custom Ruby loader for easy switching of
interpreters.

* MariaDB, a community-developed fork of MySQL, is the default
implementation of MySQL in Fedora 19, offering users a truly open
MySQL implementation.

=== Get things done ===

* Federated VOIP means Fedora users can make calls using a user@domain
address with the same convenience as email.

* CUPS has been updated to the latest upstream release, using PDF
rather than PostScript as the baseline document format.

=== Learn ===

* Developer's Assistant is great for those new to development or even
new to Linux, this tool helps you to get started on a code project
with templates, samples, and toolchains for the languages of your
choice. Bonus: It lets you publish directly to GitHub.

=== Deploy, Monitor, and Manage ===
Make your machines work for you--not the other way around. Whether you
have one or "one too many" machines, Fedora 19 helps you boot manage
your systems and enables you to be proactive with tools for diagnosis,
monitoring, and logging.

* Syslinux optional boot tool integration brings you optional,
simplified booting of Fedora. We have added support for using
syslinux instead of GRUB via kickstart and plan to add a hidden
option in Anaconda installer as well. syslinux is especially ideal
for images used in cloud environments and virt appliances where the
advanced features of GRUB are not needed.

* Among other systemd enhancements in this release, systemd Resource
Control lets you modify your service settings without a reboot by
dynamically querying and modifying resource control parameters at
runtime.

* Kerberos administrators will enjoy an easier experience, thanks to
Fedora 19 removing the need for Kerberos clients to sync their clocks
or to have reverse DNS records carefully setup for services. In
addition, it provies Kerberos-enabled, LDAP replicated, two-factor
authentication for FreeIPA.

* OpenLMI is a common infrastructure for the management of Linux
systems that makes remote management of machines much simpler.

**** Desktop Environments and Spins ****

=== GNOME 3.8 ===

GNOME 3.8 brings new applications such as clock and improvements to the
desktop including privacy and sharing settings, ordered search,
frequent applications overview, and additionally provides the ability
to enable a "classic mode" for a user experience similar to GNOME 2
built out of a collection of GNOME Shell extensions. Refer to
https://help.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/3.8/ for more details.

=== KDE Plasma Workspaces 4.10 ===

A modern, stable desktop environment, KDE Plasma Workspaces 4.10
includes new features for printing and screenlocking, better indexing
of files, and improved accessibility features. Refer to
http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.10/ for more details.

=== Spins ===

Spins are alternate versions of Fedora. In addition to various desktop
environments for Fedora, spins are also available as tailored
environments for various types of users via hand-picked application
sets or customizations. You can read more about Fedora's Spins here:
http://spins.fedoraproject.org

Interest-specific Spins include the Design Suite Spin, the Robotics
Spin, and the Security Spin, among others. Other available desktop
environments, in addition to the GNOME 3.8 desktop which is shipped in
the default version of Fedora 19, as well as those highlighted above,
include Xfce, Sugar on a Stick, and LXDE.

To see all of the Official Fedora 19 Release Spins, see the Fedora 19
Release Spins link: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/19/Spins

Nightly composes of alternate Spins are available here:
http://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/alt/nightly-composes

**** Contributing ****

We can't build Fedora inside a box. We need your help! Bug reports are
especially helpful--if you encounter any issues, please report them!

Fedora is a fantastic, friendly community, and we have many ways in
which you can contribute, including documentation, marketing, design,
QA, and development.

To learn how to help us, visit:
http://join.fedoraproject.org/