For end users, Yellow Dog Linux v6.1 offers an updated Firefox and OpenOffice.org, a vastly improved graphical wireless configuration tool, and the introduction of ps3vram functionality which enables use of PS3 video RAM for temporary storage or swap.
For developers, v6.1 offers the latest stable kernel, an updated GCC, the open portion of the IBM Cell SDK v3.1, and through a working relationship with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, YDL v6.1 now ships with the new Cell Superscalar.
With the appearance of new multicore processor architectures, the Cell Broadband Engine included, there is a need for new programming paradigms. CellSs is a programming model that addresses the automatic exploitation of functional parallelism from a sequential application with annotations.
Yellow Dog Linux v6.1 supports:
- Sony PS3.
- Apple PowerPC G4, G5.
- YDL PowerStation.
- IBM System p (JS2x, 510, 520, 540).
Yellow Dog Linux v6.1 offers these updates over v6.0:
- Kernel 2.6.27
- GCC 4.1.2
- Cell SDK 3.1
- Firefox 3.0
- OpenOffice 2.3 (v3.0 coming to YDL.net Enhanced soon!)
- X.org 1.4.999 with xrandr 1.2.2
- Dramatically improved, automated wireless config.
- GUI configuration tool for YDL.net.
- Bluetooth support for the PS3 Sixaxis controller.
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center CellSs.
- ps3vram for fast, temp file storage or swap using PS3 video RAM.
Users often state that YDL is the simplest to install of any distribution. Post-installation, the default applications are a makes-sense offering of the industry standards: Firefox web browser, Thunderbird email, Pidgin IM/IRC client, Ekiga voice over IP, OpenOffice, gThumb and GIMP, the Fluendo multimedia player installer, and a suite of personal accessories.
