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Another step forward in the search for the perfect operating system has come today, with the release of Fedora 8. While the Fedora distributions have not enjoyed the tremendous upsurge in popularity that Ubuntu has, it continues to build on a solid base of loyal users. And they should be, as Fedora continues to be the only distribution I have ever used over time that works on every system I’ve tried. Ubuntu can’t match that record.

Fedora is the launch pad for Red Hat distributions, so errors and disabling flaws get weeded out quickly by the developers, who work on a much different system than other groups.

from the publisher -

The Fedora Project is an openly-developed project designed by Red Hat, open for general participation, led by a meritocracy, following a set of project objectives. The goal of The Fedora Project is to work with the Linux community to build a complete, general purpose operating system exclusively from open source software. Development will be done in a public forum. The project will produce time-based releases of Fedora Core about 2-3 times a year, with a public release schedule. The Red Hat engineering team will continue to participate in building Fedora Core and will invite and encourage more outside participation than in past releases. By using this more open process, we hope to provide an operating system more in line with the ideals of free software and more appealing to the open source community.

a clean system that works well from the start, with the ability to customize to your heart’s content

Now you’re saying, “Why is this guy putting this stuff here?”

Well, because I’m sure more than a few of you have desire to build an HTPC. For those who do, a choice to build is usually based either on freedom from monthly fees by a cable or satellite provider, or lack of available cash. Toward the lack of available cash, or the better use of that cash elsewhere, using Linux as your operating system, rather than any version of Windows, means you don’t fork over money for the OS, and you also don’t need quite as much horsepower for the machine, as Linux tends to work well with less powerful hardware.  (Don’t be afraid to spend for great hardware and use Linux, recent times have shown that, unlike years before, the Linux distributions actually have better device support for new stuff than Windows Vista.)

Also, when using Linux, the PVR software works better and although your television tuner choices tend to be more limited, the ones you can choose work better than those made for Windows, as the complete functionality can be used. This is because the hardware is made more transparent to the programmers, instead of trying to protect some arcane coding and a manufacturer’s copyrights.

Myth TV is PVR software that has been evolving over time, and works very well on Fedora. That is not to say it will not work on the other well known distributions, but the author tells us that the software works best on Fedora. I believe him.

   some pictures of use of MythTV

MythTV has Picture-in-Picture capabilities!

features which make MythTV more rich than even TiVo!

Myth has so many more choices, and the list of things it does is long.  The software has a DVD playing module, a ripping and burning module, a slide show module for pictures stored, a weather module, and an RSS feed reader. Give it a look at mythtv.org.

Also give a look to Fedora 8. You may find that you wish to build a full size PC with the idea that it can function as a PVR and full-use home computer.  A dual core CPU and a couple of tuner cards in the case would assure that it will be a winning project. Good audio, either built on the motherboard, or from an add-in card, would assure use as a great HTPC.

download link for Fedora 8

FAQ and other information for Fedora 8

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