[Bio-linux-dev] Bio-Linux 6 Beta 1 release

[Tim Booth]

Dear Bio-Linux testers,

I'm pleased and relieved to send out the first Beta of Bio-Linux 6
(build 6.0.13).  I hope you enjoy it and look forward to the feedback
and discussion.  Please download the ISO from here:

http://nebc.nerc.ac.uk/downloads/bl_beta_release/

This can be burned to a DVD in the usual way (see
http://nebc.nerc.ac.uk/tools/bio-linux/other-bl-docs/dvdtrouble).  While
there will be some changes in the final release, this will not
necessitate re-installation so please do go ahead and install this
version if you can. 

Main changes from BL5 (to recap):

     1. Based on new Ubuntu "Lucid Lynx"
     2. 64-bit system
     3. General fixes and cleanups
     4. Many new packages, documentation and sample data added since the
        initial BL5 release
     5. FreeNX installed as standard
     6. More reliable operation in live mode (we hope)

Miscellaneous useful info:

        If you boot the DVD and immediately see a message that you have
        an "i686 processor" this means that your machine is not 64-bit
        capable.  Most modern machines are, but some (notably netbooks)
        are still 32-bit only.
        
        After installation, run 'apt-get update' and 'apt-get install
        ubuntu-restricted-extras' if you want to install a range of
        things like Flash player and Microsoft fonts.
        
        If you do not have DHCP, after entering your network options
        manually you need to click the little network icon and select
        "Auto eth0" to apply them.
        
        Java on the system is now OpenJDK.  This should work perfectly
        well, but Sun JDK is also available if you need it.

Known issues in Bio-Linux Beta 1 (build 6.0.13):

     1. No ARB or YAMAP packages included yet.  These will come soon.
     2. CRAN repository for Lucid not yet available, so the R packages
        are those supplied by Ubuntu, version 2.10.  For the final
        release R 2.11 will be included.
     3. This version is based off Ubuntu 10.04RC1, not the official
        Ubuntu 10.04 release.  This should not cause any problems.
     4. Making a bootable USB stick directly from the DVD is untested
        and probably broken.
     5. Ugly errors may appear on screen part way through booting.  This
        seems to be an issue with with the the Ubuntu RC1 so it should
        go away in the next beta release.  The errors can be ignored.
     6. The default backup system (that dumps backups to a second drive,
        if available) is untested at this point, though it should work
        as before.
     7. No Handlebar demo on live image.  Some text on the website
        advertises this as a feature but it isn't included yet.
     8. Various wish-list items still to implement - more on these in a
        later mail.
     9. Ubuntu branding appears on the login screen and installer.
    10. The installer progress bar goes up to well over 100% before
        completing.
    11. The Firestarter firewall needs to be configured manually by
        running Firestarter under the System->Administration menu.
    12. The DVD will *always* boot in English with a UK keyboard.  You
        can select something else during installation or set a new
        keboard in Gnome.
    13. The remote admin account (user nebc) can't administer the
        machine until you do "sudo usermod -g root nebc".

There are also release notes produced by Ubuntu, including a list of
known issues with the underlying system, here:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes/1004

Happy testing!

Cheers,

TIM

-- 
Tim Booth <tbooth at ceh.ac.uk>
NERC Environmental Bioinformatics Centre 
at CEH Wallingford
+44 1491 69 2705


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