On the DVD

Fedora 23 Workstation (64-bit)

This month's 64-bit offering is Fedora Workstation [1] based on Gnome 3. Fedora 23 comes with all the languages, tools, utilities, and virtualization solutions you need to get going and be productive out of the box. Many packages are now hardened against potential security vulnerabilities [2]. Updates include Perl 5.22 and Python 3, as well as new versions of other popular desktop and developer applications. The SSL 3.0 protocol and RC4 cipher are disabled by default in components that use the system-wide cryptography policy (i.e., gnutls, openssl libraries, and all applications based on them).

Ubuntu 15.10 Desktop (32-bit)

The "Wily Werewolf" sports Linux kernel 4.2 and sees significant changes with the move into the systemd init system [3]. Various software has been updated, including Firefox 41, Gnome 3.16, MATE 1.10, and LibreOffice 5.0.2. A preview of the new converged phone, desktop, and tablet interface is available by logging in to a Unity8 session, where you can test the new windowed mode, "which allows users to multitask between multiple running apps" [4]. Whether everyday user or high-end developer, Ubuntu 15.10 has the modern tools you need.