Fedora 39 Beta Now Available for Testing
For fans and users of Fedora Linux, the first beta of release 39 is now available, which is a minor upgrade but does include GNOME 45.
If you're anxious about giving GNOME 45 a go, the first beta of Fedora 39 has been released and includes the upcoming upgrade of the open source desktop. Do note that GNOME 45 is also still in beta, so you'll be using a beta desktop on a beta OS release. There will be problems.
Even so, GNOME 45 includes a number of interesting changes, such as plenty of UI-focused changes, feature improvements, and updates to the core GNOME apps.
The key changes are a new privacy hub and "About" panel in System Settings, a new icon for the Calendar app, UI tweaks to the Nautilus file manager, and the Loupe Image Viewer replacing Eye of GNOME.
As well, Fedora 39 beta includes an update to the GNU Toolchain, including gcc 13.2, binutils 2.40, glibc 2.38, and gdb 13.2.
Again, this is a minor upgrade to the distribution. In that vein, there are planned features that are simply not ready for the beta, such as the new speedier DNF package manager and the refresh to Anaconda.
To this, Matthew Miller, Project Leader, says, "To keep up with Fedora’s commitment to innovation, we also need to take risks. If everything went according to plan, that would mean we’re not trying hard enough. At the same time, our process now allows us to take these risks while still making sure the Fedora Linux OS we ship for general use is of A+ quality."
You can download the beta of Fedora 39 Workstation and read the official release announcement from the Fedora team.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Dash to Panel Maintainer Quits
Charles Gagnon has stepped away as maintainer of the popular Dash to Panel Gnome extension.
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.
-
Ubuntu 25.04 Coming Soon
Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) has been given an April release date with many notable updates.
-
Gnome Developers Consider Dropping RPM Support
In a move that might shock a lot of users, the Gnome development team has proposed the idea of going straight up Flatpak.
-
openSUSE Tumbleweed Ditches AppArmor for SELinux
If you're an openSUSE Tumbleweed user, you can expect a major change to the distribution.
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.