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<H1 CLASS="western"><A NAME="head-2ba215c4b189b5afec774da013673999f276f771"></A>
Fedora Overview</H1>
==<A NAME="line-4"></A><A NAME="line-5"></A><A NAME="head-9bb8484a2bb697545b581916cec7c593e2791bea"></A>
Freedom: What *is* Fedora?==
<P>Fedora is a linux based operating system released twice yearly
that is built on the principles of open source. Fedora is used
everyday on laptops, desktops, and servers with the knowledge that
everything is free, secure, and stable.</P>
<P>Fedora is sponsored by Red Hat who enables the community of
volunteers, from all walks of life and all places around the globe, a
means of contributing and coming together with a common set of
principles to create an operating system that is unique, rare, and
innovative.</P>
==What can I install Fedora on?==
<P>Fedora can be installed using our live-cd, dvd or, you can get one
of our other 'spins' of Fedora. Installation is a breeze with either
our graphical or text based install which will guide you through the
install process.
</P>
<P>Fedora can be installed on a significant number of computers
including PPC, i386, and x86_64. Additional platforms will be
available soon for the Sparc, Alpha, and IA64 architectures. Simply
put Fedora is perfect for use on laptop's, desktops, and servers.
</P>
==Security: Is Fedora Secure?==
<P>Fedora out of the box comes configured and enabled with
<A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Security/Features">outstanding
security</A> to make sure your peace of mind is maintained. We
constantly strive to improve the security within every release with
the first linux distribution to include SELinux. We also maintain 13
months of security updates to make sure that your computer has the
latest software to make it more secure.</P>
<P><BR><BR>
</P>
<P>To take the next step of having you being able to adjust your own
security we have added in Fedora system-config-securitylevel and
system-config-selinux which helps you to make sure the security level
is customised to suit your every need.</P>
==Fedora Project: What is this Project?==
<P>The Fedora Project is the name of the separate functions of Fedora
coming together unified under one cause. Each part of “The Project”
serves an important function in bringing together the different
aspects of the operating system. The Fedora Project is united with a
common goal that is guided by the Fedora Project Board.</P>
==<A NAME="line-21"></A><A NAME="line-22"></A><A NAME="head-e792bdbce7fefdc59d5e26d71ed8c62d2c87ea4f"></A>
Free, Easy, And Efficient==
<P><A NAME="line-25"></A><A NAME="line-26"></A>Fedora is free, free
as in Freedom. There are no catches, no small print, and no cost.
Install and configure the latest open source software with ease with
our graphical installation, update, and configuration tools made with
the process of making your life easier and efficient.
</P>
==<A NAME="head-f559b18fcacf71ee417a57c5bac0482ec3966355"></A>Freedom:
Make ogg, not mp3==
<P>The free and open <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codec">multimedia
codecs</A> such as the Ogg family of codecs are superior, and they
are not patent-encumbered. That's why we support Ogg Vorbis (lossy)
and FLAC (lossless) for general audio, Speex for speech, and Ogg
Theora for video.</P>
<P><A NAME="line-35"></A><A NAME="line-36"></A>Ogg is the open-source
alternative to mp3 it is activated by default when Fedora is
installed which means that you have audio working straight out of the
box. Ogg is used extensively on the following music websites <A HREF="http://www.jamendo.com/" TARGET="_blank">Jamenjo</A>
and <A HREF="http://www.magnatune.com/" TARGET="_blank">Magnatune.</A>
</P>
<P>Mp3 is popular because its creators licensed it broadly to spur
its adoption. Then, once it was the de facto format, they started to
enforce their patents aggressively and restrictively.</P>
<P>For those people who insist upon using mp3, it's not difficult to
<A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Multimedia/Codeina">figure out</A>
how to get these players. Still, we'd much rather change the world
instead of going along with it.
</P>
==<A NAME="head-e4b5ba029e2b4674f8231ab905cab7cb4374ee2f"></A>Communicate:
Fedora Community==
<P><A NAME="line-38"></A><A NAME="line-37"></A><A NAME="line-40"></A><A NAME="line-39"></A>
Fedora Web Forums
</P>
<UL>
<LI><P><A NAME="line-41"></A>For end user help, use our Fedora
community <A HREF="http://fedoraforum.org/">web forums</A>
</P>
</UL>
<P><A NAME="line-43"></A><A NAME="line-42"></A>Fedora Mailing lists
</P>
<UL>
<LI><P><A NAME="line-44"></A>Fedora Project has several <A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate#mailinglists">mailing
lists</A> for users and contributors.
</P>
</UL>
<P><A NAME="line-46"></A><A NAME="line-45"></A>Fedora IRC Chat
Channels
</P>
<UL>
<LI><P><A NAME="line-48"></A><A NAME="line-47"></A>Chat and ask
questions live in the Fedora <A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate#IRC">IRC
channels</A> at irc.freenode.net.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-49"></A><A NAME="line-50"></A>For other ways of
communicating with the Fedora community, refer to
<A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate">http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate.</A>
</P>
</UL>
==<A NAME="head-ddabae574c6d826ad8a9c06729495c75b9f6fcc3"></A>Governance:
Fedora Project Board==
<P><A NAME="line-52"></A><A NAME="line-51"></A><A NAME="line-53"></A><A NAME="line-54"></A>
The <A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Board">Fedora Project
Board</A> is made up of Fedora community members both inside and
outside of Red Hat. The Board defines the overall direction of
Fedora, strengthens the ties between Red Hat and the community, and
empowers the community to innovate in new and exciting ways. Most
importantly, the Board ensures that Fedora remains forever free, for
everyone.
</P>
==<A NAME="head-4677f4a2e0ede9974bd91b0f17a3f94fca136898"></A>References==
<UL>
<LI><P><A NAME="line-56"></A><A NAME="line-55"></A><A NAME="line-57"></A><A NAME="line-58"></A>
<A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Board">http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Board
</A>
</P>
</UL>
==<A NAME="head-81ce8b88594097adcd5f16bab53748fe98803e92"></A>Innovation==
<P>In every new release of Fedora there are new and exciting open
source programs that make your life easier.
</P>
<P>In recent times improvements to the administration tools have been
added such as system-config-securitylevel and system-config-selinux
these have been improved to make administering your system
significantly easier.
</P>
<P>There has been the introduction of a new sound system known as
Pulse Audio. Make no mistake this is definitely not an audio system
but a full sound system that gives you unbelievable clarity and
quality in the sound that comes from your speakers.
</P>
<P>As always the latest additions can be found on the wiki for your
enjoyment.</P>
==Virtualization: How to hide your computer?==
<P>Virtualization is the term used to describe how one computer is
able to run many guest virtual machines on top of Fedora. Xen and
KVM are the programs that come with Fedora for you to achieve this
result, they come with additional programs to help you get started,
configured, and manage the virtual machine.</P>
<P>Recent advances in libvirt from the community have enabled Fedora
to be one of the leaders in enabling virtualization to be an easy
process. These advances help you to set up your own virtual computer
network.</P>
==Sponsors: Who helps us?==
<P>Fedora is honored to have created alliances with some well know
companies who have all contributed to the growth of Fedora.</P>
<UL>
<LI><P>Red Hat have provided the Fedora Project with funds to grow
into what we have become. They have graciously provided
engineering, marketing, experience, innovative programs and
advancements to Xen and most of all the bandwidth to bring you this
great operating system.</P>
<LI><P>We could not have provided this great website and all the
associated locations without the strong hardware that Dell provides.
The logo on the bottom of the websites all show how much Dell have
supported us.</P>
<LI><P>Duke have provided resources to help Fedora through housing
the development of Yum and they have been an avid supporter of
Fedora.</P>
<LI><P>Proio provide us with with the capability to maintain our
servers in Germany which means we can spend more time on the things
we do best.</P>
</UL>
==<A NAME="head-fc1a8737bcaff5a7a0e1fd488732748e89b5797e"></A>How
You Can Help==
<P>Fedora would not be around without the help of the community so it
is integral that we ask for your help in contributing to Fedora and
it's future success. To contribute to Fedora you do not need to know
how to program you do not need to have any qualifications you just
need to have a willingness to learn and grow.</P>
<H3><A NAME="line-63"></A><A NAME="line-64"></A><A NAME="head-fdd780e9c9e947597826783afcd7c76e0fc850d9"></A>
Triage: Join the Fedora Triage project</H3>
<P><A NAME="line-66"></A><A NAME="line-65"></A><A NAME="line-68"></A><A NAME="line-67"></A>
Fedora moves very quickly and has lots of users. As a result we see
our fair share of bugs.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-70"></A><A NAME="line-69"></A>People often aren't so
careful about how they file bugs, though. A lot of these bugs are
poorly explained, not replicable, duplicates, or simply not bugs at
all. It takes a very long time for developers to cull through these
bug reports to determine which are valid and which aren't.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-72"></A><A NAME="line-71"></A>Fedora Triagers
provide an incredibly valuable service. By ensuring that all bugs are
good bugs, they save countless hours of developer time and allow
Fedora to produce better software quicker.
</P>
<P>Join the Fedora Triage project at
<A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/BugZappers">http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/BugZappers.</A>
</P>
<H3><A NAME="head-b6b3465bf64b825f48fef108964d0e1c5a19b0da"></A>Documentation:
Join the Fedora Docs project</H3>
<P><A NAME="line-76"></A><A NAME="line-75"></A><A NAME="line-78"></A><A NAME="line-77"></A>
The goal of the Documentation Project is to create easy-to-follow,
task-based documentation for Fedora users and developers. Longer
guides are available to cover major topics such as Installation, and
Administration. One of the best ways to learn how to use Fedora is to
participate in this project because you experience the process while
documenting.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-79"></A><A NAME="line-80"></A>Join the Fedora
Documentation Project at <A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/">http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/</A>
</P>
<H3><A NAME="head-90759da89bd102ae1b2d11f172efd49daecbd9df"></A>Package
Collection: Join the Fedora Packaging project</H3>
<P><A NAME="line-82"></A><A NAME="line-81"></A><A NAME="line-84"></A><A NAME="line-83"></A>
There's a great big world of free software out there, and more being
developed every day. The goal of Fedora Packaging is to make all of
that software available to Fedora users with the click of a button.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-86"></A><A NAME="line-85"></A>It takes a lot of work
to package and maintain software, though. What about that cool piece
of software that just isn't available as an easy-to-install RPM?
Someone just needs to package it up. Would you be interested to
create this package for us?
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-88"></A><A NAME="line-87"></A>Learn how to make good
software packages, and share your favorite applications with hundreds
of thousands of Fedora users worldwide.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-89"></A><A NAME="line-90"></A>Join our Fedora
Packaging project at <A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/PackageMaintainers">http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/PackageMaintainers</A>
</P>
<H3><A NAME="head-0b727386fa7617f9e0f09f59fa4de915b8bbac20"></A>Translation:
Join the Fedora Translation Team</H3>
<P><A NAME="line-92"></A><A NAME="line-91"></A><A NAME="line-94"></A><A NAME="line-93"></A>
Fedora needs to be available for users all around the world. Does
Fedora speak your language? If it doesn't, it should. You can help.
</P>
<P>Join the Fedora Translation Team at
<A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/Translation">http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/Translation</A>
</P>
<H3><A NAME="head-5058e1366cd6ad6fb328c187cf06173e50afc30b"></A>Spread
the Word: Become a Fedora Ambassador</H3>
<P><A NAME="line-98"></A><A NAME="line-97"></A><A NAME="line-100"></A><A NAME="line-99"></A>
Do what we are doing here. Spread the good word of Fedora. Spread the
glamor. Spread the action. Spread freedom. Make waves. Encourage
participation. Encourage the community. Become a part of Fedora
Ambassadors world wide.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-102"></A><A NAME="line-101"></A>Do not forget to
collect feedback and listen to users. Give a good critique, or hear
the good critiques of others. Tell us what works and what doesn't.
Help us improve the project and gain even more Fedora users. We love
hearing from your community and local user groups.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-103"></A><A NAME="line-104"></A>Help Fedora Do the
Right Thing. Join us at <A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Ambassadors">http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Ambassadors</A></P>
<H3><A NAME="head-05c12977c92a40e4391b5df78b6b47c9e07499c9"></A>Live
CDs: Join the Fedora Live CD Project</H3>
<P><A NAME="line-106"></A><A NAME="line-105"></A><A NAME="line-108"></A><A NAME="line-107"></A>
Want to demonstrate the power, technology and usability of Fedora?
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-110"></A><A NAME="line-109"></A>Want to take Fedora
for a test ride?
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-112"></A><A NAME="line-111"></A>Want to tinker and
experiment?
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-114"></A><A NAME="line-113"></A>Create your own
Fedora Live CDs.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-116"></A><A NAME="line-117"></A>Use the Fedora Live
CD's and creation tools at <A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FedoraLiveCD">http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FedoraLiveCD</A>
Prefer a graphical interface <A HREF="http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/JeroenVanMeeuwen">Revisor</A>
is for you.</P>
==<A NAME="head-e843e33b3edb637a48c665a49ccfa296c83e4925"></A>Why
Should I Help?==
<P><A NAME="line-119"></A><A NAME="line-118"></A><A NAME="line-121"></A><A NAME="line-120"></A>
<STRONG>Your name in lights, an online CV, and maybe a trip to
FUDCon.</STRONG>
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-123"></A><A NAME="line-122"></A>First, contribute to
Fedora and get your name in the distribution. Hey, fair is fair.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-125"></A><A NAME="line-124"></A>Second, if you're a
Fedora contributor, you don't need a fancy resume; you can just tell
potential employers to Google your name.
</P>
<P><A NAME="line-127"></A><A NAME="line-126"></A>Third, top Fedora
contributors receive travel stipends to attend the Fedora Users and
Developers Conference at the location closest to them. You will have
the opportunity to meet some of the giants of the open source
movement in person, as their peers and equals.
</P>
<P>And last, you'd be playing with this stuff anyway. Spend your time
doing stuff that you will enjoy and helps other users in the
community. Spread free software. What more incentive do you need?
Join us.</P>
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