Fedora 45 beta drags the Linux console into the 21st century

Fedora Linux 45 beta has been released, bringing Linux kernel 7.2, a GNOME 51 release candidate, and a host of under-the-hood improvements. The most notable change is the replacement of the traditional in-kernel console with kmscon, a userspace terminal emulator that has been in development for over a decade. Kmscon utilizes the kernel's DRM and Kernel Mode Setting facilities to manage the display, offering improved internationalization support.

This development, which began in 2012 and was recently resumed by developer Peifeng Yu, known as Aetf, brings enhanced Unicode support and multiseat functionality, allowing multiple users to share a single PC with separate keyboards and displays. Although these features may seem theoretical, they could prove useful to niche users.

Early reports suggest that kmscon facilitates the display of more than 16 colors and enables on-the-fly zooming in text mode, which could be particularly beneficial for users with modern HiDPI screens. GNOME 51, while not final, includes enhancements to keyboard navigation and the Orca screen reader, along with automatic screen rotation on devices with orientation sensors and refinements in various applications.

KDE users will benefit from Plasma 6.7, while the browser-based installation process now supports initial setups for immutable Atomic Desktops and incorporates Red Hat's Stratis storage system for partitioning. Security enhancements and updates to programming languages and runtimes are also part of Fedora 45's release, although Asahi Linux support for newer Apple M4 and M5 chips remains unavailable at this time.