The final release of the Fedora 7 open-source Linux operating system will be made available today.

Fedora 7 will merge what were previously Fedora Core and Fedora Extras into a single-source control and build system. It includes the 2.6.20 kernel and allows developers to spin customised distributions of the operating system via three installable live images: an i386 Gnome live CD, an x86_64 live DVD and an i386 KDE live CD.

Additions to libvirt and virt-manager now make it possible to use QEMU or KVM virtualisation through this toolkit and virtual machine manager. Fedora 7 also supports fast user switching between different desktop sessions of different users.

Fedora is a community-based, Red Hat-controlled Linux distribution that forms the technology basis for Red Hat's commercial distribution, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

Though it is used mainly by online companies and educational establishments, new features in Fedora 7 are likely to appear in future versions of RHEL, said Fedora project leader Max Spevack.

“The general feature is that we have custom spins that make it easier for developers to build customised applications. But the other thing is appliances – separating the application from the operating system into an independent customer build tool. That could be very useful for enterprise buyers as well,” Spevack said.

Red Hat will continue to work on improving the use and stability of encrypted applications onto USB sticks over the next few years.