Mageia is back with another preview of its upcoming release, as Mageia 10 RC1 officially becomes available for download here. The release candidate brings updated artwork, refreshed screensavers, newer software packages, and a long list of security fixes as the community-driven Linux distribution inches closer to a final release.
For longtime Linux users, Mageia remains one of those distributions that never seems interested in chasing trends. It simply keeps moving along, updating packages, fixing bugs, and offering a fairly traditional desktop Linux experience for folks who still appreciate stability over hype.
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Mageia 10 RC1 ships with Firefox 140.10.1, Thunderbird 140.10.0, LibreOffice 26.2.3.2, Mesa 26.0.6, PostgreSQL 18.3, Samba 4.23.7, and systemd 258.7. The release also includes Linux kernel 6.18.26, giving users relatively current hardware support right out of the box.
One thing I appreciate about Mageia is that the developers are clearly still paying close attention after ISO images get built. In fact, several newer packages and fixes were already pushed to the repositories after RC1 was published. That includes kernel 6.18.30, Firefox 140.10.2, Thunderbird 140.10.2, updated OpenJDK packages, newer GTK4 and GLib releases, Python 3.13.13, MariaDB 12.2.2, Mutter 49.5, and updated SDDM packages.
That sort of rapid maintenance matters. Some Linux distributions put out a release candidate and essentially freeze things in amber. Mageia seems more interested in making sure testers get fixes quickly instead of waiting around for the final release image.
The distro also continues using the URPMI package management system, which old-school Mandriva and Mageia users will likely welcome. While newer Linux users may gravitate toward Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, or flashy newcomer projects, Mageia still has a loyal niche of people who prefer a more familiar and community-focused desktop Linux environment.
There is also something refreshing about a Linux distribution that does not constantly scream about AI features or try to reinvent desktop computing every six months. Mageia 10 RC1 mostly focuses on delivering updated software and a dependable user experience, and for many Linux fans, that is probably enough.
If you have not looked at Mageia in a while, this release candidate might be worth testing in a virtual machine or on spare hardware before the final version arrives.
