Release of 4MLinux 49.0: Enhanced Features and Upgraded Packages

On July 31, 2025, developer Zbigniew Konojacki announced the release of the stable version of the 4MLinux 49.0 project. This is a GNU/Linux distribution that employs the lightweight graphical environment JWM (Joe’s Window Manager). It comes with the Linux kernel 6.12 LTS, newly updated drivers, and includes the Mesa 25.1 graphics stack, enhanced audio processing, and improved video scaling support. The previous version, 4MLinux 48.0, was released in April 2025.

4MLinux can function both as a Live environment for playing multimedia files and performing user tasks, as well as a system for recovery after failures and a platform for running mini-servers. The live image (x86_64, 1.7 GB) is available for download, alongside a minimal console edition (x86_64, 16.2 MB).

According to OpenNET, the main changes and enhancements in 4MLinux 49.0 include:

— Updated package versions: Linux kernel 6.12.39, BusyBox 1.37.0, Mesa 25.1.0, Wine 10.11, Perl 5.40.2, Python 2.7.18, Python 3.13.3, Ruby 3.4.3;

— Updated user applications: LibreOffice 25.2, AbiWord 3.0.6, GIMP 3.1.2, Gnumeric 1.12.59, Firefox 140., Chrome 138, Thunderbird 140, Audacious 4.4.2, VLC 3.0.21, SMPlayer 25.6.0;

— The installation support for partitions with the Bcachefs filesystem has been added;

— Improved interaction with mobile devices using PTP/MTP protocols and Bluetooth;

— The 4MLinux GamePack collection now includes the game Brutal Chess and the Stella package with the Atari 2600 VCS emulator;

— The main package now includes the music player Aqualung, multimedia format converter QWinFF (a GUI for FFmpeg), and a system information utility Fastfetch;

— Downloadable extensions have been added for gnuplot, audio editor ReZound, and experimental builds of GIMP (the change log mentions GIMP4, but it likely refers to the master branch of GIMP);

— The LiveCD now includes ready-to-install drivers with support for Intel VAPPI.