The beta version of Fedora 16, code-named 'Verne', is available for download now.

Some changes in Fedora 16 (beta) are:

Kernel

Fedora 16 features the new 3.1.0 kernel. In spite of the dramatic number change, there are no dramatic feature changes.

Boot

Fedora 16 takes advantage of several new technologies to improve the speed, security and efficiency of the boot process. Trusted Boot (tboot) is an open source, pre- kernel/Virtual Machine Manager module that uses Intel(R) Trusted Execution Technology (Intel(R) TXT) to perform a measured and verified launch of an OS kernel/VMM. It checks to make sure system files haven't been tampered with before letting the system boot, offering much greater protection against rootkits and other types of malware that try to cover their tracks by editing those files. Trusted Boot can be enabled at install, and will fall back to a normal boot if the hardware doesn't support it.

GPT Disk Labels

New Disk Labels. Manually partitioned installations may require additional steps

Starting in Fedora 16, on non-EFI x86 (32 and 64 bit) systems, anaconda will default to creating GPT disklabels (partition tables) instead of MSDOS disklabels. On these systems, when booting from a GPT-labelled disk, it is strongly recommended (not necessarily required in all cases, depending on the system's BIOS/firmware) to create a small (1MiB) BIOS boot partition. This partition will be used by the bootloader (GRUB2) for storage.

Automatic partitioning will create the partition when appropriate, but users who choose custom partitioning will have to create this partition for themselves.

This BIOS boot partition is only necessary on non-EFI x86 systems whose boot device is a GPT-labelled disk.

GRUB 2

The GNU Grand Unified Bootloader (GRUB) receives a major update in Fedora 16. GRUB 2 allows better configuration options, better support for non x86 architectures, scripting and localization support.

The final release is expected to be released within 5 weeks.

You can download the beta version here.