Elementary OS 6 is released, positioned as a fast, open and privacy-respecting alternative to Windows and macOS. The main focus of the project is on quality design, aimed at creating an easy-to-use system that consumes minimal resources and provides high startup speed. Users are offered their own Pantheon desktop environment. Bootable iso-images (2.36 GB) available for the amd64 architecture have been prepared for download (for a free download from the project website, enter 0 in the field with the donation amount).
The original Elementary OS components are developed using GTK3, the Vala language, and the proprietary Granite framework. As the basis of the distribution, the developments of the Ubuntu project are used. At the level of packages and repositories, Elementary OS 6 is compatible with Ubuntu 20.04. The graphical environment is based on Pantheon's own shell, which combines components such as the Gala window manager (based on LibMutter), the WingPanel top panel, the Slingshot launcher, the Switchboard control panel, the Plank bottom taskbar (an analogue of the Docky panel rewritten in Vala) and the session manager Pantheon Greeter (based on LightDM).
The environment includes a set of applications tightly integrated into a single environment that are necessary to solve user problems. Among the applications, the majority are the project's own developments, such as the Pantheon Terminal terminal emulator, the Pantheon Files file manager, the Scratch text editor, and the Music (Noise) music player. The project also develops the photo manager Pantheon Photos (an offshoot of Shotwell) and the email client Pantheon Mail (an offshoot of Geary).
Key innovations:
- The ability to select a dark theme and an accent color that determines the display color of interface elements such as buttons, switches, input fields, and the background when text is selected is provided. You can change the appearance through the login welcome screen (Welcome application) or in the settings section (System Settings β Desktop β Appearance).
- A new completely redesigned visual style has been proposed, in which all design elements have been honed, the shape of the shadows has been changed, and the corners of the windows have been rounded. The default system font set is Inter, which is optimized for high-definition characters when displayed on computer screens.
- All additional applications offered for installation through the AppCenter, as well as some applications supplied by default, are packaged using the flatpak format and run using sandbox isolation to block unauthorized access in case the program is compromised. Support for installing flatpak packages has also been added to the Sideload application, allowing you to install already downloaded individual packages by clicking on them in the file manager.
To organize access to resources outside the container, a system of portals is used, requiring the application to obtain explicit permissions to access external files or launch other applications. The set permissions, such as access to the network, Bluetooth, home and system directories, can be controlled and, if necessary, revoked through the βSystem Settings β Applicationsβ interface.
- Added support for multi-touch gesture control based on multiple simultaneous touches to the touchpad or touch screen. For example, swiping up with three fingers will navigate through running applications, while swiping left or right will switch between virtual desktops. In apps, two-finger swipe can be used to dismiss notifications or return to the current state. While locking the screen, two-finger swipe is applicable to switch between users. To configure gestures, you can use the "System Settings β Mouse & Touchpad β Gestures" section in the configurator.
- The notification system has been redesigned. Apps have been given the ability to display indicators in notifications that visually indicate status, and to add buttons to notifications to request a decision without opening the app itself. Native GTK widgets are used to generate notifications, which take into account style settings and can include colored emoji characters. For emergency notifications, a separate red label and a sound have been added to attract attention.
- The Notification Center has been redesigned to group notifications by app and add the ability to control using multi-touch gestures, such as hiding a notification with a two-finger swipe.
- In the panel, when hovering the cursor over the indicators, the output of contextual hints informing about the current mode and available control combinations is implemented. For example, the volume control indicator shows the current level and information that you can turn off the sound with a middle mouse click, the network connection control indicator shows information about the current network, and the notification indicator offers information about the number of accumulated notifications.
- The sound control indicator menu now displays audio input and output devices, allowing you to quickly switch between headphones and speakers or change the microphone.
- The power management indicator provides the ability to select a device to open more detailed statistics on power consumption or the charge of the built-in battery.
- A new indicator has been added that summarizes all facilities for people with disabilities and is shown by default on the login screen.
- In the task list view mode, when you hover the mouse over the window thumbnails, a tooltip with information from the window title is provided, which allows you to separate outwardly similar windows.
- The context menu opened by right-clicking on the window title has been extended. Added a button to take a screenshot of the window and attached information about keyboard shortcuts.
- A separate context menu has been added for the desktop, through which you can quickly change the wallpaper, change the screen settings and go to the configurator.
- Multitasking settings have been expanded (System Settings β Desktop β Multitasking). In addition to binding actions to the corners of the screen, the processing of moving a window to another virtual desktop has been added.
- The installer uses a new front-end that offers a simpler interface and is significantly faster than the previously used Ubiquity installer. In the new installer, all installations are handled similarly to OEM installations, i.e. The installer is only responsible for copying the system to disk, and all other setup steps, such as creating the first users, configuring the network connection, and updating packages, are performed during the first boot through the Initial Setup utility.
- During the boot process for OEM installations, the option to display the OEM logo along with a progress indicator is provided.
- The new Tasks application is included, which helps to maintain lists of tasks and notes that can be synchronized between devices when connected to online storages that support the CalDav format. The app also supports reminders based on time and location.
- The system has a built-in interface for updating firmware (System Settings β System β Firmware), based on the Linux Vendor Firmware Service project, which coordinates the delivery of firmware updates for devices from many companies, including Star Labs, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Intel, Logitech, Wacom and 8bitdo .
- Epiphany's default web browser has been updated and renamed to "Web". The browser includes features such as Intelligent Tracking Protection and ad blocking. A new reader mode has been proposed. Added support for dark themes and switching between pages using multi-touch gestures. The browser pack is now delivered in Flatpak format.
- The mail client Mail has been completely rewritten, in which the possibility of centralized storage of IMAP accounts in the Online Accounts service has appeared. When opening each message, a separate process is used, isolated in its own sandbox environment. Interface elements have been converted to use native widgets, which are used, among other things, when generating a list of messages.
- Support for the Online Accounts service has been added to the scheduler calendar, through which you can now determine the settings for CalDav-enabled servers. Added support for import in ICS format and improved work in offline mode.
- The interface of the program for working with the camera has been redesigned. Added the ability to switch between multiple cameras, mirror the image and change the brightness and contrast. After the video recording is completed, a notification is provided with a button to start watching.
- File manager behavior has been changed to require two clicks to open files instead of one, which solved the problem of accidentally opening large files in resource-intensive applications and launching two copies of handlers by users who are used to opening files with a double click on other systems. One-click navigation continued. The file manager interface has a new sidebar that makes it easier to bookmark frequently used directories. When viewing the contents of directories in list mode, the minimum available icon size has been reduced and indicators have been added, for example, informing about new files in Git. Improved access to external devices using the AFP, AFC and MTP protocols. For applications in the Flatpak format based on the file manager, a file selection interface has been implemented.
- The code editor has been upgraded. A button has been added to the top bar that shows information about the current project in Git and allows you to quickly switch between open projects. When a project is closed, all open files associated with it are also closed. Added the ability to switch between branches and create new branches in Git integration tools. Added new shortcuts for visually editing Markdown markup in WYSIWYG mode and implemented a spell checker. A new implementation of full-text search in directories and projects has been proposed, in which options have appeared for case-insensitive search and using regular expressions. When restoring the state after restarting the application, the cursor position and the state of the sidebar are restored.
- In the terminal emulator, protection against accidental execution of dangerous commands has been expanded - the user is now prompted to confirm the operation in case of an attempt to paste text from the clipboard that includes multi-line sequences (previously, the warning was displayed only when an insert of the sudo command was detected). The zoom level for each tab is remembered. A button to restart the tab has been added to the context menu.
- Added experimental builds for Pinebook Pro and Raspberry Pi.
- Performance optimization has been carried out. Reduced disk access and improved interaction between desktop components.
Source: opennet.ru