EDIT:
Jun 27
SolusOS alpha5 released
====================================================================The SolusOS team is pleased to announce the release of SolusOS 2 Alpha 5. This release utilises the Gnome Classic Desktop Environment 3.4 (not fallback), which is heavily tweaked to behave and look the same as Gnome 2. Please note that this is a development release and is not intended for use on production machines.
What’s new?
This time we’ve gone all out to give you the best looking Gnome desktop we can, and it’s increasingly difficult to tell the difference between our Gnome Classic and Gnome 2. We’ve gone to great lengths to improve the overall look and feel of the desktop whilst enhancing usability at the same time.
Included Software
LibreOffice 3.5.4-2
Linux 3.3.6-solusos (BFS/preempt)
Firefox & Thunderbird 13.0.1
Adobe Flash 11.2.202.235
VLC 2.0.1
gnome-panel 1:3.4.2.1-5solusos1
nautilus 1:3.4.2-1.2
solusdesktop 3.4.3.2.1
That’s just a brief overview, in no way can we cover everything included. However, please note that non-free codecs are used in SolusOS to provide an out-of-the-box multimedia experience. We’ve also included firmware for some common wlan chipsets.
Its SolusOS2 Aplha 5 (Gnome Classic Desktop Environment 3.4 (not fallback)) Something NEW! [yet unnamed] DE
Its an Alpha so expect some issues, but I am sure he would appreciate some testers.
(For Support)...Best to reply on the SolusOS forums.
General comments welcome on this thread .
http://forums.solusos.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1115
Downloads
http://solusos.com/download/
The SolusOS team is pleased to announce the release of SolusOS 2 Alpha 3. This release utilises the Gnome Classic Desktop Environment 3.4 (not fallback), which is heavily tweaked to behave and look the same as Gnome 2
Please note that this is a development release and is not intended for use on production machines.
What’s different about SolusOS’s GNOME?
In SolusOS 2 we will be using GNOME 3.4, which in its current state features a largely unusable fallback mode. We decided to patch various parts of GNOME to make our implementation look and act identically to our Gnome 2 setup seen in SolusOS 1. This has been done in a way that will ensure 100% upstream compatability
How is it different from other forks?
Our Gnome isn’t a fork. We patched certain things, like the session, the panel and the file manager to restore original interaction, such as being able to drag panels, right click to access the context menu, being able to create desktop shortcuts (launchers). Our GNOME uses around 140MB of RAM idle, doesn’t require hardware acceleration and is using nautilus, metacity and gnome-panel.
What is SolusOS 2 based on?
SolusOS is always based on Debian Stable. So in order to get ourselves ready for the next stable version, Wheezy, we’ve begun the public development process of SolusOS 2 now so that we can ensure the project will be as complete as possible
Is this replacing SolusOS Eveline(1.0/1.1)?
No! Eveline is still our stable branch and will remain so until Wheezy becomes stable in Debian. Eveline will still be supported until its base, Squeeze, is no longer supported (1.5 years after Wheezy becomes stable)
How can the community get involved?
We’re going to need a lot of new programs for our desktop, for example we’re missing a theme-chooser utility, but that will come later this week. We want anyone who can code to start porting Gnome 2 Applets to the new API, or even start writing new applets! Get involved, these are exciting times!
I thought Fallback Mode is getting dropped?
We’ve modified the “fallback” mode so much now it really is “Gnome Classic”. We will continue to maintain the session and components (i.e gnomepanel) even if usptream won’t. We have some really cool long-standing wishlist items coming into it very soon too (think: translucency)
Brief overview of software versions
Firefox 13.0
Thunderbird 13.0
LibreOffice 3.5.4
Linux Kernel 3.3.6(with BFS/preempt)
SolusOS Gnome Classic 3.3.4
Openshot 1.4.2
VLC 2.0.1
systemd over sysvinit
Many new applications are available in the software repository.
About this release
This a development release and isn’t meant for every-day use. We hope the community will step forward and
help us identify issues and improve the distribution
Known issues
compiz-gtk not installed (install from repository)
Installer due for rewrite
GTK theme faulty in places (e.g gedit)
Control Center Background black
Some missing applications (skype, etc) (we’re still packaging these)
Last but not least
Thank you to everyone involved in SolusOS. Without your help none of this would be possible. We
hope you enjoy this release as much as we have enjoyed creating it