A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

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GeneC

A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by GeneC »

Had to take a look at the 'daily build' (beta) of the new Elmentary OS named 'Freya'. (based on Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty). Its coming along nicely (pretty bare, as expected in the beta) but some nice improvements over the current release.It sports the new "Pantheon Desktop" (gnome based). Basic setting so far in 'system settings'. You have to use gconf-editor to tweak...
Simple, but VERY nice looking... :)

(click for full size)
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xenopeek
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Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by xenopeek »

Howdy GeneC :) I just ran into ElementaryOS Freya; from this demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzSPGkOyzW8. Looks good.

I'll be giving Pantheon a try soon. Needed a change from Cinnamon, so currently trying some DEs out on Arch Linux. Gnome Shell is my current default.
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Adelante

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by Adelante »

Tempting. The guys take their sweet time, but they do such beautiful work. I love Elementary Luna and I expect to love Elementary Freya. Will I wait? Probably not :lol:
GeneC

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by GeneC »

Hi guys... :D

Gotta say its beautiful, but very little 'settings' to be set. Perhaps because its so new. I'd bet you will see "tweak' tools coming soon. There was nothing to set fonts, themes, appearances in general. Nothing for panel applets/extensions. Nothing for setting start-up apps... :? Changes can be made with gconf-editor but that takes a bit of patience and searching.... :lol:

Gnome-Shell is still a the tops for me. (With XFCE a very close 2nd)...

I believe Pantheon has a bright future...
Brahim Salem

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by Brahim Salem »

I have tried that distribution 3 days ago and man it is dead fast and very elegant :shock: :shock: I give them 5 stars for it!!excellent distro :D

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killer de bug

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by killer de bug »

GeneC wrote:Hi guys... :D

Gotta say its beautiful, but very little 'settings' to be set. Perhaps because its so new.
Perhaps because it's so Apple close :lol:
Adelante

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by Adelante »

There is Elementary Tweaks.

Code: Select all

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:versable/elementary-update

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install elementary-tweaks
I don't know if it works on this new one, GeneC, but you can try.
GeneC wrote:Hi guys... :D

Gotta say its beautiful, but very little 'settings' to be set. Perhaps because its so new. I'd bet you will see "tweak' tools coming soon.
GeneC

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by GeneC »

^ hi.. :)

Nope! Tried it, not yet ready for 'Freya'. Gonna leave this and try again when its fully ready for release.

About Gnome in general.


I, like many, complained about the rapid and at first disturbing direction that gnome development was going. Well, after a good bit of time using Gnome through its many iterations (3.0-3.10). I have grown to prefer it over the old Gnome 2.0 series. I wonder just what it is that I (and many) missed so much..?? Actually I have my several XFCE installs with desktops that look and feel much like the old Gnome 2.0. I can see NO advantage that Gnome 2.0 had over XFCE. XFCE is solid as a Mack truck... :wink:
BUT, not much change (development) is happening there. XFCE 4.12 is over a year past due.. :shock:

On the other hand much is happening with Gnome. Lots of new Desktop Environment 'spin-offs' based on the Gnome 3.xx base. Some really promising and interesting, some with some rough edges (I guess, as could be expected with anything new). We have Gnome-shell (which is now my work-a day default). We have Unity, Cinnamon, Pantheon, Elementary, ... I see both Zorin OS, and Pinguy OS have their own "tweaks". I find all the development going on with Gnome bases to be the most interesting thing that is happening with Linux today. I welcome it.... 8)
Previous1

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by Previous1 »

Actually I have my several XFCE installs with desktops that look and feel much like the old Gnome 2.0. I can see NO advantage that Gnome 2.0 had over XFCE. XFCE is solid as a Mack truck...
With the chance of derailing the thread, XFCE is still elementary (no pun intended) in various ways. For example, I have yet to find a way to shut down or logout without it forcibly quitting all running applications. MATE, Gnome, (KDE?) kindly ask if an application is pending and what to do. Sure this may cause problems (irresponsive services) but better than an easy chance at losing work.
SaphirePhoenix

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by SaphirePhoenix »

I installed Elementary OS Luna on a Dell vostro 1500 that kept shutting down when using LM and Ubuntu so I tried EOS Luna and I have to say that I was very surprised at how fast it is. Wow. I've been catching myself using it more than my main because of the speed, everything opens and runs so fast (this is a huge deal), the look of the applications and the way the font looks on them even the password/authenticate prompts impress me (those password dots seem too huge in mint and the icon is I don't think it is needed). Oh and dang those wallpapers are super sweet too.

But the lack of customization and that whole privacy search issue thing that Ubuntu has were your searches are logged so you have to opt out that is on here too and I don't like that. I like a lot of the "look" of Ubuntu too the prompts and the theme (minus the icons) but like the borderless windows.

I hope Mint can be this speedy and this nice looking for the next release because something fast and updated would be so exciting and something to look forward to and I would much rather be using Mint and be able to customize as I see fit and not feel like I am being spied on.

Also, maybe this is not the place to write it so sorry if it doesn't belong here but I think the LM sites should all be updated to a more modern theme, logos and look as well. I like the way the OMG Ubuntu site looks. These are just my opinions of course but I want to share them.

I found it interesting that when searching for Elementary OS and looking through their site it just says that "Elementary os is a free replacement for Windows on the PC and OS X on the Mac." no mention of Linux anywhere. I thought that was interesting in a "marketing" way. Just thought I'd mention that not sure why

Sorry this may not belong here either but I think the panel and panel applets should be looked at as I use a lot of applets and they are awesome and I can't live without them but they add to much clutter to the panel. It would be great if we can drag them and add sections in the 'user' icon and when needed notifications can pop up and only applets that you need to be visible during use (like timer etc.) will show up but be able to be returned back into the user drop down menu. It would be cool if it was customizable where we can drag and drop what ever icons we may not care to see all the time like the speaker, wifi/wired connection, update manager, notifications, language, dropbox, toboy, zim icons though I want them in the panel I don't mind the extra clicks under the user menu... and a notification icon can appear next to the user icon when the users attention is required for updates or other notifications. I don't know just an idea.

I just think that if these things were integrated into Mint it would be the most amazing system. Look, Speed, Customization. Beautiful Freedom!

Sorry again, if I am in the wrong place saying all this. I love mint so much and really look forward to continue to support it but I really feel that these things would make it awesome but again it is just my opinion I just wanted to mention it.

thank you.
RacerBG

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by RacerBG »

I don't like the position of the close buttons but if they can be moved this will be nice! :) Very simple and very beautiful desktop indeed.
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Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by exploder »

Great thread! The upcoming eOS release looks amazing! I am surprised that a small group of developers have been able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time! These guys have serious consistency throughout the desktop environment and the default applications!

I am real glad to hear that flash now works in Midori because it maintains the look and feel the developers are working so hard to achieve. I know Midori is light on resources too. Although I have not tried elementary, everyone that has tried it has said how quick and responsive it is.

From what I saw in the video elementary is very responsive. I will have to try Freya when the final is released! I have a spare hard drive and I really enjoy trying out fresh desktop environments like, Unity, Gnome Shell, Cinnamon, etc and Pantheon sure is worth taking the time to try. :)

I love all of the new desktop environments and shells that have come along since Gnome 3 appeared! :D
Brahim Salem

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by Brahim Salem »

Look guys :mrgreen: I made Cinnamon 2.2 look like elementary desktop. cairo dock and configurable menu rock guys :mrgreen: :mrgreen: But can I install their menu on Linux Mint Cinnamon?

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EmpireITtech

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by EmpireITtech »

GeneC wrote:Had to take a look at the 'daily build' (beta) of the new Elmentary OS named 'Freya'. (based on Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty). Its coming along nicely (pretty bare, as expected in the beta) but some nice improvements over the current release.It sports the new "Pantheon Desktop" (gnome based). Basic setting so far in 'system settings'. You have to use gconf-editor to tweak...
Simple, but VERY nice looking... :)

(click for full size)
Image
Quick question, is that the "Out of the Box" terminal window for elementary? If not, how do you get it to show the different colors like that?
That would be nice for me to have =]
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Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by xenopeek »

I think that is out of the box; it is the Pantheon Terminal: http://elementaryos.org/journal/pantheo ... first-step
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EmpireITtech

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by EmpireITtech »

Yea, it looks like that's the case.
I installed it on my test laptop, but I'm having strange issues with it connecting to the Ubuntu repos and doing very basic things. Maybe the "unstable" daily build isn't the best for my laptop :lol:

I'm very new to the Gnome DE, I don't know how to add applets to the top panel, I don't know how to change the login screen background, etc....usually why I stick with Cinnamon, Unity, MATE :mrgreen:
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Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by xenopeek »

It is not "the Gnome DE", the DE is Pantheon. Like Unity it uses some components (some forked) developed by the Gnome project, but the things you see on your screen (like the panel) are Pantheon--not Gnome.
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EmpireITtech

Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by EmpireITtech »

xenopeek wrote:It is not "the Gnome DE", the DE is Pantheon. Like Unity it uses some components (some forked) developed by the Gnome project, but the things you see on your screen (like the panel) are Pantheon--not Gnome.
Well of course :mrgreen:
I guess I meant it's very similar to Gnome (seems to be much more so than Unity) and I've just never really used a Gnome-like DE. Mint was actually my first real Linux distro and I fell in love with Cinnamon early on, so it's hard for me to not compare everything to my experience with that. Cinnamon was such an effortless transition into the wonderful world of Linux for me, everything seemed so intelligently designed and purposefully placed.

...sounds like I need to get a room with my man-crush on Cinnamon hahahaha :lol:
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Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by ~FLOW~ »

I wish Cinnamon would be that fast :shock:
Linux Mint 21.1
Cinnamon

Be patient !!
What seams easy for you now, for a newbie might be a monumental helping hand.
An efficient pack will move as fast as the slowest member.
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Re: A look at Elementary OS - "Freya"

Post by xenopeek »

The release was renamed to Freya two weeks ago (source), so changed topic title here also.
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