Short Bytes: The much-anticipated elementary OS 0.4 Loki has finally arrived. This major release of the open source and elegant operating system brings many changes like new indicators, better notifications, and more customization options. Loki 0.4 stable release is based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Linux kernel 4.4.
There are lots of well-known Linux distributions that are being used by open source enthusiasts as their daily-use operating systems. While some Linux distributions are suitable for older or slower hardware, others are famous for being heavily customizable. If we discuss the ones that are most elegant, elementary OS proves to be the best option. Often called ‘poor man’s Apple’, elementary OS looks and feels like OS X.
After spending more than a year in development, the elementary OS team has released elementary OS 0.4 Loki. This release follows Freya, which was released in April of 2015.
For this release, Loki development team closed about 1,000 issue reports and acted on more than 20 blueprints. Overall, these changes bring stability and security improvements to the operating system.
Loki is based on Ubuntu 16.04 and Linux kernel 4.4
This Ubuntu-based distribution is based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Linux kernel 4.4. It brings improved hardware support, including 6th-gen Intel Skylake CPUs and graphics. More changes come in the form of support for ambient light sensors.
elementary OS 0.4 Loki comes with redesigned system indicators. These changes are spread all across this open source operating system. Another welcome change comes in the form of text and icons that change in light and dark colors depending on the desktop wallpaper. Now, the Application Menu at the top right corner shows notification badges from apps. The revamped System Settings app now supports keyword search and find the relevant settings.
Find the complete set of changes here in the announcement post.
Improvements in default applications
elementary OS also brings improvements to its set of out-the-box apps. The Screenshot app captures the apps with transparent backgrounds. A new Conceal Text option has been added to hide text in native programs. GNOME’s Epiphany web browser comes with better site compatibility, improved SSL support, new web inspector, per-tab processes etc. The Terminal app now features case-insensitive tab completion. Also, the code editor Scratch has got a new Mini Map features.
Other changes are made to improve mouse and touch controls, power management, network settings, online accounts management, sharing, parental controls, universal access etc.
“And as always: elementary OS comes with no tracking, no ads, and no data shared with third parties. We support the OS solely through paid downloads and never with data collection,” the elementary team says about privacy and security.
Willing to try it out? You can download the operating system for elementary OS website.
Did you find this article helpful? Don’t forget to drop your feedback in the comments section belo:
Also Read: Apricity OS Gets First Stable Release — A Beautiful And Simple Arch Linux-based Distro
