Elementary OS Luna Beta 1 is out!

By Glassed Silver
in Linux

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Glassed Silver

Posted
Posted

Hey guys!

Luna beta 1 is out.

I guess this is a day many of us have been waiting for for so long!

http://elementaryos.org/journal/luna-beta-1-released

(Release info & download (32/64bit available))

Grab it now, I got mine already, so spam the server all you want, I don't care. :p

Glassed Silver:mac

  • hckngrtfakt, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Syanide and 1 other
  • Like 4
Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1119484-elementary-os-luna-beta-1-is-out/
Share on other sites
Grand Master

Glassed Silver

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I thought it was based off some typical linux distro,

but appears to be a stand alone core OS ... :)

may give this a try (wish it was a live distro tho :/)

No, it's a heavily customized Ubuntu.

Definitely not like your regular me-too Ubuntu based distro. :)

Glassed Silver:mac

Collaborator

hckngrtfakt

Posted
Posted

No, it's a heavily customized Ubuntu.

Definitely not like your regular me-too Ubuntu based distro. :)

Glassed Silver:mac

Ah, thanks for clearing that up :)

Will definitely check it out

(hopefully one day there'll be a BackTrack version) :shifty: lol

Grand Master

AJerman

Posted
Posted

Definitely interested in what they've been able to do. It doesn't sound like just another Ubuntu spin off, it sounds like they've done a massive amount of their own work, but I guess we'll see. I haven't kept up with development, but it sure looks good in the screenshots. I'll toss it on a VM when it finishes downloading.

  • Glassed Silver
  • Like 1
Grand Master

HawkMan

Posted
Posted

Why a dock... why... if they're going to pick stuff from OSX, why pick the most useless and worst task switcher invented, when there's some actual good things to take from it.

This is the same distro where the devs where spamming these forums and never actually got around to a working release before ?

Grand Master

Glassed Silver

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Why a dock... why... if they're going to pick stuff from OSX, why pick the most useless and worst task switcher invented, when there's some actual good things to take from it.

This is the same distro where the devs where spamming these forums and never actually got around to a working release before ?

IMHO the dock is awesome.

To each his own I guess :p

Feel free to add any other method to it. It's Linux. :p ^^

Uhm, don't think so, no.

Glassed Silver:mac

Grand Master

Syanide

Posted
Posted

As much as I like it, it lacks identity and will be stuck with the same problems every distro is stuck with - plethora of development and desktop environment choices that don't overlap enough to provide a consistent experience, and don't stand out enough to make it interesting for any developer to specifically target their platform.

Experienced

br0adband

Posted
Posted

Been waiting a long long time for this, just grabbed the ISO off the torrent and will drop it on a spare hard drive here in a few and check it out. Was disappointed in some of the last alphas because of a variety of issues so I'm hoping most of the big ones have been finally ironed out with this first official beta - took 'em long enough but, I know they care about what they're doing so I like many others have been very patient.

We'll see what happens...

  • Glassed Silver
  • Like 1
Grand Master

AJerman

Posted
Posted

Why a dock... why... if they're going to pick stuff from OSX, why pick the most useless and worst task switcher invented, when there's some actual good things to take from it.

This is the same distro where the devs where spamming these forums and never actually got around to a working release before ?

Maybe you're thinking about Shift? They didn't really spam the forums as they are members from here though. I don't recall Elementary devs spamming the board.

As for my thoughts on the OS. I did get to install it on VirtualBox on my Ubuntu 12.10 machine and first I must say, this is the first machine I've had that fully supported VT and I'm impressed with that alone. I know, I'm way behind, shut up, haha.

The OS seems very clean and simple. Almost too clean and simple really, but I think that's a good thing as well. I don't have any issue with docks, but then I'm an OS X user for most of my home computing. I do have a problem with the fact that the dock seems a tad bit buggy. I found it staying on top of windows and blocking me at times, but I suppose all of these bugs can be ironed out. I do get the feel that it would be much easier to hand to say, my dad, and he'd be able to use it pretty easily. I couldn't get it to take my Gmail account in the mail client, and it seems like it only supports Yahoo otherwise. I linked up a Yahoo account with no trouble though. I haven't gotten to put more than about 30 minutes on it though, so I'll probably play with it a little more and see what I think in the longer term. Seems like a great start to a good novice Linux though.

Veteran

Darrian

Posted
Posted

So I've gotten it installed in VMWare and am setting it up to use as my new build environment for CM10 on my Nook Color. OMG this is gorgeous compared to stock Ubuntu. I love it!

Also, in response to the guy complaining about using a dock for an app launcher: how is a dock any different from the sidebar in unity? They function pretty much the same, the only difference is the appearance and the location.

Grand Master

Glassed Silver

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So I've gotten it installed in VMWare and am setting it up to use as my new build environment for CM10 on my Nook Color. OMG this is gorgeous compared to stock Ubuntu. I love it!

Also, in response to the guy complaining about using a dock for an app launcher: how is a dock any different from the sidebar in unity? They function pretty much the same, the only difference is the appearance and the location.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess he's not the biggest fan of the sidebar either... :p

Glassed Silver:mac

Grand Master

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Posted
Posted

anyone have any problems getting this to work with broadcom wifi? Before I go all out and try to get this working, I'd kinda like to know before I erase my existing USB Linux install, so if anyone wants to let me know, that would be awesome! (please?)

Grand Master

Glassed Silver

Posted
  • Author
Posted

anyone have any problems getting this to work with broadcom wifi? Before I go all out and try to get this working, I'd kinda like to know before I erase my existing USB Linux install, so if anyone wants to let me know, that would be awesome! (please?)

Well, 0.1 (Jupiter) played along nicely on my EeePC 1000H which has a Broadcom chip if I'm not mistaken.

It's based on Ubuntu, so it should be pretty much driver compatible.

Maybe google your chipset and add ubuntu to it and see what it returns? :)

Glassed Silver:mac

Grand Master

ViperAFK

Posted
Posted

Why a dock... why... if they're going to pick stuff from OSX, why pick the most useless and worst task switcher invented, when there's some actual good things to take from it.

This is the same distro where the devs where spamming these forums and never actually got around to a working release before ?

I've never seen elementary os devs on these forums at all, and definitely not spamming then. I think you are confusing them with something else... In addition this is the second release of elementary os, they've had a working release for quite some time.

And personally, docks are my favorite type of launcher. I like unity's launcher, elementary os's dock, win 7 superbar, osx's dock. I much prefer them to the old school window list.

Its really a matter of whether you like application centric or document centric, its subjective. Just because its not your preference doesn't mean its the "worst thing ever invented". In addition, osx was not the first os to use a dock, and having a dock doesn't mean you are "stealing it from osx".

  • Glassed Silver
  • Like 1
Grand Master

Syanide

Posted
Posted

I've spent some time with it in VirtualBox. It's crazy good. These guys understand simplicity. It's not butchering options (GNOME) or hiding stuff (Ubuntu). It's also very speedy, at least for VirtualBox.

Just wish they didn't take literally every visual cue from Apple.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it

      By Steven P. · Posted

      Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • Poll: Grand Theft Auto VI price predictions, cast your vote

      By noobient · Posted

      $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Why you need to take back control of your synced passwords and how to go about doing that

      By noobient · Posted

      Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
    • Mp3tag 3.35

      By Jaybonaut · Posted

      Thanks
    • Why you need to take back control of your synced passwords and how to go about doing that

      By +Warwagon · Posted

      I actually got to use one of those so called "backup codes" once. It was for a customer, I choose the backup code option, and by the grace of god, they actually hade them printed out. Imagine my surprise, when after using the backup code, Google then told use we had to enter a code they just sent to the gmail address we currently did not have access to. I was not amused, Google backup codes should be the end all get out of jail free card, because you had to have access to the account to even get them.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Supreme Spray LV earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Genuinetonerink- Dubai earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Genuinetonerink- Dubai earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      hhgygy earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      AMV earned a badge
      Week One Done

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      513
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      164
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      88
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      74
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      73
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!