Elementary OS


Recommended Posts

The project that started as a theme and icon set for GNOME is becoming a full fledged OS. It's based on Ubuntu, but unlike most other derivatives, these guys have put a lot of work into the project and differentiating themselves.

The default DE is GNOME based, but it's neither GNOME 2, GNOME 3 nor Ubuntu's Unity -- they've developed their own dock, panel, application launcher. They also have a lot of their own software which aims to simplify the interface of the current solutions (email application, spell checker, file manager; all menu-less and simple).

The first release is scheduled for March, you can preorder it now for $10, or just wait and download it when it gets released.

http://elementaryos.org/

Personally I'm not so crazy about it, but I thought someone might be interested. Looks nice either way.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/
Share on other sites

Those Linux distros these days copy just about anything they can from Mac OS X huh? All the way down to the default desktop picture. It's starting to become kind of sad now...

The sad part is they're trying to copy it, but fail to do so.

Would be nice for them to take some kind of original direction. Gnome 3 looks like a bad copy as well.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593711940
Share on other sites

The sad part is they're trying to copy it, but fail to do so.

Would be nice for them to take some kind of original direction. Gnome 3 looks like a bad copy as well.

Of course they fail. With Gnome 3 they actually went as far as copying certain Mac OS X interface elements 1:1 such as the Dashboard close button.

Mac OS X

screenshotci.png

GNOME 3

screenshot2ug.png

The really fun part is when you confront the developers with stuff like this they claim it's purely a coincidence and deny everything. At least be a man about it and admit you're blatantly copying everything you can left and right from existing operating systems. Saddening really...

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593711980
Share on other sites

^ that's because Mint 10 uses the elementary theme.

And I disagree about Gnome 3/distros and Mac. Sure, some elements are clearly inspired by Mac/Win, but what's wrong with that? And they have enough of their own to make it stand out. Elementary is a poor example because they lend more than the others (had they put a global menu in the top panel it would look exactly like a mash of various mac/ios concepts) but some things just evolve on their own and it's pointless arguing about it - each major os has a dock nowadays, each browser de-emphasized menus in favor of buttons and less clutter. Gnome3 has activities which is nothing like the start menu or a dock and offers something completely new, even though it has elements of both. Sure, the button looks the same, but if that's the biggest gripe you have with it, then wow.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593712516
Share on other sites

Who cares? For example my Mint looks better than Mac OSX (modified it), it's much faster, uses way less resources and it's more reliable and secure than a Mac. Nothing wrong with that imho.

Whether it looks better is a matter of opinion and the rest of your story probably is as well.

And not Apple invented GUIs, Xerox did.

I'm not talking about where the GUI originated from. I'm talking about the fact that Apple developed a certain look for Mac OS X you now see being ripped off left and right by Linux distros to great extent. The above distro is a perfect example of that.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593712854
Share on other sites

The "Apple did it first" crowd never miss a chance to get their $0.02 in huh?

Gnome, in general is unoriginal and boring IMO. If you want to see innovation in Linux, get a KDE powered distro.

As the Apple basher crowd does too... Your avatar says it all.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593712888
Share on other sites

The "Apple did it first" crowd never miss a chance to get their $0.02 in huh?

There's such blatant evidence of copying that it's not even correct to say "inspired". Look at the Dock and the Launchpad of apps in the video, or look at the icons for the Address Book and Midori browser on their website. Don't let your anti-Apple sentiments cloud your vision.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593712936
Share on other sites

Honestly, I'm getting sick of the OS X rip-offs too. I don't know if it's because the Linux crowd is out of ideas, it's an easy target to copy, or because it's really that hard to come up with a decent Linux theme. Nevertheless, I think I'm the only one that actually prefers simple, clean, ORIGINAL themes these days. ;)

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593713500
Share on other sites

There's such blatant evidence of copying that it's not even correct to say "inspired". Look at the Dock and the Launchpad of apps in the video, or look at the icons for the Address Book and Midori browser on their website. Don't let your anti-Apple sentiments cloud your vision.

Exactly.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593714432
Share on other sites

^ that's because Mint 10 uses the elementary theme.

And I disagree about Gnome 3/distros and Mac. Sure, some elements are clearly inspired by Mac/Win, but what's wrong with that?

So which is it, you disagree or you agree and there is nothing wrong with it. You can't have it both ways, pick a position and stick to it.

To me if they are going to spin off Ubuntu to make their own operating system then forget it. They should have just stuck to making it a theme.

We need developers to work together towards common goals. Strength in unity. Instead every single month/week a new distro pops up that simply takes the source of a more popular distro adds a few features (which could have been applications / themes for the more popular OS) and package it as a whole new operating system.

Meanwhile consumers who try to use these offshoots get very little support if any at all. It takes a lot of work to do an operating system and just because the source is available doesn't mean you should fork it.

Son, I am disappoint.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593714442
Share on other sites

(...) but some things just evolve on their own and it's pointless arguing about it. (...)

Funny you should say that btw, because for some reason these things in the Linux landscape have a tendency to "evolve on their own" only after Apple introduced it to the public.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593714474
Share on other sites

I wonder if they'll ever consider making a KDE-based DE.

KDE is too glossy to be a Mac clone. If anything, they'll rip off Windows 7 since a lot of the wanna-be Aero work is already there. If you're going

to copy someone else's design, might as well make it easy on yourself!

I kid, I kid.

I don't know what the Elementary team could do with KDE, but I hope they decide to try anyway. I'm getting sick of the only decent theme being

Air/Oxygen (the default!).

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593718376
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFwHTcSZjAk

the iconset changing via upper menu click. who did that 1st?

other than that, the oversize icons distributed on centered grid reminds me of win3.11

obsnark

but that bgrd music... one of the instruments sounds like a guitar.

And, i'm getting tired of everyone using the ionian mode.

Can't somebody be more original?

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/976602-elementary-os/#findComment-593763976
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • A few years ago walmart had the 512 models on clearance for $35. I bought 3 of them. I should have purchased more.
    • I'm fine with a little reasonable promotion of Edge, but the degree which they do it right now I consider extremely unreasonable. 
    • Microsoft AI boss no longer believes that AI will replace human workers by David Uzondu Mustafa Suleyman, the head of Microsoft AI, recently took back his statements concerning white-collar jobs that he gave to the Financial Times in an interview made back in February, where he claimed that AI would replace office workers within 12 to 18 months. On Monday's episode of The Verge's Decoder, Suleyman recast the technology as more like a helpmate than a tool designed to take over your job. He explained that smaller office duties will "increasingly become digitized, automated" as people generate more digital materials. During the discussion, Suleyman emphasized a "very important distinction" between "tasks" and "jobs" to clarify his previous claims. He argued that his earlier comments only referred to individual actions that people perform at their desks. Suleyman used to work for DeepMind, the research lab he co-founded in 2010 alongside Demis Hassabis and Shane Legg, before he left in 2022 to establish Inflection AI and build an empathetic digital assistant. Microsoft hired him in March 2024 to lead its newly formed "Microsoft AI" division, placing him in charge of consumer products like Copilot, Bing, and Edge. His February comments also detailed plans for Microsoft to achieve self-sufficiency with a $140 billion infrastructure budget to train frontier models, predicting that creating a customized AI will soon feel like creating a podcast or a new blog: The 41-year-old is not the only AI executive who's softened his "AI will replace you" stance. OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, last month used X to push back against employment panic by arguing that his startup builds tools to assist humans rather than build replacements. He had previously garnered backlash by suggesting that many modern office roles that AI might replace did not qualify as "real work" in the first place, at least when you compare desk jobs to physical, historical labor like farming.
    • Adobe Acrobat Reader DC 2026.001.21662 by Razvan Serea Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software is the free, trusted standard for viewing, printing, signing, and annotating PDFs. Its the only PDF viewer that can open and interact with all types of PDF content – including forms and multimedia. It’s connected to Adobe Document Cloud – so you can work with PDFs on computers and mobile devices. Adobe Document Cloud is a revolutionary, modern and efficient way to get work done with documents in the office, at home or on-the-go. At the heart of Document Cloud is the all-new Adobe Acrobat DC, which will take e-signatures mainstream by delivering free e-signing with every individual subscription. Document Cloud includes a set of integrated services that use a consistent online profile and personal document hub. With Adobe Document Cloud, people will be able to create, review, approve, sign and track documents whether on a desktop or mobile device. Businesses will be able to take advantage of Document Cloud for enterprise which provides enterprise-class document services that integrate into systems of record such as CRM, HCM, CLM, and CMS, adding speed, efficiency and transparency to getting business done with documents. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC new feature highlights: Work with PDFs from anywhere with the new, free Acrobat DC mobile app for Android or iOS. Select functionality is also available on Windows Phone. Use the new Fill & Sign tool in your desktop software to complete PDF forms fast with smart autofill. Download the free Adobe Fill & Sign mobile app to add the same option to your iPad or Android tablet device. Save money on ink and toner when printing from your Windows PC. Store and access files in Adobe Document Cloud with 5GB of free storage. Get instant access to recent files across desktop, web, and mobile devices with Mobile Link. Sync your Fill & Sign autofill collection across desktop, web, and iPad devices. Adobe PDF Pack premium features includes: Convert documents and images to PDF files. Use your mobile device camera to take a picture of a paper document or form and convert it to PDF. Turn PDFs into editable Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or RTF files. Combine multiple files into a single PDF (web only). Get signatures from others with a complete e-signature service. Send, track, and confirm delivery of documents electronically instead of using fax or overnight services (tracking not available on mobile). Store and access files online with 20GB of storage. Download: Adobe Acrobat Reader DC 64-bit | 719.0 MB (Freeware) Link: Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Home Page | Release Notes | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Meta will now use data from outside businesses to personalize AI responses by David Uzondu In an update that's rolling out globally (except in a handful of countries), Meta will use your data from outside businesses to personalize your AI responses and your primary feeds. Meta already utilizes your shopping activity to target ads, but the company now plans to expand this tracking to personalize other "parts of your experience" like feed algorithms and AI assistant chats. The company is replacing the two settings ("Your activity off Meta technologies" and "Activity from other businesses") that currently let you disconnect off-platform activity with a single, renamed setting called Activity from other businesses. If you don't want Meta to manipulate your feed and AI responses using your outside history, you can just turn the Activity from other businesses setting off in your account settings. This toggle resides within your Accounts Center, applying your choice to every connected profile. Turning this off will not stop companies from sending your data to Meta. The company will still collect your web interactions, but it only uses them to train products, while still accessing external accounts you connect. When The Verge spoke to Meta spokesperson Emil Vazquez, the representative said that this update will exclude several locations at launch, including the European region, the UK, Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, South Korea, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Kenya. The new update comes at a time when the social media giant is recovering from a major PR disaster involving generative AI. Last week, there was a huge security issue on Instagram where attackers figured out a way to trick Meta AI into handing over account ownership (even if the victim had 2FA enabled). Some of the affected accounts include the dormant Obama White House profile, cosmetics brand Sephora, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force, and security researcher Jane Manchun Wong. Internally, the company also had to scale back plans on its Model Capability Initiative (MCI), an employee-monitoring program designed to train corporate AI models by recording worker keystrokes and screen activity, after employees raised privacy concerns and complained about severe battery life drain.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      Primer1st earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Experienced
      JayZJay went up a rank
      Experienced
    • Reacting Well
      Sir_Timbit earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      rubentuben8 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      ARaclen earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      512
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      229
    3. 3
      Edouard
      134
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      87
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      80
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!