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

    • Playground drops 30 minutes of Fable gameplay, shows off life sim and morality system by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe Playground Games gave fantasy RPG fans a new look at its Fable reboot last Sunday at the Xbox Games Showcase. While that was a short cinematic trailer revealing the main villain of the storyline, played by Hayley Atwell, today, the development team released an entire gameplay demo to show off the game in action. There is some combat and action near the end of it, but most of the demo is focused on the game's NPC simulation, relationships, choices players can make, and the complex reputation system. The studio is touting over 1,000 hand-crafted NPCs who have jobs, homes, routines they follow in their villages and outskirts, and a memory of what is going on in the world and what actions the player has done. All of these are voiced by real people too. The demo begins with a short interaction with a butcher who wants to kill a talking pig named Colin. The protagonist chooses to save Colin by paying the butcher a bunch of gold for his troubles, giving the hero a rise in reputation for being shrewd, merciful, and virtuous. There were also options to simply let Colin get killed or even fight the butcher for the pig instead of paying him. How NPCs judge the player depends on how they interact with the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doV0yq4kAP0 Later, the demo shows off how purchasing and managing businesses work, where players can hire employees, change their wages, tweak the price of the shop items, and reap profits if they do well. Different NPCs react differently to each type of reputation the player is touting. One shop owner jacks up prices by 80% just because the player is rich and owns businesses. The demo even shows the player deciding to attack random villagers and causing a ruckus in the streets, turning the hero into a criminal. This is where the magic combat systems are shown off, where the player can teleport, turn enemies into chickens, sword-fight, and more. "This is how you’ll build an extraordinary life in Fable. It’s all about shades of grey – it’s not us or the game telling you what is good and what is bad," says Dan Greer, Lead Game Designer. "With the Living Population, it’s the NPCs themselves judging your actions." Fable is releasing across PC and Xbox Series X|S on February 23, 2027. Premium Edition owners will be able to play starting on February 18 instead. Xbox Game Pass subscribers will also be able to jump in at launch for no extra cost.
    • Still 93% off: Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 lifetime digital license by Steven Parker Today's highlighted deal comes via our Apps + Software section of the Neowin Deals store, where for a limited time you can still save 93% on Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026. Code Faster, Work Smarter with Visual Studio 2026 Visual Studio Professional 2026 is a fully featured development environment that developers around the world know & love — now enhanced with deeper AI integration, improved performance & more powerful collaboration tools. Built as a 64-bit IDE, it makes it easier than ever to work with very large solutions & complex workloads. Boost your productivity, write high-quality code & re-imagine team collaboration with an advanced suite of tools & built-in integrations designed to tackle the most demanding development workflows & deliver modern, cloud-connected applications. Build across languages and platforms Craft cross-platform mobile & desktop apps with .NET MAUI Build responsive Web UIs in C# with Blazor Build, debug, & test .NET & C++ apps targeting Windows, Linux & containers Use hot reload capabilities across .NET & C++ apps to apply code changes instantly Edit running ASP.NET/ASP.NET Core pages in the web designer view Integrate seamlessly with Azure, GitHub & other DevOps workflows Type less, code more with Intellicode and AI Understand your code context: variable names, functions, libraries & the type of code you’re writing Complete a line or block of code based on patterns learned from your codebase Get a ranked list of next best suggestions, helping you code more rapidly & accurately Use built-in AI-assisted refactoring & code suggestions to reduce bugs & boilerplate Gain deep insights into your code with codelens Reveal crucial information such as recent changes, authors, tests & commit history directly in the editor See test status & references without leaving your code Make informed decisions with a comprehensive overview of your codebase and activity Collaborate seamlessly with live share Run real-time collaboration sessions with teammates — no need for them to clone repos or install all dependencies Speed up your team’s edit & debugging cycles with personalized sessions, access controls & custom editor settings Keep everyone aligned so your team’s code stays consistent & maintainable Good to know Length of access: Lifetime License type: Professional, single-user license Redemption deadline: Redeem your code within 30 days of purchase Access options: Desktop installation on supported Windows operating systems Max number of device(s): 1 Version: Visual Studio Professional 2026 Languages supported: English, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. Updates included: Minor updates and security fixes for the 2026 Professional release channel (according to Microsoft’s lifecycle policy) Activation method: Online activation with Microsoft account required Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026 normally costs $499.99, but this deal can be yours for just $34.97, that's a saving of $465. For full terms, specifications, and license info please click the link below. Get Visual Studio 2026 now for just $34.97 (was $499.99) Time limited deal Although priced in U.S. dollars, this deal is available for digital purchase worldwide. Support queries If you have queries or need support for any of the Neowin Deals, please use the contact form here. Neowin Deals are managed and sold by StackCommerce who represent Neowin on an affiliate basis. Why we post these deals We post these because we earn commission on each sale so as not to rely solely on advertising, which many of our readers block. It all helps toward paying staff reporters, servers and hosting costs. So for those that keep moaning and complaining, be thankful we're still online for you to even do that. Other ways to support Neowin Whitelist Neowin by not blocking our ads Create a free member account to see fewer ads Make a donation to support our day to day running costs Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for an ad-free experience Disclosure: Neowin benefits from revenue of each sale made through our branded deals site powered by StackCommerce.
    • My current phone, on left, is starting to go to sleep, and not turning on, even though I press the power button 100 times. Like CPR.   I tried factory resetting it, and nothing changed. So it's the hardware failing. I currently am using Twigby as my service provider. Cheapest I can get around here. But all their phones are carp.. https://www.twigby.com/shop/twigby-phones A friend warned me about the Moto G, as his neice has one, and isn't that good at $130. Also the Samsung A15 is laughable at best. Everything else is expensive af. I want android, (hate iOS) any version, that works with Twigby, under $100, please. Refurbished/Used is OK with me, as long as it isn't beat up.   If you know the IMEI number, you can see if it works with Twigby: https://www.twigby.com/page/byod
    • i not arguing that it isnt ######, only that it does support themes lol.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      StaticMatrix earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      lamborghiniv10 went up a rank
      Rookie
    • One Month Later
      pinnclepd earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • First Post
      X-No-file earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      johnjacobb40 earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      516
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      210
    3. 3
      +Edouard
      147
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      91
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      82
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!