Elementary OS Changelog

What's new in Elementary OS 0.3.2 (Freya)

Dec 10, 2015
  • EFI & SecureBoot:
  • With the help of incredibly useful tips, advice, and code snippets from Antoni Norman (aka Pinguy), Cody has almost completely rewritten our .iso build system since 0.3.1. We’ve tested these new builds on 64-bit (U)EFI, and BIOS machines, with and without internet, with SecureBoot and legacy boot, and everything in between. No more infamous GRUB boot error!
  • Internationalization & Translations:
  • We’ve recently been working much more closely with Leonardo Lemos and Maxim Taranov (aka PNG) on improving support for internationalization in elementary OS. We’ve uncovered some parts of the OS that weren’t being made available for translation and solved some tricky cases involving pluralization. Also, we’ve had reports of the installer not playing nice with languages other than English and Spanish. We’ve decided to include the language packs for 22 additional, prominent languages, slightly increasing the size of the download but addressing this major issue. In short, this and future releases of elementary OS are getting better at speaking your language!
  • New Features:
  • Of course, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to sneak in a few refinements and new features. The applications menu now lists settings separately from apps in search results and will also return results for actions from apps’ quicklists, like “Compose Message” from Geary and “New Document” from Scratch. Also, we’ve decided to tuck away some utilities like the archive manager and font viewer; they’re still available from Files and search, but we don’t clutter up your applications menu with them any more. We’ve also fixed some minor visual issues with dark apps and refined shadows on windows, the panel, and a number of other places.

New in Elementary OS 0.3.1 (Freya) (Sep 3, 2015)

  • At the heart of this upgrade is the latest Hardware Enablement stack from Ubuntu 14.04.3. It includes version 3.19 of the Linux kernel and an updated Mesa that fixes the dreaded “double cursor” glitch. Workspaces in the Multitasking view also now work properly on Nvidia Optimus. The new hardware stack also brings better support for backlights and touchpads on certain laptops, a host of performance and power-related improvements, and support for 5th generation Intel processors. This release should also improve support for (U)EFI systems, especially when installing without an internet connection.
  • elementary OS Freya 0.3.1 includes all previously-released updates to Freya, plus a host of new updates to our included apps.
  • With our third upgrade to Files since Freya’s release, we’re bringing a long-awaited, redesigned file chooser dialog, available in all GTK3 apps. We’re also debuting a new “Recent Documents” feature which makes finding your recent files faster and adds the ability to conveniently remove files from your browsing history.
  • The brand new Midori 0.5.11 is included with support for the new space-saving header bar as well as fixes for several crashers. The Adblock extension also got some special attention in this release of Midori, particularly related to performance. New unit tests have been added and old C code refactored into shiny new Vala code, so look forward to a more robust native web browser.
  • In our System Settings app, you’ll find a redesigned Language & Region pane. The new pane makes managing installed languages much clearer and more reliable. You’ll also find more complete translations throughout the system. Additionally, the Keyboard settings pane now has support for custom shortcuts.
  • As we mentioned earlier this month, we are also now including the latest version of Geary (0.10), the email app in elementary OS. This update brings: improved full-text search; improved IMAP connection management; better draft management; quoting selected text in replies; HTML signatures; support for multiple email addresses in an account; undo for Archive, Trash, and Move; updated translations; and many bug fixes!
  • We’ve made improvements to the overall look and feel of elementary OS as well. We’ve fixed a few visual niggles with apps using the new dark look, avatars on the lock and login screen now have subtle highlights and shadows, and our icons now look much better on HiDPI displays, bringing HiDPI support much closer. We’ve also redesigned the Videos icon and made subtle adjustments to several other icons.
  • Other minor updates include a new “Window Dodge” hide mode for Plank, single-click selection helpers in Photos (like the ones you get in Files), and tons of fixes for crashers and other bugs.
  • Many of the new fixes and features available in this upgrade were funded by our supporters on Bountysource and Patreon. Please consider helping us out with funding. If you’d like to get involved with creating elementary OS, translations, or our website, check out our Get Involved page. Thank you to everyone who has supported us with funding. A major shoutout also goes out to the 80-or-so volunteers contributing code to elementary OS and our website. We couldn’t do it without the tremendous support that we’ve received so far!

New in Elementary OS 0.3 Beta 2 (Feb 9, 2015)

  • Internationalization:
  • Since elementary is used and developed by people from all over the world, it only makes sense for us to focus on making it available in as many languages as possible. After Beta1 was released, we were pleasantly surprised to see a HUGE translation team spring up out of nowhere! We’ve been working with them to bring better translation support to all of our apps, including our app development framework Granite. We’ve also added better support for Sinhalese fonts as well as Khmer fonts.
  • Multiple Display Support:
  • While most default setups are single-display, we do have a lot of power users who use multiple displays. As such, we’ve worked at making multiple-display support even better in Luna. Specifically, we’ve solved a number of bugs with Plank and Wingpanel in regards to appearing on the correct display and setting this in System Settings.
  • Visual Enhancements:
  • Our user experience designers have been especially hard at work putting the finishing touches on Luna. Since our recent rebranding by the very talented Ian Hex, we’ve had a strong focus on providing great typography. Because of this, we’ve made sure to include an updated version of our title font “Raleway” that brings more font weights. We’ve also focused in on fixing the appearance of monospace fonts in the OS and as a bonus we’ve made some very cool new creative fonts available as an extras package.
  • The elementary theme has seen even more enhancements since Beta 1. We've added more focus states for accessibility (a subtle blue glow when your keyboard is focused on a widget), cleaned up the inline toolbars, improved tab styling, reworked spin-buttons, switches, and more. We've really been working on refining the smallest details of the theme this cycle and tracking down visual bugs.
  • Our icon set has also seen a number of updates this cycle, from the panes in System Settings to a brand new set of emoticons and completely redrawn Folders, you’ll see a big difference in quality from beta1 to beta2.
  • Updated Apps:
  • Photo enthusiasts will be pleased to find the latest Shotwell 0.14.1 present in Beta 2. This release brings a number of stability fixes, better facebook integration, improved support for RAW, and many more small fixes.
  • Midori, our web browser, has been updated to version 0.5. It features better Granite support, improved responsiveness and functionality in autocomplete, improved extension loading, a reworked (and now extend-able) downloads backend, a new Cookie Security Manager, and a slew of bug fixes.
  • When testing Beta 1, many potential switchers complained about the code name of our flagship music player. So in addition to the update to version 0.2, Noise is now called Music. We've improved album art handling, added duplicate-detection, and added the number of remaining tracks in the queue to the source list. We also pushed out some UX/design updates, improved external device support, and greatly improved performance. Lastly, we fixed a huge amount of crashers that were affecting users since Beta 1; thank you for everyone who reported these and helped us make Noise rock.
  • The ever popular Geary has been updated to version 0.3.1, which includes support for multiple accounts, marking mail as spam, “collapsed” messages in conversations, and tons of fixes.
  • The Terminal was updated to version 0.2. We implemented bug fixes, improved customizability, and added a few new features like color schemes and zoomable text.
  • Keyboard Workflow:
  • While we often focus on the improvements we’ve made for less-experienced users, we also want to highlight the things we do to make life a little easier for our pro users. So for Beta 2 we’ve made keyboard-based workflows much better. You can now move windows with ⌘ + click-n-drag. Tab switching is a bit more keyboard friendly. Quit and Close shortcuts should work as expected in Noise and for our fancy light windows. Searching should be more immediately available across our apps (no need to click the box first, just type!). Also be sure to check out the "Keyboard" section in System Settings in order to customize desktop shortcuts and adjust other keyboard related settings.
  • More:
  • In addition to the numerous changes above, we’ve fixed up a lot of odds and ends. With Switchboard—our system settings app—we’ve added the ability to switch dock themes, included brand new Keyboard and Power sections, and fixed up the way indicators and other places can launch Switchboard. Contractor—our system-wide extension service—was actually completely reworked to fix provide more accurate matching and greater functionality for contract developers. We fixed an annoyance in WingPanel that made indicators change their order. By popular request, we’ve added lights that show when windows are open to the dock. Like Music, we've changed Maya to Calendar. Lastly, we now support UEFI installs.

New in Elementary OS 0.3 Beta 1 (Aug 11, 2014)

  • Improved Hardware Support and Updated Libraries
  • Online Accounts Integration
  • Slingshot Search Improvements
  • Client-Side Decorations
  • Updated Theme
  • Granite Changes
  • And a Few Hundred Other Things

New in Elementary OS 0.2 Beta 2 (May 7, 2013)

  • It’s been a full 5 months since the release of Luna Beta 1 and we’ve been hard at work to bring you the next beta. elementary has received tons of positive feedback from happy users all over the world. We’ve also received a flood of testers and bug reports. We’re happy to announce that we’re ready to release our second beta with over 300 fixes!
  • Internationalization:
  • Since elementary is used and developed by people from all over the world, it only makes sense for us to focus on making it available in as many languages as possible. After Beta1 was released, we were pleasantly surprised to see a HUGE translation team spring up out of nowhere! We’ve been working with them to bring better translation support to all of our apps, including our app development framework Granite. We’ve also added better support for Sinhalese fonts as well as Khmer fonts.
  • Multiple Display Support:
  • While most default setups are single-display, we do have a lot of power users who use multiple displays. As such, we’ve worked at making multiple-display support even better in Luna. Specifically, we’ve solved a number of bugs with Plank and Wingpanel in regards to appearing on the correct display and setting this in System Settings.
  • Visual Enhancements:
  • Our user experience designers have been especially hard at work putting the finishing touches on Luna. Since our recent rebranding by the very talented Ian Hex, we’ve had a strong focus on providing great typography. Because of this, we’ve made sure to include an updated version of our title font “Raleway” that brings more font weights. We’ve also focused in on fixing the appearance of monospace fonts in the OS and as a bonus we’ve made some very cool new creative fonts available as an extras package.
  • The elementary theme has seen even more enhancements since Beta 1. We've added more focus states for accessibility (a subtle blue glow when your keyboard is focused on a widget), cleaned up the inline toolbars, improved tab styling, reworked spin-buttons, switches, and more. We've really been working on refining the smallest details of the theme this cycle and tracking down visual bugs.
  • Our icon set has also seen a number of updates this cycle, from the panes in System Settings to a brand new set of emoticons and completely redrawn Folders, you’ll see a big difference in quality from beta1 to beta2.
  • Updated Apps:
  • Photo enthusiasts will be pleased to find the latest Shotwell 0.14.1 present in Beta 2. This release brings a number of stability fixes, better facebook integration, improved support for RAW, and many more small fixes.
  • Midori, our web browser, has been updated to version 0.5. It features better Granite support, improved responsiveness and functionality in autocomplete, improved extension loading, a reworked (and now extend-able) downloads backend, a new Cookie Security Manager, and a slew of bug fixes.
  • When testing Beta 1, many potential switchers complained about the code name of our flagship music player. So in addition to the update to version 0.2, Noise is now called Music. We've improved album art handling, added duplicate-detection, and added the number of remaining tracks in the queue to the source list. We also pushed out some UX/design updates, improved external device support, and greatly improved performance. Lastly, we fixed a huge amount of crashers that were affecting users since Beta 1; thank you for everyone who reported these and helped us make Noise rock.
  • The ever popular Geary has been updated to version 0.3.1, which includes support for multiple accounts, marking mail as spam, “collapsed” messages in conversations, and tons of fixes.
  • The Terminal was updated to version 0.2. We implemented bug fixes, improved customizability, and added a few new features like color schemes and zoomable text.
  • Keyboard Workflow:
  • While we often focus on the improvements we’ve made for less-experienced users, we also want to highlight the things we do to make life a little easier for our pro users. So for Beta 2 we’ve made keyboard-based workflows much better. You can now move windows with ⌘ + click-n-drag. Tab switching is a bit more keyboard friendly. Quit and Close shortcuts should work as expected in Noise and for our fancy light windows. Searching should be more immediately available across our apps (no need to click the box first, just type!). Also be sure to check out the "Keyboard" section in System Settings in order to customize desktop shortcuts and adjust other keyboard related settings.
  • More:
  • In addition to the numerous changes above, we’ve fixed up a lot of odds and ends. With Switchboard—our system settings app—we’ve added the ability to switch dock themes, included brand new Keyboard and Power sections, and fixed up the way indicators and other places can launch Switchboard. Contractor—our system-wide extension service—was actually completely reworked to fix provide more accurate matching and greater functionality for contract developers. We fixed an annoyance in WingPanel that made indicators change their order. By popular request, we’ve added lights that show when windows are open to the dock. Like Music, we've changed Maya to Calendar. Lastly, we now support UEFI installs.
  • Overall, what we see in Beta2 is a faster, more stable, more beautiful, more accessible, more international, and even easier to use and feature rich elementary OS.