Over 1,100 improvements make Freya the biggest elementary OS update yet
Elementary OS has continued to impress in the four years since its first release and almost two years since Luna, its last major update at version 0.2. The developers claim over three million downloads and elementary OS has remained in the top ten most searched-for distros for the last year, with a strong community continuing to build behind this enduringly popular distro. Freya, based on Linux 3.16 and the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, brings a host of visual changes that are largely based around improvements and additions to Pantheon, the Ubuntu-based operating system’s desktop environment that replaces Unity.
Much of the change is in the smaller details, with work being done on things like the rounded corners of dialogs and the lights and shadows of panels, reducing gloss tones for a more matte look, and also in the context-sensitive header bar that adapts its colour and transparency depending on what you have open in order to be non-intrusive. Slingshot, the application menu, has also been improved with the capability for simple calculations in the search bar and the ability to drag-and-drop app icons from your searches.
One of the biggest changes is the redesigned multitasking screen, which now has (like many aspects of elementary OS’s design) an even more GNOME 3 or OS X feel to it. It’s now right up front in the dock and as well as select and close your open applications, you can also switch to different workspaces using the buttons along the bottom – this entirely replaces the workspace switcher that used to push up from beneath your dock, making for a much tidier solution (though you can still use your hot corners for switching workspaces).
Along with a new unified lock and login screen that has a great clock widget, there’s also an updated notifications system that comes with a ‘do not disturb’ mode. The notifications are interactive and they’ll also show you alerts from things like terminal processes that are running in the background. Regarding the terminal itself, this now has labels for the tabs along the top that each show the last command that you’ve run and natural copying and pasting (ie Ctrl+C) now works in the terminal too.
Another big change from Luna is the redesigned Photos app. Forked from Shotwell earlier this year, which is helpfully written in the Vala language also used to write Pantheon, Pantheon Photos is now being run by the elementary team and has been given the same attention-to-detail treatment as the other Pantheon programs to make it as intuitive as possible. Joining Photos in Freya’s line-up of core software is a new Videos application, as well as a new Calculator and a Camera application for webcams.
Look in the System Settings and there are a few final changes of note, including redesigns of the date and time, user accounts, applications and displays menus, again to simplify and visually improve the options. The privacy settings page now has a toggle at the top for a privacy mode, which you can enable if you want to stop elementary OS itself from tracking your usage data, and there’s another new toggle switch for a built-in firewall which supports custom rules for enabling and denying traffic.
Altogether, these minor and major additions make for an incredibly strong release that adds to elementary OS’s reputation for clean, elegant simplicity in its user experience while also modernising its design and updating the software selection. It’s as fast and lightweight as ever, making it suitable for old machines, and Freya is a pleasure to use no matter which operating system you are used to working with. Gavin Thomas
Freya’s host of updates brings improvements across the board, from new core apps to a firewall and simplified workspace switching, making the new release a clear progression on an already brilliant distro that has a lot to offer to Linux newcomers.