Submitted by About a week ago the Elive project released version 0.6 of their E17-based (installable) live CD. Since Elive is one of the few distributions using E17 as its standard desktop environment, we thought we would treat you to a nice screenshot tour.
About a week ago the Elive project released version 0.6 of their E17-based (installable) live CD. Since Elive is one of the few distributions using E17 as its standard desktop environment, we thought we would treat you to a nice screenshot tour.
On the Important dialog it says intedned instead of intended. 😛
It looks really nice, although I feel they should call Favorite Applications just Applications as it seems to list all applications.
I must say the default wallpaper looks really good, very original.
Edited 2007-01-01 23:44
In my D620 first don;t work with my 945GM video card and when i choose the 810 it works, but limited.
The limited are first when i wanna log its take and eternity to do it and later when i reboot the machine the fy
iles system of my pc ask me for a check disk, don’t ask me why.
But i discovery PC-BSD.. :0
I love the way Apple has “set” the desktop paradigm
for the next 300 years …. sigh
i just spent half my afternoon trying to remove all the BLUENESS and Krystalnesses from my desktop and then I come onto OSNEWS and see this !!!! lol sigh laugh cry
i am happy to see though someone has started pushing the E17 Desktop , I hope it matures and becomes good competition/alternative to Gnome/Xfce and KDE , not because I use it, or see myself using it, but because alternatives and different approaches are always good for the community 🙂
p.s see http://www.elivecd.org/gb/Main/Screenshots/User/ for other screenshots
What would your desktop look like?
Me, I like colors that have “soul”, such as dark green (Spring) and burnt orange (Autumn).
Apple might be setting the precedents for the Linux desktop to follow in the future, but I’m certain that the Linux desktop will go to far greater lengths than Apple.
For instance, look at Quartz + OpenGL on Aqua.
Now, look at Beryl on GNOME/KDE.
That’s only a small fraction of it, btw.
I hope E17 does not become competition for KDE, Gnome, or XFCE. If it did, there would be little reason to bother using it.
Its simplicity and general reductive design (why v. why not) set it a league above the standard Windows-ish DEs. It certainly needs some work, but I like it as it is, and like the direction it’s going.
Edited 2007-01-02 06:32
Does the Dock in Elive allow for docking a window into the Dock like Mac OS X does?
Most of the docks which have been accepted into the mainstream desktop environments (Kiba/Akamaru-Dock for GNOME, the XFCE dock) only allow for applications to be launched from the dock; the taskbars are still retained as the windows are docked into them.
So since Elive doesn’t even have a taskbar, as seen in the screenshots, I’m wondering if they did away with the taskbar, and replaced it with the dock at the bottom for the same purpose.
Personally, I find the taskbar to be a hangover from the UI’s of the 90’s, and would like to see it replaced with the Dock.
In fact, make that two docks: one for application launchers at top and one for the application windows at bottom. There’ll be more display space for other stuff on the screen as a result.
No, the dock does not work like OS X. At least not as far as I can see.
I read an article by one of the E developers once explaining why they didn’t have a taskbar. If I remember correctly, the reason they don’t have one was, “if you use virtual desktops correctly, there’s no need for a taskbar”.
I don’t agree with that at all, but I think that was the explanation.
What would you think about the approach that this dock tries to explore. http://beatnik.infogami.com/Gimmie
It’s close, even for a prototype.
His “Documents” area seems close to the “Dock for Application Windows” that I described. Since a video or HTML page is a “document”, I’m thinking that such (with live presentation both in- and out-Dock) could easily fit into his Documents area.
He has a great idea coming on with that. I can only wonder what the Beryl folks could do with it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dock_%28computing%29
You might be interested to know that the Dock is actually a relic of the 80’s
. I strongly prefer it as well, but I’d call the taskbar a weak hack and not simply a hangover.
If you want dock like behaviour on Linux then try windowmaker. If you want dock like “pretties” than I suggest the version in e17. When I used e17, briefly, I wasn’t convinced that the dock was anything more than a toy and that they weren’t going to go for something … different: I still hope they will go for something different (if they can come up with it).
If I’m understanding you correctly, enlightenment is actually capable of what you’re asking. The dock in enlightenment is a recent addition that is a docking space for enlightenment’s various modules. (of note I’m basing my experiences from installing from cvs in gentoo, and I’m not sure how up to date Elive’s version of e17 is)
Of those modules, there is ibar, which is an application launcher, and ibox, which holds minimized applications. However there, has yet to be a module for tray icons.
There is also engage, which is supposed to be capable of all the above mentioned functions, but lately it has been broken.
And since there is a clock module, start menu module, and various others you can assemble what resembles a taskbar if you want. Also you can create as many docks as you want.
I’d be more specific in certain areas, but I’m recalling this from memory as I haven’t been in e17 for a couple weeks or so.
Personally, I find the taskbar to be a hangover from the UI’s of the 90’s, and would like to see it replaced with the Dock.
Can you explain how exactly the taskbar is a hangover from the 90’s? While I believe in the phrase “to each his own”, I fail to see what is so 90’s about a taskbar. Emphasizing the word ‘multimedia’, Active Desktop and geocities pages are somethings that I would call a hangover from the 90s, not a taskbar.
While this might not apply to you specifically, I find it common from Apple fans to view the ‘different’ nature of Apple’s approach to desktop UI to automatically mean that it is somehow better. Look at Expose, its main aim is to provide easier access to various windows. How is showing all active windows somehow better than using a combination of applications specific tabs and a well designed taskbar (working implementation of autohide, drag and drop, ability to use applets, in built desktop pager).
In recent years Apple has always been about being different for the sake of being different or to justify the constant pricy minor updates. Certainly, Apple does have some innovation (spaces would be a nice addition to OS X), but it’s main selling point is still design and marketing not technology or research.
Agree with a lot of what you say, but surely the real hangover from the nineties, or maybe even the eighties, is the total lack of virtual desktops, and the desperate attempts in the UI guidelines from both Windows and MacOS to somehow make the resulting mess usable, without implementing the one tried and tested effective real world solution? You can’t go back to a single desktop without wondering why on earth people do this to themselves….
Agree with a lot of what you say, but surely the real hangover from the nineties, or maybe even the eighties, is the total lack of virtual desktops, and the desperate attempts in the UI guidelines from both Windows and MacOS to somehow make the resulting mess usable
Yes I agree. The biggest pain I find coming into work on a Monday morning where I have to use Windows is the absence of virtual desktops.
MS has created an addin for Windows XP which is available as a download from them. I wanted to try it at work on my regular desktop at work but IT have the box locked down so you can’t install a lot of stuff. I sent them a support request to install it and they refused on the grounds it wasn’t part of the standard install. So now you have reminded me to try it on the new box I got for instrument support for which I am the admin not IT and if I like it I’ll kick up a fuss with cc’s to my director etc to force them to install it.
I donated some money for Elive’s last release and used it for a couple of months on my main desktop. It was quite nice.
I really liked all the extras that Elive included by default and E looks to be coming along quite nicely.
The only thing I might criticize is the Control Center (or whatever it is called). It is interesting and has a futuristic feel to it, but it lacked a bit in the obvious department. I like UI elements that clearly show what they are for and the Elive control panel could use some work in that area.
Judging from the screenshots, this is a fairly old (months) version of e17. Just saying, in case anyone was thinking this reflected recent development.
Just for completeness, there is a reason for using an older e17 given on the elive website:
The reason for this is because of the development of the famous shelf. It is better to wait until this is finished and implemented into E17. In the mean time, Elive is releasing the stable version of Elive Revolution. This version of E17 is a very carefully selected version with the result of a really stable E17 for your daily work
In any case, if you want the latest version of e17, you just need to use the tests repository.
The reason for this is because of the development of the famous shelf. It is better to wait until this is finished and implemented into E17. In the mean time, Elive is releasing the stable version of Elive Revolution. This version of E17 is a very carefully selected version with the result of a really stable E17 for your daily work
In any case, if you want the latest version of e17, you just need to use the tests repository.
I have been using the Ubuntu Dapper binaries for e17 from “Seer of Souls” It uses the shelf in the default configuration and it seems very stable to me.
I guess that that means your definition/experience of the stability of the shelf differs from the elive team’s definition.
BTW, I haven’t tried the shelf yet so I’m in no position to discuss details.
There is a working torrent here:
http://www.isohunt.com/download/16093348/elive
elive has enlightment as a window manager, imo DE have removed the need for wm
DE’s have better performance when running apps just look
unless of course you want to roll your own in which youre a pro and there is no one that can tell you otherwise
but for someone more interested in the peak of technology and performance they will go with KDE
elive has enlightment as a window manager, imo DE have removed the need for wm
Define the difference between WM and DE and then tell us exactly how Enlightenment E17 is not at DE. E17 is the Enlightenment WM + the Enlightenment Foundation Libraries.
The line between a WM and a DE is blurred. Yes RatPoison is clearly a WM and KDE a DE. But then for years people referred to Xfce as a WM and now it has miraculously become a DE what is the change. Lightweight DE and heavyweight WM is pretty much the same thing.
Stop being a KDE fanboy – give e17 a try and see what you think then. Though normally a GNOME user I have e17 with the “shelf” on my system I find it very intuitive and easy to use. E17 isn’t finished and has a way to go but it is a very impressive achievement.
performance wise e17 really falls behind
No it doesn’t. You have obviously never used it. It is very fast, simple, and beautiful.