Elementary (operating system)
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elementary OS "Loki"
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| OS family | Unix-like |
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| Working state | In beta stage |
| Source model | Open source |
| Initial release | 31 March 2011 |
| Latest preview | 0.4.0 "Loki" / 9 September 2016 |
| Update method | APT (AppCenter) |
| Package manager | dpkg |
| Platforms | x86-64 |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux kernel) |
| Default user interface | Pantheon |
| License | GNU GPL, LGPL |
| Official website | elementary |
elementary OS is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. It is the flagship distribution to showcase the Pantheon desktop environment.
Human Interface Guidelines of the elementary OS project focus on immediate usability with a gentle learning curve, rather than full-fledged customization. The three core rules the developers set for themselves were "concision", "avoid configuration" and "minimal documentation".
Since its inception, elementary OS has received both praise and criticism for its design, which closely resembles that of macOS both visually and in terms of user experience.
Pantheon's main shell is deeply integrated with other elementary OS applications like Plank (a dock), Epiphany (the default web browser) and Scratch (a simple text editor). This distribution uses Gala as its window manager, which is based on Mutter.
The Pantheon desktop environment is built on top of the GNOME software base, i.e. GTK+, GDK, Cairo, GLib (including GObject and GIO), GVfs and Tracker
Pantheon applications are either forks of current or older GNOME applications or written from scratch:
Bryan Lunduke of Network World wrote that the Pantheon desktop environment, the centerpiece of the operating system, was among the best in 2016.
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