EuroLinux Sp. z o.o. has announced the release of EuroLinux Desktop 9, a desktop operating system based on the source code of RHEL 9 with an improved user interface.
Here the press release:
EuroLinux Desktop
EuroLinux Desktop is a modern operating system that combines the aesthetic and functionality of Windows® and macOS® with the reliability and security of Enterprise Linux distributions. The software, built upon the source code of Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 9, incorporates a series of changes to the user interface, introduced by EuroLinux. The system was designed for use in office work, public institutions, companies, educational institutions and for private users. It is covered by 10 years of technical support from the manufacturer.
The premiere of the EuroLinux Desktop, an operating system prepared for personal computers, took place on September the 20th, 2022. This solution is designed for people and organizations which use Windows® or macOS® on a daily basis and are looking for a stable system with many years of technical support as well as a similar aesthetic to Microsoft® and Apple®. The new system intuitively responds to the needs of public administration, the financial sector, educational institutions, and private users. EuroLinux Desktop, like its server 'brother', is based on the source code of Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 9. This means that it is directly compatible with it, but it also includes additional functionalities, extensions, and facilities.
What’s new in EuroLinux Desktop?
The developments made to EuroLinux Desktop primarily concern its appearance and usability. Pre-configured GNOME extensions were used for this purpose, available immediately after installation – "out of the box". They significantly affect the reception of the software, without overcomplicating it. This maintains the stability and security of the Enterprise Linux family (RHEL®, EuroLinux, CentOS) and at the same time facilitates the use of the system for people accustomed to Windows® or macOS®.
Familiar design, intuitive graphic environment
Users of Windows® and macOS® will enjoy the translucent dock (taskbar) at the bottom of the screen, modelled on the latest versions of these systems. Most importantly, the dock has a library for the icons of your favourite apps, an information bar for notifications, and any running programs. Additionally, there is a button that displays icons of all apps at higher magnification, as well as date and time information. Of course, there is a wide range of customization options including the ability to change the position of the bar to suit the user’s requirements. Further, the user can customize its height, length, transparency, colour, spacing between icons and their size according to their needs.
Since the translucent dock is constantly visible, EuroLinux Desktop has disabled the already unnecessary overview mode and the hot-corner function, which displays this mode when the mouse hovers over the upper left corner of the screen.
EuroLinux Desktop allows you to place icons on the desktop as standard, even though the system uses the popular GNOME window manager, which does not provide such functionality by default. The system also provides the function of window maximization and minimization, which is well known from other solutions.
After right-clicking, additional menu items appear on the wallpaper (e.g. New Text Document). For the user’s convenience, instant notifications icons for messengers or email client were added. EuroLinux Desktop allows you to switch day/night themes with a single click of the moon icon in the dock or you can also set automatic theme switching based on the time of the day.
Rich multimedia support
EuroLinux Desktop supports many media file formats (mp3, mpg, wma, ts, opus, ogg, mp4, flac, aiff, acc, ac3, avi), as well as open codecs used in popular mkv video files (Matroska). Each of these formats can be run in the default Totem/Video system player.
Extensive office suite
EuroLinux Desktop includes the popular LibreOffice suite, necessary for everyday work. It consists of a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet (Calc), a presentation program (Impress), a vector graphics editor (Draw), a mathematical formula editor (Math) and a relational database management system (Base).
Access to over 2,000 applications for free
EuroLinux Desktop has been integrated with the Flathub repository. Thanks to this, it provides easy access to over 2,000 free applications. They can be installed in a single click – similarly to Microsoft Store® or the App Store®.
Among numerous categories the is a wide spectrum of available software. For instance, we can distinguish more than 200 audio/video programs designed both for playing, editing or cataloguing multimedia files, as well as for producing music and editing films. In this category we can also find MIDI controllers, tab editing tools for guitarists or tuners for musical instruments.
Category Graphics & Photography includes almost 160 tools and graphical programs for creating and editing raster and vector graphics, applications for advanced photo editing, as well as specialized software for animation, design or 3D modelling.
Users also have at their disposal nearly 230 various tools for communication – Internet messengers, e-mail client, camera and monitoring services or extensive RSS feed readers.
EuroLinux Desktop responds to the needs of engineers, researchers and academia. The repository includes over 70 applications for calculation, computation and statistical analysis, applications for creating sophisticated charts, cryptographic programs, meteorological tools, and among others software for mechatronic design or 3D medical imaging.
The system provides over 200 tools for developers, system engineers and administrators. These include integrated development environments, text and file editors, tools for creating repositories, managing the system, and virtual machine managers.
The software also offers more than 500 educational applications and games, as well as many other entertainment programs.
The new EuroLinux version supports applications in the AppImage format. Package AppImage contains all dependencies, so using it resembles programs known from Windows with .exe and .msi extensions. However, in the case of EuroLinux Desktop, the AppImage application is always launched from the level of an unprivileged user, which significantly improves the security of the system.
With EuroLinux Desktop, you can use a huge database of applications designed for Windows®. All you need to do is install Steam® software or Lutris the open-source gaming platform, or Wine the compatibility layer for Windows® applications.
EuroLinux operating system
EuroLinux is a Polish Enterprise-class Linux distribution developed since 2013. Since then, four major versions of EuroLinux – 6, 7, 8 and 9 were released based on Red Hat® Enterprise Linux®. After the release of the eighth version, the system has been distributed in two business models: one with the manufacturer's technical support and the other free, without support. The system is identical in both variants, with the same functionalities and packages. According to the DistroWatch ranking, EuroLinux is among the 40 most popular Linux distributions in the world.
EuroLinux Desktop as an alternative to closed systems
EuroLinux Desktop, based on Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 9 and at the same time visually and functionally comparable to Windows® or macOS®, is aimed at public administration, companies and private users. It is worth remembering that there are many free programs available for Linux systems whose functionalities correspond to the paid solutions dedicated to closed distributions. EuroLinux Desktop introduces many improvements affecting the convenience of using the system, while maintaining what is most important in the server version of the distribution – stability and security of Enterprise Linux systems.
For more information and the system download link, visit the manufacturer's website:
https://en.euro-linux.com/eurolinux/desktop/
ISO download link: https://dn.euro-linux.com/ELD-9-x86_64-latest.iso
