AriOS

AriOS 4 Final On the Way

Mahdi — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:39:41 +0000

Just a quick note to let our loyal community know that AriOS 4 Final will be available for download shortly after Ubuntu 12.04 release. We are going to wait until the first major update though, as ,traditionally, there are bugs in any release of Ubuntu which are fixed with the very upgrade that follows a final release.

Obviously this happens because way more people download the final release compared with the beta images, so ironically a more thorough testing and bug hunting happens AFTER the final release.

This way we’ll make sure our users will be immune to any release-time bugs.

In the meantime make sure to write to me if you have any last-minute ideas

AriOS Forum is Back

Mahdi — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:55:11 +0000

This is a quick note to inform all AriOS users that our forum is back.

Go to arioslinux.org/forums for support, discussion and reviews.

Announcing AriOS 4.0 Beta (Based on Ubuntu 12.04)

Mahdi — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:44:38 +0000

First, I should sincerely apologize to all our loyal users for such a long delay. I was very busy and although I had almost finished my 11.10 remix I couldn’t release it.

Now I’m very happy to announce AriOS 4.0 Beta, based on the upcoming long-term support (LTS) version of Ubuntu.

Although both Ubuntu 12.04 and AriOS are in Beta, I consider this release a very stable and robust system, as Canonical has done a great job on making Precise stable and bug-free.

AriOS comes with the latest updates from the Precise development branch up to March 26, 2012.

In this release we offer a great array of the latest and greatest free desktop environments.

Like before, AriOS comes with it’s own proven desktop layout, based on GNOME 3 and the awesome Avant Window Navigator.

The default AriOS session uses compiz as window manager and falls back to Metacity on systems without accelerated graphics drivers (AriOS-2d).

Also available are the latest versions of Unity, Gnome-Shell, Unity 2D and Gnome classic (fallback).

Multimedia playback and flash work out of the box, and you have a choice between Firefox and Chromium for web-browsing.

The wonderful social client Choqok is also installed, making your social experience in Twitter and identi.ca a great pleasure.

For your graphics needs, the GIMP, Inkscape and Blender are installed.

There are many more apps and tweaks that you should see for yourself.

Summary of major packages:

Linux Kernel 3.2.0.20

GNOME 3.3.92

Unity 5.8.0

Firefox 11.0

Chromium 17.0.963

VLC 2.0.1

Virtualbox 4.1.10 (with extensions pack)

Synapse 0.2.10

Download AriOS 4.0 Beta

AriOS 4 Development Update

Mahdi — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 08:29:21 +0000

Development of AriOS 4 has begun since a few days ago. The list of features and apps has almost been finalized and we are now tweaking the desktop and ensuring everything works.

On our to-do list we have around 53 tasks to be done before the release. Seems too much, doesn’t it?

Hamid is working on the build script (for converting ubuntu ISO to AriOS) and he has made a few changes. I’m adding my own comments and suggestions to the code.

The bad news is that AWN is no longer actively developed. The indicator applet for AWN hasn’t been updated and therefore there are some minor problems which Hamid is trying to solve. It seems that AriOS 4 will be the last version shipped with AWN and we have to use something else for future versions.

We have also plans for writing a couple of extensions for Gnome Shell but it depends on the help from a good friend and whether he can set aside time

Regarding the default applications, I’ve prepared a list of high-quality apps to be included in AriOS. More details on that will be posted later.

I’m being convinced that we need a bigger development team. I’m looking for new developers to join us as Hamid cannot do everything alone. If you’re a developer, we’ll be glad to have you in our team. Just send me an email and we’ll discuss things.

AriOS 4 and Challenges Ahead

Mahdi — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:28:42 +0000

Yesterday I talked to Hamid about AriOS 4 and we are going to start the development shortly. I’ve already collected ideas and feedback I received after releasing 3.0.1. I highlighted a lot of points and organized them as tasks inside a todo list. The list is growing every day and items are added as I come across cool apps and tips and receive more emails.

One question everyone is asking is this: Unity or Gnome Shell? Now I can tell you that we will go for the latter as we find it more usable, more consistent and more productivity-oriented. However, it might not be our default session. I’m considering a custom session (probably based on GNOME Fallback) which resembles AriOS 3, as I think it’s now well-established and quite popular among users in our small community. I’ve received many emails applauding the current setup and desktop layout, so I really love to stick with it and make it better through incremental changes.

However,this highly depends on what will happen to Avant Window Navigator. AWN is the basis of our desktop experience and we, like many users, are worried about its current status. The project appears to be dormant and there are not a lot of updates as there used to be. AWN Testing PPA for Oneiric hasn’t been updated, and the version provided by official Ubuntu repositories does not support the current version of indicator applets.

We’re going to wait a bit more, and I really hope we don’t get disappointed about AWN. If we do, we will have to consider other alternatives.

Persian Website Launched!

Mahdi — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:11:47 +0000

Finally I managed to launch AriOS website in Persian. The site is still work in progress but it’s better than nothing for now!

Hamid took care of the details and Shahrzad designed a logo for the website. I’m really grateful to both of them.

Now I should write a FAQ and a guide on how to participate in AriOS, among other things.

By the way, we will soon release an alpha based on Ubuntu 11.10. This time we want to have our final release much sooner that previous releases. And I have interesting ideas for this release! Stay tuned!

AriOS 3.0.1 32-bit Released!

Mahdi — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:12:52 +0000

OK Guys! Finally I managed to upload the 32 bit version too. Due to my low bandwidth it took a few days until we have a full array of AriOS isos for the 3.0.1 release sitting on Sourceforge since the release of the 64-bit version last week. There are now totally 4 ISOs for this release:

AriOS 3.0.1 32-bit International
AriOS 3.0.1 32-bit Iranian

AriOS 3.0.1 64-bit International
AriOS 3.0.1 64-bit Iranian

AriOS 3.0.1 is a recommended upgrade for everyone interested in or currently using AriOS as:

-It contains the latest security updates and newest versions of the included apps.

-It has been made using a new build script which results in a cleaner, faster and more stable system.

-There are many small fixes and additions.

Fore the full release notes and the changelog see this post.

*Features and packages are identical between the 32 and 64-bit versions.

AriOS 3.0.1 64-bit Released

Mahdi — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 11:45:39 +0000

After two weeks of hard work, here comes AriOS 3.0.1 64-bit, an updated version of AriOS 3.0, with all the features of 3.0 plus the latest security and application updates, and minor bug fixes and tweaks, plus a new default theme.

AriOS combines the stability and maturity of Ubuntu 11.04 base with a hand-picked selection of bleeding edge applications, constantly updated from well-known PPAs and the GetDeb repository.

AriOS focuses on providing an optimized working environment so that you can get productive instantly. The customized interface helps you get the most out of the precious vertical screen space which makes AriOS a good choice for netbooks and laptops.

As always AriOS features an offline installer for Nvidia and ATI proprietary drivers for video cards.

This version also includes GIMP 2.7.3 with the long-awaited single-window mode support.

Other packages:

Linux kernel 2.6.38-11
Firefox 6.0.1
Thunderbird 6.0
LibreOffice 3.3.3
Nautilus Elementary 2.32.2
Avant Window Navigator 0.4.1-rewrite-bzr830+201104200108
VLC 1.1.11
GIMP 2.7.3 with single-window mode support
Pidgin 2.10.0
Clementine 0.7.1
Oracle VM Virtualbox 4.1.2
Synapse 0.2.6
Choqok Twitter and identi.ca client 1.1
Chromum 13.0.782.215
Skype 2.2.0.35
DockbarX 0.46.1
Grub-customizer 2.1.2
Diodon (Clipboard Utility) 0.5.0
Unetbootin 549-1
Super Boot Manager 0.7.09 (A powerful utility for managing GRUB, BURG and Plymouth)
Uget 1.8.0
Handbrake 0.9.5
Ubuntu Tweak 0.5.11
Deja Dup 18.1.1
Gnome Mplayer 1.0.2

Change log:

-All local partitions are mounted automatically opun login. You can disable this via the “Automount Settings” option in the Preferences menu.

-Compiz no longer downgraded. We use the version shipped with Natty.

-Added the latest version of Google audio and video chat plugin.

-AngryBirds was removed as it didn’t work on some machines.

-Boot Repair was removed as Grub Customizer provides the same functionality.

-Bleachbit was removed as it could damage sensitive parts of the system if used by newbies.

-Totem was removed as VLC and Gnome-Mplayer are installed by default.

Known Issues:

Your Freedom doesn’t run. The solution is to type in this command ONCE in a terminal:

sudo mv -R /opt/dic/Freedom /opt

As usual AriOS comes in two editions: International and Iranian, the only difference being that the Iranian Edition has Persian keyboard layout enabled and comes with a Jalali calendar, Persian fonts and a Persian poetry database.

Most of the credit for this release goes to my dear friend Hamid, for creating a new build script based on the Elemetary OS eBuild script. The script makes the process of remastering faster and more smooth and hopefully it results in a more responsive a snappy system. Hamid was also kind enough to prepare new screenshots for the installation slideshow.

Download:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/arios/files/3.0.1/x86-64/

Screenshots

The 32-bit version of AriOS 3.0.1 is in the making and will be uploaded shortly.

Project Updates

Mahdi — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 08:04:29 +0000

This post is a summary of what’s going on for AriOS.

New Contributor:

Hamid, a highly-talented developer has joined us. Hamid is very friendly, smart and he is really a joy to work with. He’s working on a new build script as we are going to ditch Remastersys for the next release. A lot of progress has been made and hopefully the next release will be a cleaner, faster system thanks to what Hamid is doing.
Hamid has also written a small utility for enabling/disabling media automount at login.
I really appreciate his efforts.

64-bit Version: Work on 64-bit version is currently in progress. As the remastering method has changed, it will probably take a bit longer than usual. We have to prepare a detailed list of changes to be made to vanilla Ubuntu iso and more testing will be necessary.

Bug Tracker: We want to set up a bug tracking system. If you have any suggestions or you want to help please contact me.

New Trackers for Bit-Torrent Downloads

Mahdi — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:19:02 +0000

Just a quick note to inform everyone who had problems with downloading AriOS via Bit-torrent that Foroud has added a few trackers to the original seed box.

see here for more information:

http://arioslinux.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=99