📘Idea & Evolution
A brief look at the elementary OS development and philosophy behind the project
Path Traveled
Elementary OS started from just a set of themes and apps for Ubuntu.
Time went by, and the project turned into an individual Linux distribution still based on Ubuntu and thus compatible with its repositories and packages. The first stable version of elementary OS "Jupiter" was released on 31 March 2011.
The elementary OS team developed a new desktop environment named Pantheon which stands apart from other environments for its simplicity and minimalist design. A set of applications specifically for elementary OS were created and presented as well.
One of the zests you may have noticed is that the elementary OS developers always name their releases after mythological beings and deities.
Since the release of the version 0.4 "Loki" in 2016, the team has been maintaining their own AppCenter.
Beginning from October 2019, elementary OS started supporting and promoting Flatpak, thereby making it easier to install any of the wide array of available Flatpak apps.
The co-founders of elementary OS are Danielle Foré and Cassidy James Blaede. After elementary OS 6.0 and 6.1 had been released, Cassidy James Blaede left the project. At present, Danielle Foré is the only owner.
Currently, the latest version of elementary OS is 7.1 with the codename Horus. It was released on Oct 3, 2023.
Design Philosophy
The elementary OS project focuses on simplicity and immediate usability with a gentle learning curve, rather than rich and complex customization. The key principles the developers follow (as Wiki says) are "concision", "accessible configuration", and "minimal documentation" (hopefully, you'll find this handbook not too cluttered).
If you have already tried other desktop environments, you can see for yourself that elementary OS is not about temptingly infinite customization and overly detailed settings. You can focus on the process, and not on the surroundings.
elementary OS is perfect for those who want a desktop environment to be as straightforward as possible. It literally takes minutes to figure out how everything works. The minimalist design of elementary OS is definitely for you if you don't want to get bothered with anything other than actual tasks.
After all, elementary OS is just beautiful with its aesthetics, isn't it? 😉
Distribution Releases
The following table lists the core releases of elementary OS (beginning from the latest).
Keep up with the latest news about elementary OS by following the blog.
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