(deepin 15.10 with new feature Auto Merge on desktop)
For users who want to know latest deepin 15.10 before downloading it, this article is for you. In this version, deepin once again fulfills its commitment to be pretty and user friendly, as it brings a lot of new improvements in shapes and performance. Nw it introduces Auto Merge on desktop, along with new control for Sound Effects. The file manager got Advanced Search. It even got a new window manager, called dde-kwin, modified from KDE Kwin. And now it is rebased to Debian Stable instead of Unstable, for the users to get more timely security updates. I hope this short overview gives you enough information to finally try deepin 15.10. Enjoy!
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Obtain deepin 15.10
I have collected the download links official + mirrors + torrents here. Please be aware that it's only available in 64-bit version.
New Feature: Auto-merge
I see this as a new thing, as it reduces number of icons on desktop by their respective categories. To try this, I put some apps and documents and audios, and when Auto Merge is enabled, it hides all icons within 3 icons, and shows them again by click on the icons. I have not found this on either KDE or GNOME. Smart feature to reduce complexity!
Before: all icons shown. Auto Merge disabled.
(On the desktop: there are some MP3s, MP4s, ODTs, and apps)
After: Auto Merge enabled, all icons hidden under respective categories, represented by folders.
(Category icons shown: Pictures, Music, Applications, Videos, and Others)
Explode: click each category icon to show the hidden items in that category. Click all category icons to show all hidden icons.
(Each category icon has down arrow logo)
New: Advanced Search
The file manager got improvements in the search feature. Now, it's with Advanced Options to filter more according to Locations (recursive or not), Size Range (<1MB, +/-10MB, >1GB), Type (Apps, Images, etc.), Time Range (today, yesterday, last month), and Time Modified.
New: Wallpaper Slideshow
Slideshow means we can determine wallpapers to change automatically each a period of time. We can choose between 1 minute to 1 hour.
New: Screensaver
Do you remember screensavers? These things of the past (from CRT monitors era) is now living again on deepin. On the save interface as wallpaper changer, you can select Screensaver page, and enable one you like with choices to activate it between 1 minute and 1 hour. And yes, you can also enable login password to protect your session.
New: Kwin DDE
Deepin Desktop Environment (DDE), the user interface of deepin OS, actually comes with its own window manager. But starting at this 15.10, deepin includes a new window manager, a modified KWin from KDE to empower DDE interface, so the interface may be still gorgeous by reducing CPU/RAM resources. This window manager is named dde-kwin. This is the component responsible for all window borders, transparency, and drop shadow we see at DDE.
(System Monitor presents the process as kwin_x11 along with deepin-wm-dbus and kwin_no_scale)
Speaking about performance, briefly, my position is weak as my hardware is currently very old (Aspire One, Pentium, 4GB) but one thing clear I can say is with KWin-DDE it runs very heavy with default effects but smooth with effects disabled. So heavy that it needs seconds to open the sidebar or switch between running apps.
New: Sound Effects Control
Now we can disable particular sound effects among all of them in the new Sound Effects section on the sidebar. We can, for example, disable Notification and Empty Trash sounds.
Sources.list
The change is very big as the codename is now lion to replace the previous one panda. This is the result of the switch from Debian Unstable (Sid) to Stable (Stretch) as the basis of deepin 15.10. This way, as official release notes said, users will get more frequent security updates and fixes.
EULA
Initially, deepin never came with End User License Agreement (EULA) until it reached version 15.8. This 15.10 comes with a new EULA, updated 10 December 2018, in English and Chinese. To give you bigger picture, this means deepin uses EULA is following Red Hat Enterprise (PDF) and openSUSE (HTML). See also that CentOS (TXT) and Oracle OS (TXT) have EULAs as well. One thing clear to avoid any misunderstanding is: with or without EULA, all the free software within the GNU/Linux system + repository remain free software.
English version:
Chinese version:
To be honest, this practice, placing EULA on a GNU/Linux distro, is a strange thing for me as we know most software distributed within it are licensed as free software (meaning, not gratis, but you are free from agreeing to use it). But, fortunately, for me and everybody who want to know, FSF's explanation about this is very clear on GPL FAQ document section Click Through. I copied the text here:
- Some software packaging systems have a place which requires you to click through or otherwise indicate assent to the terms of the GPL. This is neither required nor forbidden. With or without a click through, the GPL's rules remain the same.
Merely agreeing to the GPL doesn't place any obligations on you. You are not required to agree to anything to merely use software which is licensed under the GPL. You only have obligations if you modify or distribute the software. If it really bothers you to click through the GPL, nothing stops you from hacking the GPLed software to bypass this.
Final Thought
deepin keeps its commitment to be "... beautiful, easy to use, safe and reliable system for global users..." in 15.10 as it brings more improved interface in both beauty and performance.
This article is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.