elementary OS Blog
medium.com/elementaryos · Company blog · on HN since 2016
The elementary OS team writes about its Linux distribution, covering HiDPI, AppCenter, Flatpak, and interface changes.
What HN saysHN commenters link its posts when debating HiDPI and fractional scaling, app monetization through AppCenter, and small design choices like password feedback.
24HN people shared it
6linked it in comments
19stories submitted
121story points
6 years agolast shared
2016people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1What Is HiDPI and Why Does It Matter?3 people · 4 points · first shared 2016 · discussion on HN
- 2Top 3 Misconceptions about HiDPI3 people · 3 points · first shared 2017 · 1 comments on HN
- 3Elementary OS – Redesigning Bluetooth Settings2 people · 7 points · first shared 2017 · discussion on HN
- 4AppCenter: Building the Future of Elementary OS2 people · 5 points · first shared 2017 · discussion on HN
- 5Elementary OS 5 Juno Is Here1 people · 63 points · first shared 2018 · 15 comments on HN
- 6Elementary OS won't auto-update apps you haven't paid for, shows donate button1 people · 16 points · first shared 2018 · 5 comments on HN
- 7Elementary OS: 2017 in Review1 people · 8 points · first shared 2018 · discussion on HN
- 8Get Settled into Elementary OS with Onboarding1 people · 3 points · first shared 2019 · discussion on HN
- 9Elementary OS Will Be Adopting Flatpak for AppCenter1 people · 3 points · first shared 2019 · discussion on HN
- 10The Need for a FreeDesktop Dark Style Preference1 people · 2 points · first shared 2019 · discussion on HN
- 11Building the Appcenter for Elementary OS1 people · 2 points · first shared 2017 · discussion on HN
- 12Spice-Up – A native Linux app to create beautiful presentations just hit v1.01 people · 1 points · first shared 2017 · discussion on HN
- 13Elementary OS News1 people · 1 points · first shared 2017 · discussion on HN
- 14Proposal for cross-desktop, Linux system settings1 people · 1 points · first shared 2016 · discussion on HN
- 15Introducing Houston CI1 people · 1 points · first shared 2018 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
scythe · 2021-01-11
Elementary is also working on a way to default most apps to a better file picker:
https://www.reddit.com/r/elementaryos/comments/gs86hj/thumbnails_when_…
https://medium.com/elementaryos/a-new-native-file-chooser-196acf9b06f0
tyingq · 2020-02-02
"Just a tiny change, password feedback is now enabled by default. So when you type your sudo password you’ll see asterisks instead of wondering if you’re typing anything at all ;)"
Argh. https://medium.com/elementaryos/loki-updates-for-the-new-year-ff6b6ba6…
deno · 2020-01-09
Fractional scaling is stupid. 150% × 4K = 1440p so just buy 1440p screen but 150% on 4K will mean misaligned pixel grid. If you need more real estate and want HiDPI then you need 5K display, not 4K. 5K is 1440p@2.
Fractional scaling should be under seven “Are you sure? What you’re doing is stupid.” pop-ups. Instead at least Windows 10 actually makes 150% the default. Boggles my mind.
Here’s a good article series on this topic by Elementary OS dev:
https://medium.com/elementaryos/what-is-hidpi-and-why-does-it-matter-b…
https://medium.com/elementaryos/top-3-misconceptions-about-hidpi-f5ef4…
jancsika · 2019-10-19
> - we don't care that MacOS does it well
At least in 2017 they claimed MacOS didn't do it well[1].
Do you have a link to something more recent where they changed their position?
1: https://medium.com/elementaryos/top-3-misconceptions-about-hidpi-f5ef4…
AdmiralAsshat · 2018-07-31
It's a pity that as soon as an app tries to monetize (even optionally), it's suddenly at the mercy of the megacorps. Now you need a storefront, a payment processor, a refund infrastructure, etc. Better to just let the tech giants who already have the infrastructure handle the billing, in exchange for taking a monumental cut of your revenue and imposing binding, arbitrary rules at a moment's notice.
This incident would be a poster child for the widespread need for something like the AppCenter being developed by the ElementaryOS team, where the apps can have a "suggested" price tag but be free to download:
https://medium.com/elementaryos/appcenter-the-future-of-the-universe-1…
Regrettably it's Linux only at the moment. It would be interesting to see what kind of landscape of FOSS apps we might get if it got ported to Windows.
ricardobeat · 2017-12-31
Elementary is the OS you're looking for: https://elementary.io
I wish it had more adoption. Right now there are not a lot of apps written using it's UI guidelines/framework as most projects are worried about portability and/or have moved to Electron. It is slowly getting better though, and seems to be developing an ecosystem geared towards quality as OSX used to be: https://medium.com/elementaryos/appcenter-spotlight-2017-wrap-up-3ab05…