deepin 15.9 Linux distribution is here with new multi-touch gestures and improved power management
Since Microsoft will be ending Windows 7 support in less than a year, many computer users will have to decide if they will move onto the much-maligned Windows 10. Alternatively, depending on their needs, they could opt for a Mac or Chromebook. But what if you are happy with your current computer and don't want to buy new hardware? In that case, Linux can save the day. The excellent Netrunner, for instance, is a great option for Windows switchers that fear a change of user interface.
If you are open to moving away from the traditional Windows-like interface, another superb Linux distribution to consider is deepin. If you aren't familiar, deepin is a very stable operating system that focuses heavily on appearance. Quite frankly, it puts Windows 10 to shame in that regard -- its "Deepin Desktop Environment" is far superior to the dated and boring interface found on Microsoft's latest operating system. Today, deepin 15.9 becomes available for download with a huge list of changes, including new multi-touch gestures and improved power management.
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"In deepin 15.9, many known bugs are fixed and the existing functions are optimized. Compared with deepin 15.8, deepin 15.9 adds support for touchscreen gestures and onscreen keyboard, optimizes the using frequency algorithm for application sequence in Launcher mini mode, and introduces a new function - Smart Mirror Switch, hoping to bring users more stable and efficient experiences. Since deepin 15.8, deepin have used a rolling update strategy to release the updates on a regular basis. That is to say, deepin 15.9 covers all the system updates after deepin 15.8," says The deepin Developers.
The devs further say, "For touchscreen devices, multiple gestures are supported, including click, double click, long press to call out the context menu, slide up and down and others. Working together with onscreen keyboard, you are able to enjoy the free operations on touchscreen. More user-friendly power management for laptops and desktops. Whether your computer is connected to power supply or not, you can easily change the monitor and computer suspend time for different scenarios. New feature - Smart Mirror Switch in update settings. Switch it on to connect to the quickest mirror site automatically, which speeds up the download and installation to save your time."
The deepin Team shares the following extensive changes found in version 15.9.
Control Center:
* Supported dragging and dropping pictures to change boot menu background;
* Fixed the crash caused by keyboard settings module;
* Supported checking password strength;
* Fixed the bug that the default applications list was not refreshed;
* Fixed the bug that the prompt text was not hidden automatically after switching off "Auto-download Updates";
* Fixed the incorrect time on Time Settings page;
* Fixed the null pointer exception when update;
* Fixed the bug that the current language was not identified when searching the language.
Launcher:
* Fixed the issue that the app icon could not be dragged onto the dock after switching from mini mode to fullscreen mode;
* Fixed the bug that shortcuts cannot be used after searching.
Desktop:
* Added screensaver function;
* Fixed the bug that the desktop edition on login screen was not in system language;
* Fixed the bug that the logo on login screen was cut off;
* Added tries limit for login password;
* Added "Hibernate" on the shutdown interface (shown if there was SWAP partition);
* Added onscreen keyboard.
Dock:
* Optimized the animation when changing dock size;
* Optimized touchscreen operations;
* Added the animation for expanding and folding the tray area in fashion mode;
* Fixed the disabled state of time plugin was invalid after restart;
* Fixed the issue that tray icons were still on dock while dragging the tray;
* Fixed dock crash caused by network plugin;
* Fixed the bug that the order of tray icons was invalid after reboot;
* Fixed the bug that the expanding state of the tray was invalid after reboot;
* Added onboard keyboard plugin;
* Added the tooltip when hovering over the tray icons.
Deepin File manager:
* Fixed the “not mounted” error when right click the disk to open it on computer page;
* Optimized the file rename background;
* Fixed several issues when searching in "Recent" files;
* Optimized the reject logic of removable disk (click the triangle icon to unmount and reject the device at the same time);
* Supported gif preview;
* Optimized the style of disk mount plugin;
* Supported viewing files in applications of Apple device;
* Fixed the bug that the default application could not be set in some cases;
* Supported compilation on low version Qt;
* Folder size was no longer shown in list view (use "-" instead);
* Fixed the refresh issue of recent files;
* Improved the check logic of filesystem;
* Improved the support for recent file specification;
* Fixed the issue that removing USB flash disk may unmount the mounting samba server in some cases;
* Fixed the bug that the files in the recycle bin was in wrong order when clicking "Time deleted" in list view;
* Fixed the bug that the icon of the disk mount plugin in dock tray was not changed in time when switching icon theme;
* Adjusted the interval between icons in the Computer page;
* Supported touch screen scrolling in “Open with” dialog box;
* Changed the split line color between the columns in list view under dark theme;
* Improved touch screen scrolling in list view;
* Fixed the issue that extensions were always shown in lowercase in list view;
* Fixed the issue that there were two pop-up dialog boxes asking for deletion when opening the invalid shortcuts;
* Other UI improvements and bug fixes.
Deepin Installer:
* Fixed the incorrect time in Windows after deepin installation;
* Fixed the crash when deleting a newly-created partition in advanced mode.
Deepin Store:
* Fixed the blank page in other languages;
* Added Remote App list in personal center;
* Supported auto install synced new apps;
* Supported viewing all your donations;
* Supported viewing all your comments.
Deepin Movie:
* Improved the font style of subtitles;
* Kept the screen lit when playing movie;
* Supported dragging window on touch screen;
* Supported recent file specification.
Deepin Music:
* Fixed the issue that duplicate songs were in playlist when opening a song from context menu while the playlist was empty.
Deepin Graphics Driver Manager:
* Fixed the switching failure to default driver for NVIDIA card;
* Added dark theme;
* Fixed the bug that switching driver again when pressing space key after the switching was finished.
Deepin Image Viewer:
* Fixed the issue that svg file can't open by double click;
* Fixed the issue that there was no close button of navigation window at right bottom;
* Fixed the cursor style;
* Fixed the issue that the open image can't be fit to window.
* Supported print preview;
* Fixed the blur issue when zooming out and printing a big picture;
* Supported recent file specification;
* Fixed the issue that the previous and next picture was not opened according to file name order.
Deepin Terminal:
* Added support for closing the tab with scroll wheel;
* Added support for copying the text to clipboard automatically once selected (disable by default in settings);
* Fixed the issue that URL can not be opened by Ctrl+click when NumPad or CapsLock enabled;
* Improved touchscreen operations.
Deepin Editor:
* Improved the experience on touchscreen;
* Supported opening and editing m3u8 files;
* Fixed the incorrect dedit language;
* Supported Nepali unicode;
* Fixed the content missing when save as;
* Added the notification when the open file was removed or changed;
* Added the status bar at the bottom;
* Added file read-only information on the tab;
* Added "Word Wrap" in Settings window;
* Added F5 refresh function;
* Added brackets highlight function;
* Theme optimization.
* The gif picture cannot be viewed dynamically in Deepin Image Viewer if changing the gif extension to png;
* Screensaver can't be previewed sometimes (only display black background);
* The hidden file in NTFS file system was still shown in Deepin File Manager;
* The desktop was not hidden when setting wallpaper after disable window effect and show desktop with Super+D shortcuts.
If you are ready to download deepin 15.9 and see how a modern operating system should really look, you can grab the ISO here. Keep in mind, if you are already running version 15.8 you will be upgraded automatically. The only reason to download the ISO is for new installations.
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