Endless OS 3.5.4 is Released and Available for Download
Will Thompson has announced the release of Endless OS 3.5.4, the latest version of the project's Linux-based operating system with a simplified desktop (forked from GNOME 3) and without any package management system. The latest version introduces new parental controls for applications
Endless OS is a Linux-based operating system which provides a s
implified and streamlined user experience using a customized desktop environment forked from GNOME 3. Rather than using a traditional Linux package management system, Endless OS uses a read-only root file system managed by OSTree with application bundles overlaid on top.
Administrator users may now control which apps can be installed or launched by standard users on the same computer. The following controls are available:
- Restricting the apps shown in the app center based on their content rating. For example, if the option is set to show apps suitable for age 3, violent video games will not be visible in the app center. The exact age restrictions available are based on the local content rating standards in your country.
- Prohibiting installing new apps entirely.
- Restricting access to certain apps which are already installed on the system. For example, a parent may want to have the Transmission BitTorrent client installed for their own use, but not allow their child to use it.
In this initial version of the feature, it is not possible to restrict access to built-in apps, including the web browser, file manager, text editor and video player. We expect to enable this in a future version of Endless OS.
Updated hardware support
A number of hardware-specific issues have been resolved.
Hack
This release of Endless OS forms the basis of the latest version of Hack8, the everyday laptop that helps kids learn to code, which is now available for preorder on Amazon in the US8.
While developing features exclusive to the Hack laptop, many minor issues in the standard Endless OS desktop have been resolved.
Other Improvements and Changes
Accelerated media playback. On many Intel platforms, Endless can now make use of hardware-accelerated video decoding in apps other than the web browser, if supported by the computer, and if the necessary extension is installed from Flathub. We plan to extend this support to the Endless version of Chromium in a future release.
Updated Chromium. We’ve updated to Chromium 71.0.3578.98 to bring the latest security fixes to Endless’ built-in web browser.
