Raspberry Pi Releases a Stunning New Desktop – PIXEL
2016-10-12 | By Maker.io Staff
This month (September 2016) the Raspberry Pi Foundation has had a major update to its Raspbian Desktop environment, code name PIXEL. Raspbian with PIXEL (Pi Improved Xwindow Environment Lightweight) is a major software update that improves the overall look and feel of the Desktop environment, with lots of new program and features, including a crisp display interface.
The latest software introduction is the addition of the Chromium web browser, which replaces the Epiphany web browser previously installed. The new Chromium web browser offers a much more fluid browsing experience for users with a familiar interface. Other additional applications that are installed as standard are RealVNC viewer and server, which allows you to remotely access the Raspberry Pi when connected to a network and the latest Sense HAT emulator.
The real talking point is the new look of the Desktop. According to Simon Long, UX Engineers at Pi headquarters, the project took little under two years to plan and develop. You will notice the difference as soon as you boot up the Raspberry Pi with the new splash screen followed by a stunning Desktop image of an Icelandic Road courtesy of Greg Annandale, one of the Foundations developers.
Figure 1: New PIXEL Desktop
Beyond the Desktop
The visual changes go just beyond the initial Desktop images. The Raspberry Pi foundation has completely refreshed the Icon set, re-designed with a much more user friendly feel keeping within the scope of the Raspberry Pi foundation website. The graphic design guys, who are responsible for the iconic cartoon imagery you see on the website, have been making subtle changes to the interface with curved corners: much cleaner title bar with new close, minimize/maximize icons, and a much small title frame; making better use of the Desktop space.
Figure 2: New Icon Sets
A closer inspection of Raspbian with PIXEL reveals further features to the OS, including new symbols in the top right corner for when the CPU is super busy crunching some tasks. These have been replaced with a lightning bolt for under voltage and a thermometer for overheating, again very useful tools when using the Raspberry Pi. Now you can also have the ability to switch off the WiFi and Bluetooth as requested by many users in the forums.
Updating to PIXEL
PIXEL Desktop comes with the latest version of Raspbian OS which can be downloaded from the Raspberry Pi Foundation website. It is also possible to update your current image of Raspbian if your Raspberry Pi is connected to the internet. Simply type the following commands in the terminal window:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install -y rpi-chromium-mods
sudo apt-get install -y python-sense-emu python3-sense-emu python-sense-emu-doc
Once updated simply reboot the Raspberry Pi and the new changes will be shown instantly in the Raspbian OS.
INTRODUCING PIXEL by Raspberry Pi Foundation. Used under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)
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