This time I think the update needs little explanation. There is a Window Manager now. Here is a installation video for upgrading users. Here is a non exhaustive list of the new things:
- Window Manager.
- Two Font libraries got implemented. A smaller monospaced font and a slightly bigger variable width font. Look for these in the fulcra directory. They have a simple api and should be easy to use.
- New Terminal that runs inside the WM. It has scroll back and persistant history which the old shell did not.
- CPU clock speed has doubled. Memory clockspeed increased slightly. (I may have pushed too close to the limits though. If your Serenum device does not work properly with the latest update please contact me for troubleshooting.) If I have pushed the clocks too high I will pull them down slightly. So far there does not seem to be any issues though. Just free performance.
- I now free some more memory when processes exit. This should lead to longer sessions of Serenum usage without needing to reboot.
- There is now a blue screen of death for when the kernel has crashed. Except it’s not blue, it’s grey with red text.
Most of the new stuff in this release was developed using my own Serenum machine. I would say about 20 % of my development time is spent using Linux. This means that the first milestone I had for the system has been reached. It also means I am acutely aware of the things that are still missing. Let’s take a look at my wishlist from last time.
- Internet access via wifi
- A Window Manager
- A Debugger
- Version Control System
- Replacement for cryptography infrastructure. (OpenSSL et al.)
- Replacement for DNS.
The Window Manager still needs some work but can be considered done. I have actually already figured out how to write the Version Control System. I already have some code that does diffing of files and the 3-way merge that powers git and other vcs’. Certainly in the next release I will have made some utility to make and apply “alteration files”. The main event on my todo list is Wifi. As was promised in the fun but unsuccessful youtube trailer for this release. My MVP for this will be that you can connect the Serenum to Wifi and connect to the internet over ipv6. I will then have a discord bot bridge so that people can connect to the project’s discord from their Serenum Box. We can make Serenum native methods of communication later, this will just be a proof of concept. Until next time, have fun programming and join the discussion in the discord.
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