Hey everyone,

As mentioned as part of my previous post we're currently getting our package collection into a state suitable for the 4.4 ISO release. This means that now, after LLVM 15, Mesa 23, KDE 5.27.4, and GNOME 43.x updates have landed in Unstable (among many other updates), the focus is shifting towards fixing remaining issues rather than including new things. We will soon reach the cutoff point for the ISO, which will enable us to test a stable base for it, instead of the ever-shifting target that Solus usually is due to its rolling release nature.

In short, you'll probably see fewer big updates land in the coming days while this is going on, and also during the ISO testing phase that will follow. This is just a sign of the ISO getting closer, and not development slowing down. Security fixes and other important patches will of course always be included.

My fellow team members are also currently working on improving our ISO creation scripts, which will make some parts of the upcoming process much easier, as well as taking a look at some issues with the installer.

Staudey stickied the discussion .

** prints Solus label/sticker and puts it on new unused usb-c stick in anticipation *

edit: which reminds me, are you still doing one iso per DE, or the unified(download) approach?

    Lucien_Lachance edit: which reminds me, are you still doing one iso per DE, or the unified(download) approach?

    One ISO per DE, as usual. In general 4.4 will be a rather conservative ISO release. The bigger items are planned for 4.5 after that. (but I don't think we'll change this particular aspect about our release anytime soon)

      Just a quick question...or two ^^
      I see in the applications repo, i3 packages.
      A new DE to come or will it always be systematically coupled with another Budgie or Mate type?

        Staudey That's fine i3 is kinda terrible as a tiling window manager for a new user who sees the dynamic tilers first.

          Nice, can't wait to see the new ISOs. I think I will switch back to Solus GNOME from openSUSES TW.

          Staudey for new .iso Budgie I have to imagine that Nemo is enabled and Nautilus/Budgie-Desktop-View are gone? Is that correct? And you are sticking with Celluoid and not that ratty Parole?
          Guess I am asking for a Budgie teaser...
          edit/sp.

              brent for new .iso Budgie I have to imagine that Nemo is enabled and Nautilus/Budgie-Desktop-View are gone? Is that correct? And you are sticking with Celluoid and not that ratty Parole?

              Pretty sure Nemo will be the file manager for Budgie, yes. Not sure if Evan (or someone else) wants to switch out Celluloid for this 4.4 ISO.

                  Staudey thanks staudey for the scoop. : @EbonJaeger --this budgie user loves Celluloid. was a good choice and better than mpv.

                      brent this budgie user loves Celluloid. was a good choice and better than mpv.

                      celluloid is a front-end wrapper for mpv. What does it add?

                          WetGeek more customizable and easier on the eyes (to me) than the gnome mpv of old. I credit the Gtk4 base. responsiveness seems better. looks and responsiveness are subjective answers but frontends are often there to improve. I thought it did.
                          there's this:
                          mpv made me seek out vlc.
                          celluloid did not.

                              • [deleted]

                              • Post #15
                              • Edited

                              WetGeek From what I remember it at least adds a more traditional UI in comparison to mpv's quite minimalist approach.

                              brent It's rebranded GNOME MPV if I'm not mistaken.

                                  Any idea when we can expect the new ISO? I would love to see if it works with my HO-omen. Right now 4.3 won't boot.

                                    waltff1 You might also try the 4.2 ISO, I've had better luck getting that to work. I think there's something funky in the nouveau driver for 4.3.

                                      a month later

                                      Instead of willing to change everything ( the best way to loose fan is to make changes ... Slackware )

                                      • why don't you simply upgrade Solus Fortitude 4.3 to Solus Fortitude 4.39999 and make a Live USB of Solus Fortitude 4.3999, as does openSUSE Tumbleweed ... every days !

                                      This may bring again successs to Solus as Solus will be considered again as active distro instead of Dormant or Dead distro... to gain in reputation and you will have full time to make a outstanding Live USB which will be perfect for the PR as 2 annoucements are better than one ...

                                      • Then People loving Solus will still have fun with their existing Solus ( I prefer dying than using Nemo instead of Nautilus or even Caja )
                                      • And may be new people will try Solus for a while and may be keep using Solus and growing the community, the dream of all Solus fans...

                                      You must act quickly as most of the BIG distros are proposing now Budgie Desktop :

                                      • Ubuntu ( Nice with an Elementary OS like Menu in option ! )
                                      • openSUSE Tumbleweed ( pretty nice with an Elementary OS like Menu in option ! ) SuSE Family !
                                      • Gecko Linux Rolling ( Great with an Elementary OS like Menu in option ! ) SuSE Family !
                                      • Manjaro ( perfect with an Elementary OS like Menu in option )
                                      • ArcoLinux ( OK with an Elementary OS like Menu in option )
                                      • Fedora 38 ( Nice ), Red Hat Familiy !
                                      • UltraMarine ( very Nice with an Elementary OS like Menu in option ! ), Red Hat Familiy !
                                      • and sooooo much more ( about 15 )

                                        SOLUS_INVICTUS Ubuntu ( Nice with an Elementary OS like Menu in option ! )
                                        openSUSE Tumbleweed ( pretty nice with an Elementary OS like Menu in option ! ) SuSE Family !
                                        Gecko Linux Rolling ( Great with an Elementary OS like Menu in option ! ) SuSE Family !
                                        Manjaro ( perfect with an Elementary OS like Menu in option )
                                        ArcoLinux ( OK with an Elementary OS like Menu in option )
                                        Fedora 38 ( Nice ), Red Hat Familiy !
                                        UltraMarine ( very Nice with an Elementary OS like Menu in option ! ), Red Hat Familiy !
                                        and sooooo much more ( about 15 )

                                        I've used Budgie in other distros (some on your list, some not) and believe me, it's really lousy in a few of these. And decent in a couple. I thought Fedora did the best job (very Solus-like with no crazy adjustments) but not enough for me to keep it. I keep Fedora in Cinnamon now as a backup.
                                        Budgie in Solus is still the best to me.

                                        SOLUS_INVICTUS I prefer dying than using Nemo instead of Nautilus or even Caja

                                        good god you will have to explain this to me somday🙂 ^^.
                                        My version goes like: I would prefer terrble plagues over ever having to use the pox-ridden buggy Nautilus again. Maybe that's what you meant😉?

                                        The 4.39999 is clever, but any new .iso will get Solus out of Dormant on Distrowatch.
                                        I didn't agree with everything, but brave post, I enjoyed reading it.