Meet JingOS, the first Linux OS for tablets


Tablets are the future, this is probably a fact that no one can deny, as these devices provide capabilities that are not available in traditional computers, whether desktop or laptop devices. It is a portable touch screen device that allows the user by moving and controlling the interface of the operating system on which these tablets operate more easily and smoothly, and if the user needs a keyboard and mouse to accomplish things that require precision in control or to type quickly and comfortably, that's possible too, as most of these devices now support these external accessories, including a stylus for taking notes.



When you hear the word tablet device, the first thing that comes to your mind is the iPad, which is undoubtedly a great device and makes many things easy for you, but it is not accessible to everyone either because of its price, or because of difficulty getting it in some countries, Of course, there are also Android tablets, but they don't provide the same user experience as iPads, the system, and its apps are not designed to work on devices with large screens in the first place. And do not forget the 2-in-1 Windows 10 devices (computers can turn into a tablet), but Windows 10 so far with its inconsistent design and its instability Not suitable for working on tablets. I know the system is It is constantly evolving, but this development is slow and does not carry anything really useful for a good user experience, and yes, the upcoming Sunny Valley update will bring several changes to the user interface and this is a good thing, But what about system stability and update problems? Will it be fixed?

To create an alternative to the iPad operating system, Jingling Tech (a Beijing and California-based company) is developing a Linux-based tablet operating system called JingOS.



JingOS is a free and open-source distribution based on Ubuntu Linux 20.04.2, KDE Framework v5.75, and Plasma Mobile 5.20, but the company says on its GitHub page that it will replace the framework from Plasma Mobile to JDE (Jing Desktop Environment) later this year.



 The operating system UI is very similar to the iPadOS, It has a dock at the bottom and a small bar underneath that enables you to return to the home screen, a notifications panel that appears when swiping down from the top left corner, a control center when swiping down from the top right corner, and supports Trackpad gestures and keyboard, and even its core apps like Calculators, Clocks, Files, Media Player, Photos, and Recorder have the same as iPad apps design. JingOS will support running Android games and apps as well on Arm-based tablets along with Linux apps in the future.



On January 31 of this year, the company released its first preview of the operating system with version 0.6, and on March 31, JingOS 0.8 was released which brought three new native applications: the Settings app and the File Manager and an application store, and a set of features that includes support for system online upgrade (OTA updates), Add password setting and network configuration on boot, Support desktop icon drag and drop sorting, and Brand-new desktop wallpaper.



The new Settings' app supports some basic functions such as automatic detection of the Wi-Fi network and its connection, adding a hidden network, controlling screen brightness, volume and ringing, setting a new password, and updating the system.



The new file manager has a modern and elegant design that allows you to easily manage your files, as you can access your files according to their type from the top of the sidebar, while the lower part of it gives you access to the Downloads, Home and Trash folders, Recent files and your hard disk partitions. The application provides you with all the necessary tools to copy, move, rename, delete your files or restore them by long pressing either in an empty location of the application or on the file to be managed.



JingOS App Store is an application based on the KDE Discover App Store, and it enables you to explore, install and remove applications available for the system, but at the present time only eight applications appear on the main page of the application and in the developer tools section, while the rest of the sections are The app is empty at the moment. There is also a section for updating the system packages, and although it works, you must update each package separately, which makes it not useful at present but do not forget that this is only the second preview version of this system, and many features have been added to the system between the first preview version and the second.



JingOS is still under active development, and it officially supports two devices at the moment, Microsoft Surface Pro 6 and Huawei MateBook 14, but you can install it on any 64-bit computer that can run Ubuntu. It is also scheduled to release a preview of the third version that supports ARM architecture, in addition to the company's first tablet, JingPad A1 that supports keyboard and Stylus, on June 30, after which the company will release its monthly updates after June on an ongoing basis.




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