The official Q4OS blog

Q4OS 3.12 Centaurus, stable

31 August, 2020

An update to Q4OS 3 Centaurus LTS has been released. The new 3.12 Series receives the recent Debian Buster 10.5 update, critical security and bug fixes, and several specific Q4OS enhancements. We've been working on visual Plasma themes, the Debonaire theme is now available directly in Plasma based live media, and other new themes are available for installation from repositories. Automatic detection of NVidia hardware and dedicated installer has been upgraded and fixed. In addition to the above, Q4OS 3.12 brings other enhancements, such as the Firefox 80 installer, supplemented desktop profiles and a cumulative upgrade covering all changes from the previous stable Q4OS 3 Centaurus release.



Current users only need to perform a regular update to get all the new features. Anyone can download installation media images from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website.

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Q4OS 3.11 Centaurus, stable

13 May, 2020

A significant update to Q4OS 3 Centaurus LTS is immediately available for download. The new 3.11 series receives all the fixes and goodies from the recent Debian Buster 10.4 update, critical security and bug fixes and brings several Q4OS specific improvements. Most importantly, the Q4OS Software centre applications list has got a bunch of new items. National keyboard layout configuration has been enhanced. In addition to the above, Q4OS 3.11 brings other exciting enhancements, such as dedicated installers for Firefox 76 and Palemoon browsers as well as cumulative upgrade covering all changes since the previous stable version of Q4OS 3 Centaurus.



Current users only need to perform regular update to get all of the new features. Anyone is welcome to download installation media images from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website.

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Q4OS 4.1 Gemini, testing

01 May, 2020

A significant update to the Q4OS Gemini testing version is available for download, you can find 64bit iso image at the dedicated Testing releases site. Anybody is invited to try it out and report bugs and glitches.



This release brings some significant changes and improvements, the most important one is that Plasma and Trinity desktops are even more separated by default. That means Trinity main repositories are no more included within Plasma systems by default, however the option to operate Trinity and Plasma desktop side by side is still enabled, even supported. So users have an option to explicitly ask Desktop profiler tool to add Trinity repositories, and install it alongside Plasma. We are working to improve the Desktop profiler to make possible to create custom profiles in an easy way, use local, as well as remote desktop profiles and other advanced features. Another important change is a move to the just new Trinity desktop 14.0.8 development version.



All dependencies from the current stable Q4OS Centaurus edition has been removed, so Gemini now becomes fully independent getting its own repositories and dependencies. Q4OS 4.1 Gemini is based on the current Debian 'Bullseye' development branch, it will be in development until Debian Bullseye becomes stable, and will be supported at least five years from the official release date.

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Q4OS 3.10 Centaurus for Raspberry Pi, stable

27 February, 2020

We are proud to announce a new major stable release of the Q4OS 3.10 Centaurus ARM port, optimized for the Raspberry Pi series of single board computers, including the newest Raspberry Pi 4 device. Q4OS for RPi desktop is based on the latest stable Raspbian Buster distribution and the Trinity desktop R14.0.7 most recent stable version, and it's one of a few Linux distributions offering the full desktop environment on the ARM architecture.



Feel free to download the Q4OS RPi image from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website and install it on a SD card, please read the Installation guide. It's possible to buy preinstalled SD card in our e-shop too.



Q4OS on Raspberry Pi performs at lightning speed due to its exceptionally low hardware requirements. All the native Q4OS features, for example 'Screen scaler', 'Desktop profiler' and 'Setup tool', are available and fully functional within the Raspberry Pi Q4OS edition.

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Q4OS 4.0 Gemini, testing

16 February, 2020

We are happy to kick off development cycle of the Q4OS 4, the brand new major version codenamed 'Gemini'. The Debian 'Bullseye' development branch underlies Q4OS Gemini, which will be in development until Debian Bullseye becomes stable, and it's planned to be supported for five years from the official release date. Unlike previous installation media, Q4OS Gemini live media carries the full desktop software bundle, however a user can ask the Desktop profiler tool to strip the target system into one of predefined so called 'Software profiles' throughout the installation process.



Feel free to download and try the new version out, bugs and glitches reporting would be very welcome, live bootable media are immediately available for download from the dedicated Testing releases page.



Variety of hardware devices are supported, Q4OS is designed to drive the most modern laptops and desktops, as well as older computers. It comes with its own exclusive utilities and features, especially with the 'Desktop profiler' tool for profiling your computer into different professional working tools, 'Setup utility' for the smooth installation of third-party applications, a 'Welcome Screen' with several integrated shortcuts to make system configuration easier for novice users, XFCE, LXQT, Cinnamon and LXDE alternative desktop environments options and many more.

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Q4OS 3.10 Centaurus, stable

04 January, 2020

A significant update of the Q4OS 3 Centaurus stable LTS desktop is immediately available for download. The new 3.10 series brings important changes for key Q4OS desktop environments, Plasma and Trinity. Both desktops are now much more independent one on each other, Q4OS Plasma doesn't require presence of the Trinity desktop anymore. As a positive side effect, we could significantly reduce size of the Plasma installation media.



In addition to adoption the Debian Buster 10.2 release, we have included a dedicated hardware reporting tool into both Plasma and Trinity live media. Screen scaling tool for Trinity desktop has been even improved again. Plasma Debonaire theme has been polished, so it now looks a bit darker. Apart from the changes mentioned, Q4OS 3.10 brings numerous improvements and fixes as well as cumulative upgrade covering all changes since the previous Q4OS 3 Centaurus stable release, see the complete Changelog.



Current users only need to perform regular update of their systems to get new Q4OS amenities and make existing installations up to date. New users can immediately download any kind of the Q4OS installation media images from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website.

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Q4OS 3.8 Centaurus, stable

15 July, 2019

We are proud to announce the immediate availability of the brand new stable Q4OS 3.8 version, codenamed 'Centaurus'. This is a long-term support LTS release, to be supported for at least five years with security patches and software updates.



The primary Q4OS aim is stability. As we want to provide as stable as possible operating system for companies as well as for individuals, once installed and configured, Q4OS will work reliably in a long standing way, getting security fixes and updates. Adopting a new feature into the core system could be committed in a highly exceptional cases only. We treat such possible cases as best as possible, doing testing and investigating consequences carefully before such a change.



Q4OS Centaurus is based on Debian Buster 10 and Plasma 5.14, optionally Trinity 14.0.6, desktop environment, and it's available for 64bit and 32bit/i686pae computers, as well as for older i386 systems without PAE extension. We are working hard to bring it for ARM devices too.



One of the Q4OS specific goals is the ability to have Plasma and Trinity desktop alongside each other installed. Users can switch back and forth between more advanced Plasma or efficient Trinity desktop. Both desktops can independently coexist side by side and don't interfere with each other. Plasma is being the logical primary choice for most of users, so it's considered to be the default option, which is also obvious from the Q4OS downloads site.



We are coming with our own exclusive utilities and features, especially with the 'Desktop profiler' for profiling your computer into different professional working tools, 'Setup utility' for the smooth installation of third-party applications, a 'Welcome Screen' with several integrated shortcuts to make system configuration easier for novice users, LXQT, XFCE and LXDE alternative environments installation scripts and many more. As installed, a user gets a minimal system with possibility to expand it, no other operating system features a tool like Q4OS's Desktop profiler.



The Desktop profiler does more then desktop environments installation. Its primary purpose is to offer "application profiles", a set of predefined applications, and install them easily in a single click. A .deb as well as .esh package format is supported. Packages can be defined as cpu architecture, as well as desktop environment, dependable. In addition, each desktop environment may keep its own applications profiles. A user can even create customized profiles on his own.



Enjoy Q4OS and feel free to download installation media images from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website.

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Q4OS 3.7 Centaurus, testing

15 June, 2019

We are entering the final phase of the Q4OS 3 Centaurus development, so it's now officially frozen. On this occasion we have released a brand new 32bit Q4OS Centaurus installation media designed for older computers, as well as 64bit media cumulative update. Users can now easily deploy the Q4OS 3.7 testing release, if they want to become early adopters or just help with the testing. Please download 64bit, as well as 32bit iso images on the dedicated Testing releases webpage.



Please note, there is also a Q4OS for Windows installer on the downloads page available for users who want to install Linux from within Windows as easy as an application, even without need of partitioning.



The Freeze phase is now in effect for Q4OS 3 Centaurus, which means that no new features, nor significant changes are permitted, exception making only critical bugs and anything else, that might block the final release. Now that Q4OS 3 Centaurus is frozen, it won't be long until the final release is announced. It should become stable on about 6th July 2019, it's the next major Q4OS release based on the acclaimed Debian operating system and will be supported at least five years from the official release date.

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Q4OS 2.7 Scorpion, stable

31 December, 2018

A significant update to the Q4OS 2 Scorpion stable LTS is immediately available for download. The new 2.7 series brings some important improvements for the Trinity desktop. An essential change is much improved scaling ability for hi-dpi screens, making this operating system better adapted for modern computers. Desktop profiler, Software centre, Welcome screen, Setup utility, and other Q4OS specific tools have been updated to be rendered correctly for higher screen resolutions. Apart from the scaling capabilities, Q4OS 2.7 brings numerous improvements and fixes, for example better GTK3 themes integration, fixes to XDG standard implementation and others.



Current users only need to perform regular update of their systems to activate scaling capabilities, however we recommend for new users to download and make a fresh Q4OS 2.7 installation. Other changes include Q4OS installer improvements, Firefox 64 and LibreOffice 6.1.3 installers, important security and bug fixes as well as cumulative upgrade covering all changes since the previous Q4OS 2 Scorpion stable release. You can download installation media images from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website.

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Q4OS 3.4 Centaurus, testing

22 September, 2018

A significant update to the Q4OS Centaurus testing version is available for download, you can find 64bit iso image at the dedicated Testing releases site. Anybody is invited to try it out and report bugs and glitches.



This release brings quite significant changes and improvements, the most important one is that Q4OS switched to the Calamares installer. That offers nice new installation features, for example fully encrypt target system, easy disk drive partitioning and many others. Another important change is move to the new Trinity 14.0.6 development version. All dependencies from the current stable Q4OS Scorpion has been removed, so the Centaurus now becomes fully independent getting its own repositories and dependencies. Secure boot support has been improved too. The Calamares installer detects, if secure boot is active and adjusts the target system accordingly. If secure boot is switched off in the firmware, no Secure boot stuff is installed.



Q4OS Centaurus 3.4 is based on the current Debian 'Buster' and Trinity desktop 14.0.6 development branches. Q4OS Centaurus will be in development until Debian Buster becomes stable, and will be supported at least five years from the official release date.

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Q4OS 2.6 Scorpion, stable

08 September, 2018

An update to the Q4OS 2 Scorpion stable LTS is immediately available for download. The new 2.6 release is based on and upgrades to the latest stable versions of the Trinity R14.0.5 desktop and Debian 9.5 Stretch projects. Q4OS specific fixes and patches are revised and provided as well. All the updates are immediately available for existing Q4OS users from the regular Q4OS repositories. You can download installation media images from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website.



Q4OS Scorpion LTS release supported for 5 years is based on Debian 9 Stretch featuring the Trinity 14.0.5 and KDE Plasma 5.8 LTS desktop environments, it's available for 64bit/x64 and 32bit/i686pae computers as well as i386 systems without PAE extension. ARM 64bit/arm64 and 32bit/armhf ports are provided as well. Q4OS offers its own exclusive utilities and features, specifically the 'Desktop profiler' application for profiling your computer into different professional working tools, 'Setup' utility for smooth installation of third-party applications, a 'Welcome Screen' with several integrated shortcuts to make system configuration easier for novice users, LXQT, XFCE, Cinnamon and LXDE alternative environments installation options and many more.

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Q4OS 2.5 Scorpion for Raspberry Pi, stable release

13 August, 2018

We are proud to announce a new major stable release of the Q4OS 2.5 Scorpion ARM port, optimized for the Raspberry Pi series of single board computers. It is based on the latest stable Raspbian Stretch distribution and Trinity desktop R14.0.5 version. Q4OS is one of a few distributions offering the full desktop environment on the ARM architecture.



Feel free to download the Q4OS RPI image from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website and install it on a SD card, please read the Installation guide. It's possible to buy preinstalled SD card in our e-shop too.



Q4OS on Raspberry Pi performs at lightning speed due to its exceptionally low hardware requirements. All the native Q4OS features, for example 'Desktop profiler' and 'Setup tool', are available and fully functional within the Raspberry Pi Q4OS edition.

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Q4OS Plasma desktop edition

23 June, 2018

We have just released a new Q4OS 2.5 Scorpion edition with KDE5 Plasma desktop environment pre-installed by default. It is based on Debian Stretch stable with KDE Plasma desktop and Trinity desktop environment as an option. Anyone is welcome to download from the Q4OS Downloads site.

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Q4OS 2.5 Scorpion, stable

03 June, 2018

A significant update to the Q4OS 2 Scorpion stable LTS is immediately available for download. The new 2.5 series brings an essential change adding KDE Plasma to be an equal option to the Trinity desktop, as Q4OS is now pre-configured for both desktops to coexist alongside each other. System installer configures the system the usual way, but decides afterwards to offer additional installation of the KDE Plasma desktop, if sufficient hardware resources detected. So a user can login and switch forth and back between lightweight efficient Trinity desktop and more advanced KDE Plasma desktop environment according to his choice.



Other changes include PulseAudio better system integration for easier audio management, Q4OS installer improvements, Firefox 60 and LibreOffice 6 installers, important security and bug fixes as well as cumulative upgrade covering all changes since the previous Q4OS 2 Scorpion stable release. You can download installation media images from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website.

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Q4OS 3.1 Centaurus, testing

29 January, 2018

We introduce the initial development build of the new major Q4OS version 3, codenamed 'Centaurus'. This release is based on Debian 'Buster' and Trinity desktop 14.0.5 development branch. Q4OS Centaurus will be in development until Debian Buster becomes stable, and will be supported at least five years from the official release date. Anybody is invited to try out the brand new version and report bugs and glitches, you can download live CD's for x64 cpu architecture from the dedicated Testing releases page.



The Q4OS Desktop is a powerful and reliable operating system based on proven desktop model, represented by the recent 'Trinity desktop' environment. Q4OS comes with its own exclusive utilities and features, especially with the 'Desktop profiler' for profiling your computer into different professional working tools, 'Setup utility' for the smooth installation of third-party applications, a 'Welcome Screen' with several integrated shortcuts to make system configuration easier for novice users, KDE5, XFCE, LXQT, Cinnamon and LXDE alternative desktop environments options and many more.



Q4OS is designed to work flawlessly on the latest laptops and desktops as well as older computers, supports a wide range of different hardware. There is a native lightweight wireless networks manager integrated and numerous drivers and firmware received from the famous Debian base.

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Windows 10 loves Linux, Windows 10 loves Debian, Q4OS loves Windows 10

29 November, 2017

We are happy to introduce a first stable release of the Q4OS for Windows 10 installer. It allows everyone to install Q4OS alongside Windows in an easy way, with no need of modifying an existing Windows operating system, nor any of software installed, even with no need of repartitioning your disk drive. Simply download and run Q4OS installer, just like any other Windows application, and follow the installer instructions. The installer will install and configure your computer to be able to run Q4OS or Windows 10 in a dual boot mode. Once you perform the setup, you will be able to switch back and forth between Windows and Q4OS each time you restart your computer. This installer is compatible with Windows 10, as well as 7 and 8 version, and it's able to use Secure boot feature, if available in the PC firmware. Secure boot will allow you to boot Q4OS in a smooth and safe way.



The installer is immediately available for download from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website, however we would recommend everyone to read installation notes first, please see Q4OS documentation.



You will be able to remove Q4OS at any time using an integrated uninstaller. The uninstaller completely erases the Q4OS installation, so your computer will be reverted into its original status as before installation.



If your Windows becomes lagging, it's the right time to try Q4OS out, a lightweight, snappy and easy to use operating system with variety of applications available in repositories. Q4OS is not intended to be a replacement, but the perfect complement to an existing Windows installation.

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Q4OS 2.4 Scorpion, stable

10 October, 2017

We are proud to announce the immediate availability of the brand new stable Q4OS 2.4 version codenamed 'Scorpion'. This is a long-term support LTS release, to be supported for at least five years with security patches and software updates. Q4OS Scorpion is based on Debian Stretch 9.2 and Trinity 14.0.5 desktop environment and it is available for 64bit and 32bit/i686pae computers, as well as i386 systems without PAE extension. We are working hard to release Q4OS Scorpion editions for 64bit and 32bit ARM architectures as soon as possible.



Q4OS offers its own exclusive utilities and features, especially the 'Desktop profiler' for profiling your computer into different professional working tools, 'Setup utility' for the smooth installation of third-party applications, a 'Welcome Screen' with several integrated shortcuts to make system configuration easier for novice users, KDE5, XFCE, LXDE, Cinnamon and LXQT alternative environments installation option and many more.

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Q4OS 2.3.6 Scorpion, final beta

04 October, 2017

We announce the Final Beta release of forthcoming Q4OS Scorpion operating system, allowing anyone to see how it performs. A preliminary release date for the stable new Q4OS Scorpion version is scheduled to October 10, 2017, so if nothing exceptional will happen in the next few days, the new Q4OS Scorpion version will be released very soon.



Anybody is invited to install Q4OS Scorpion and report bugs and glitches for us to be able to make the final release as perfect as possible, you can download the final beta live CD's for x64 and i686-pae CPU architectures from the dedicated Testing releases page.

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Q4OS for Windows installer

20 September, 2017

We are happy to introduce a Q4OS for Windows installer, a testing release at the moment. The installer allows to install Q4OS alongside Windows in an easy way, with no need of modifying an existing Windows operating system, nor any of software installed. Once you perform the setup, you will be able to switch back and forth between Windows and Q4OS each time you restart your computer. This installer is compatible with Windows 7, 8 or 10 versions and it's able to use Secure boot feature, if available in the PC firmware.



The installer is immediately available for download from Testing releases section of the Q4OS website, however we would recommend everyone to read Installation notes first.



If your Windows becomes lagging, it's the right time to try Q4OS out, a lightweight, snappy and easy to use operating system with variety of applications available in repositories. Q4OS is not intended to be a replacement, but the perfect complement to an existing Windows installation.

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Q4OS 1.8.8, Orion

14 September, 2017

The new Q4OS 1.8.8 stable release updates core system packages and implements improvements. Q4OS Orion 1.8.8 is based on Debian 8.9 Jessie and Trinity R14.0.4 desktop environment, it's the maintenance release of the Q4OS 1.8 'Orion' series, and is built on and updates the previous version. Google Chrome, the default Live CD web browser, has been upgraded to its most recent version 61.0.3163.79. Other improvements include polished GTK3 themes, new first boot Systemd configuration script, and more.



Important security fixes and packages updates are provided as well. All the updates are immediately available for existing Q4OS users from the regular Q4OS repositories.

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Q4OS 1.8.7, Orion

28 June, 2017

New Q4OS Orion version 1.8.7 is available. The default start menu named 'Bourbon' has been tuned and polished a bit. First login Q4OS scripts, for example web browser automatic installer, now work on all supported architectures, including arm64 and armhf. As reported recently, we have made several significant modifications in Q4OS Orion to be ready for installation under other Debian based operating systems, so anyone is now enabled to gain Q4OS Orion based on Ubuntu as well as Devuan.



System packages updates and important security fixes are provided as well. All the updates are immediately available for existing Q4OS users from the regular Q4OS repositories.

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Q4OS 1.8.6, Orion

14 June, 2017

We announce the release of a new Q4OS Orion version. Q4OS GTK+3 themes has been significantly improved in this version, supporting Google Chrome 59, which has definitively moved to GTK+3 libraries. We have made several relevant modifications in Q4OS Orion to be ready for installation under other Debian based operating systems, so anyone is now enabled to gain Q4OS Orion based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Xenial Xerus as well as Devuan Jessie, see Q4OS based on Ubuntu and Q4OS setup on Devuan. More under the hood improvements and Q4OS specific fixes are delivered as well. All the updates are immediately available for existing Q4OS users from the regular Q4OS repositories.



As claimed, the forthcoming Debian GNU/Linux 9.0 "Stretch" operating system has entered the final phase of development and should be released in a few days or weeks, so we are currently finishing in making to release new Q4OS Scorpion branch based on Debian Stretch. The new Q4OS Scorpion edition should be available in about a month or two after the official release of Debian Stretch.

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Q4OS 1.8.4, Orion

26 April, 2017

The new Q4OS 'Orion' 1.8.4 stable release is out to implement several improvements and fixes. The most significant new feature is integration of alternative desktop environments into the native Q4OS 'Desktop profiler' utility. Users can now select alternative desktops to install and use alongside the default Q4OS Trinity desktop. LXQT support has been depreciated in Q4OS Orion, while we intend to support it thoroughly in the Q4OS 'Scorpion' edition. Icedove messaging application is no more available by the Q4OS installer, as it has been replaced by the real Thunderbird 45.8 release.



Another minor improvements have been implemented and security fixes have been received from the stable Debian base. All mentioned updates are immediately available for existing Q4OS users from current Q4OS repositories.

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Pine64 port

06 March, 2017

Q4OS development team is pleased to announce brand new edition of the full desktop environment for Pine64 boards, the family of 64bit ARM single board computers. Dedicated images are immediately available for download from the Q4OS downloads site. Pine64 port is based on Debian Jessie distribution and includes a kernel optimized for the targeted Pine64 devices. Anyone is welcome to download the image and create a bootable SD card, please read Pine64 setup guide.



Q4OS on Pine64 hardware runs stably and swiftly, due to its lightness and typical low hardware requirements. The full set of Debian stable and Trinity repositories is included and available for software installation. Please see the official Pine64 wiki entry for Q4OS.

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Q4OS 1.8.3, Orion

01 March, 2017

New update of stable Q4OS 'Orion' desktop is available. Bunch of important packages updates and security patches has been delivered, as well as improvements of the native Q4OS update manager application. All the changes are available for existing Q4OS users via the automatic update process.



Work on the next major version, Q4OS 2.3 'Scorpion' continues as the Debian Project also nears end of development cycle for the Debian GNU/Linux 9 'Strech' operating system, upon which Q4OS 2.3 will be based. The release date is preliminarily scheduled at about the turn of April and May 2017. Q4OS 'Scorpion' will be supported at least five years from the official release date.

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Q4OS 1.8.2, Orion

16 January, 2017

New version 1.8.2 is based on the the most recent release of stable Debian Jessie 8.7, important security patches have been applied and core system packages have been updated. Q4OS Update manager has been rewritten from scratch to provide a robust and reliable tool for safe system upgrades. Other Q4OS specific fixes and under the hood improvements are delivered as usual. All the updates are immediately available for existing Q4OS users from the regular Q4OS repositories.



Most attention is now focused on the development of the testing Q4OS 'Scorpion' version 2.2, based on Debian 9 Stretch. Q4OS 2.2 Scorpion continues to be under development so far, and it will stay as long as Debian Stretch will be testing, the release date is preliminarily scheduled at about the turn of April and May 2017. Q4OS 'Scorpion' will be supported at least five years from the official release date.

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Firefox 50 for ARM devices

18 December, 2016

We have released a special edition of the recent Mozila Firefox, currently version 50, webbrowser for ARM architecture. It's specifically compiled and optimized for Raspberry Pi boards processors, nonetheless this Firefox Release runs smoothly on any device equipped with ARM hard-float processor, for example Chromebooks, tablets, embedded ARM devices and more. Anyone is welcome to follow instructions published on the Raspberry Pi forum in order to install Firefox 50 on an ARM device.



The ARM Firefox repository will be kept up to date as a new Firefox versions will be released, so Q4OS users always automatically get the recent ARM Firefox version.

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Q4OS 1.8, Orion

09 November, 2016

Q4OS development team is pleased to announce immediate availability of the new significant release of the Q4OS 'Orion' desktop, version 1.8. This is a stable version of the Q4OS desktop, based on the recent Debian Jessie 8.6 release and the brand new version of the Trinity 14.0.4 desktop environment, complete release notes are available on the Trinity desktop environment website.



Some of the Q4OS specific tools has been updated as well, the LookSwitcher tool has been rewritten and users can now choose from different desktop themes. Live Installer offers an easy way to automatically create set of partitions to install Q4OS system to. Support for UEFI systems has been enhanced, important bug fixes and various improvements are provided as usual. All the updates are immediately available for existing Q4OS users from the current Q4OS repositories.

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Q4OS 1.6.3, Orion

05 October, 2016

New version 1.6.3 adds initial UEFI support for both, live CD and install CD. Q4OS media are now ready to boot on UEFI machines, install Q4OS system in UEFI mode as well as automatically insert an entry into the boot manager.



Q4OS Orion 1.6.3 is re-based on the the latest release of Debian Jessie 8.6, system packages have been updated and important security patches have been applied. Q4OS specific fixes and under the hood improvements are provided as usual. All the changes will be pushed via the automatic update process for existing Q4OS users in the days to come.

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Q4OS 2.2, Scorpion, testing

20 September, 2016

Q4OS development team is pleased to announce immediate availability of the new significant update of the Q4OS 'Scorpion' desktop, version 2.2. This is a testing version of the Q4OS desktop, based on the recent Debian 9 Stretch release with the upgraded Linux kernel 4.6, GCC 6 and the Trinity 14.0.4 desktop environment. The alternative LXQT desktop is supported in Q4OS, so users can have Trinity and LXQT desktops alongside installed and choose which one to log in. Q4OS 2.2 'Scorpion' continues to be under development so far, and it will stay as long as Debian Stretch will be testing. Q4OS 'Scorpion' will be supported at least five years from the official release date.



Anybody is invited to try out the brand new version and report bugs and glitches, you can download live CD's for x64 and i686-pae CPU architectures from the dedicated Testing releases page.

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Q4OS 1.6.2, Orion

15 September, 2016

Another update of Q4OS 'Orion' desktop is available, version 1.6.2 stable. It's a maintenance release of the Q4OS 1.6 'Orion' series, and it's built on and improves the previous version. There are several internal improvements, a bunch of bug fixes and security fixes included.



All the updates will arrive into repositories in the days to come, update manager or unattended upgrades mechanism will take care about to update computers of current users.

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Q4OS 1.6, Orion

28 August, 2016

The significant Q4OS 1.6 'Orion' release receives the most recent Trinity R14.0.3 stable version. Trinity R14.0.3 is the third maintenance release of the R14 series, it is intended to promptly bring bug fixes to users, while preserving overall stability. The complete list and release notes you will find on the Trinity desktop environment website.



New Q4OS 1.6 release includes set of new features and fixes. The default desktop look has been slightly changed, Q4OS 'Bourbon' start menu and taskbar has been polished a bit and has got a few enhancements, for example the icons size varies proportionally to the system panel. Native Desktop profiler tool has got new, optimized 'software to install' list.



We are currently pushing all the changes mentioned above into the Q4OS repositories, automatic update process will take care about to update computers of current users.

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Q4OS 1.4.12, Orion

27 June, 2016

New update of Q4OS 'Orion' desktop is available, version 1.4.12, it is based on the latest release of Debian Jessie 8.5. Important bug fixes and various improvements are provided. The Q4OS native Desktop profiler tool has got new optimized 'software to install' list. All the updates are available for existing Q4OS users from the current Q4OS repositories.

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Q4OS 1.4.11, Orion

06 June, 2016

NVIDIA card detection and proprietary driver installer has been improved a bit, as well as Welcome screen configurator of the Start menu properties. In order to keep current 1.4 Orion line healthy, the new Q4OS version applies security patches and solves a few minor issues. The Orion 1.4.11 has been released for all supported architectures, x64, i386/i686, armhf and a special Raspberry Pi edition. It is currently pushing into the official repositories, for computers of current users to be updated from.

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Q4OS 1.4.10, Orion

23 May, 2016

Orion 1.4.10 introduces after install NVidia graphics card detection and related proprietary drivers easy to use 'qinst-ipvideo' installation script. The default Q4OS 'Bourbon' start menu has been polished and improved a bit. Another new script to switch between category and Q4OS menu structure is available, see Q4OS documentation. There is a fix for the annoying delay prior to show logout dialog, this annoying glitch is now completely gone. Numerous under the hood improvements is provided as usual.



All the updates will arrive into repositories in the days to come, update manager or unattended upgrades mechanism will take care about to update computers of current users.

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Real desktop on Raspberry Pi-3

19 May, 2016

One of Q4OS users has installed and configured Q4OS Orion on the recently released Raspberry Pi-3 ARM device, read the nice review.

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Q4OS 2.1 Scorpion, testing

23 April, 2016

New significant update of Q4OS 'Scorpion' desktop is available, version 2.1. This is testing version of the Q4OS desktop based on Debian 9 Stretch with the upgraded Linux kernel 4.5 and the Trinity 14.0.4 desktop environment. Q4OS 'Scorpion' will become stable, as soon as Debian Stretch will do so.



We have included the 'Bourbon' start menu, the brand new default start menu in Q4OS. The two panel 'Bourbon' menu is highly efficient and customizable and features a search line, favorites, history and more options. System packages have been updated and some improvements have been ported from Q4OS Orion stable version.



We invite anyone to try out this testing Q4OS Scorpion 2.1 and report bugs and glitches, you can download live CD's for x64 and i686-pae cpu architectures from dedicated Testing releases webpage. Keep in mind, testing versions are not intended for daily use in production environments.

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Q4OS 1.4.9, Orion

10 April, 2016

We introduce 'Bourbon' start menu, the brand new default start menu in Q4OS. The two panel 'Bourbon' menu is highly efficient and customizable and features a search line, favorites, history and more options.



Q4OS 1.4.9 'Orion' is based on the most recent Debian 8.4 'Jessie' stable version released a few days ago. System packages have been updated and important security patches have been applied. A significant update for the native Q4OS uninstaller fixes the unintentional removal of the 'locales' package. Numerous under the hood improvements is provided as usual.



All the updates will arrive into repositories in the days to come, update manager or unattended upgrades mechanism will take care about to update computers of current users.

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Q4OS 1.4.7, Orion

07 February, 2016

Another update of Q4OS 'Orion' desktop is available, version 1.4.7. A complete Trinity repository has been added to the system as the main new feature. Access to all the Trinity software were given to users by default, there is no need to add external Trinity repositories anymore. Bunch of important packages updates and security patches has been delivered as usual.



All the changes will be pushed via the automatic update process for existing Q4OS users in the days to come.

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Q4OS ARM edition

05 February, 2016

We are introducing a brand new Q4OS edition designed for use on various ARM devices. Q4OS 1.4 'Orion' on ARM architecture is a free operating system based on Debian Jessie 'armhf' port. It runs on wide variety of hardware equipped with ARM processors, including Chromebooks, tablets, single board computers, embedded devices and more.



Q4OS is now one of the few distributions offering the full desktop environment on ARM architecture. If you want to install Q4OS on your device, please read the detailed Installation guide.

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Q4OS 1.4.6, Orion

25 January, 2016

This new release updates printing system structure, adds several different improvements, for example a script to revert default desktop settings, and redefines keyboard shortcuts to be more efficient and intuitive. The most recent version of real Mozilla Firefox webbrowser compiled from sources and optimized specifically for Q4OS has been integrated into the default repositories. As announced before, Google will drop support for Google Chrome browser in 32bit version soon. We had to replace it with Chromium webbrowser for i686 architecture, while Google Chrome will continue to be the default browser for x64 Q4OS systems.



Numerous bug fixes and under the hood improvements is provided as usual. All the updates will arrive into repositories in the days to come, update manager or unattended upgrades mechanism will take care about to update computers of current users.

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Q4OS 2.0.2 Scorpion, testing

06 January, 2016

The main purpose of the new Q4OS 2.0.2 'Scorpion' development build is to fix bugs and update packages and core system. This release is based on the latest Debian 'Stretch' and Trinity desktop 14.0.3 preliminary stable branch, brings improved installer, Linux kernel 4.3 and recent version of most packages and applications. Despite beta status, Q4OS 'Scorpion' flies fairly stably and smoothly.



Q4OS 'Scorpion' will be in development as long as Debian Stretch will continue to be testing, and becomes stable together with it. Official 'Scorpion' support is set at least five years from official stable release date. Anybody is invited to try out the brand new version and report bugs and glitches, you can download live CD's for x64 and i686-pae cpu architectures from dedicated Testing releases page.

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Q4OS 1.4.4, Orion

02 December, 2015

The Q4OS development team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of the new Q4OS 1.4.4 release. It's the maintenance release of the Q4OS 1.4 'Orion' series, and is built on and improves the previous version.



The new Q4OS release ships with brand new update notifier and manager, as well as several different improvements. Update notifier pops up an icon in system tray, when updates are available from system repositories and lets administrator to apply them on request. Other improvements include optimized desktop profiles, fast data transfer from Android devices, broader support for various multimedia formats and more. Bunch of more or less important bug fixes, packages updates and security patches has been delivered as usual.



We are currently pushing all the changes mentioned above into the Q4OS repositories, automatic update process will take care about to update computers for current users.

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Q4OS for Raspberry Pi becomes stable

24 November, 2015

We announce Q4OS stable port for the Raspberry Pi / Pi2 series of single board computers. It is based on Raspbian distribution optimized for the Raspberry Pi hardware. Q4OS is now one of the few distributions offering the full desktop environment on the ARM architecture.



Anyone is welcome to download the Q4OS RPI image from the Downloads section of the Q4OS website and install it on a SD card, please read our installation guide. It's possible to buy preinstalled SD card in our e-shop too.



Q4OS on Raspberry Pi runs reliable and fast, due to it's very low hardware requirements. All the native Q4OS features, for example 'Desktop profiler' and 'Setup tool', are fully functional and stable now.

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Q4OS 1.4.3, Orion

15 October, 2015

Another update of Q4OS 'Orion' desktop is available, version 1.4.3. Bunch of important packages updates and security patches has been delivered. There are quite significant under the hood improvements, for example the 'Desktop Profiler' tool to be able to handle and fix possible software database inconsistencies automatically. Proprietary multimedia codecs installation script has been superseded by native Q4OS 'Setup' tool, that enables smooth and user friendly installation of external applications.



The new version brings slight look and feel improvements, updates in the Q4OS Start menu structure, support for Asus Eee-PC devices and more. If someone misses to install specific language package during Q4OS setup, the desktop shortcut for easy additional language installation will be created.



All the changes will be pushed via the automatic update process for existing Q4OS users in the days to come.

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Q4OS for Raspberry Pi

28 September, 2015

We announce the first Q4OS port for the ARM hardware, specifically for the Raspberry Pi / Pi2 series of single board computers. It is based on Raspbian distribution optimized for the Raspberry Pi hardware. Q4OS is now one of the few distributions offering full desktop environment on the ARM architecture.



Anyone is welcome to download the Q4OS RPI image from the Testing downloads section of the Q4OS website and install it on a SD card, please read our installation guide. It's possible to buy preinstalled SD card in our e-shop too.



Q4OS on Raspberry Pi runs stable and fast, due to it's very low hardware requirements. A few of the Q4OS specific features, for example 'Desktop profiler', are not fully functional yet, we are targeting to get them to work as soon as possible.

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Development Pack for Q4OS 'Orion' released

23 September, 2015

The first stable version of Development Pack for Q4OS 'Orion' has been released. Development Pack is the recommended starting point for Q4OS developers, it contains programming IDE and various tools for developers to simplify creation of custom Q4OS applications and native installers. We offer the complete support for independent developers via e-mail develop@q4os.org or public developer forum.



Please visit Developers section of the Q4OS website to get instructions on DevPack installation and read developer manuals in the Documents section before starting your work.

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Q4OS 1.4

04 September, 2015

The significant Q4OS 1.4 'Orion' release adopts new Trinity R14.0.1 version. Trinity R14.0.1 is the first maintenance release of the R14 series, and is the result of several months of ongoing effort by the TDE development team. It brings numerous improvements and fixes, the complete list and release notes you will find on the Trinity desktop environment website.



The changes mentioned above will be pushed via the automatic update process for current users in a few days.

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Project of the Week on SourceForge

31 August, 2015

Q4OS is a featured Project of the Week and will be listed on the front page of SourceForge.net site this week.

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Q4OS 1.2.8

22 August, 2015

This Q4OS release delivers redesigned 'Setup' utility, the native Q4OS tool, that enables smooth and user friendly installation of external applications. It has been improved to be able to solve dependencies of packages in deeper complexity and automatically install extra useful software without the need of additional user intervention. An integrated message-box now displays installation messages much clearer. Several system bug fixes and under the hood improvements has been closed as usual. All the updates will arrive into repositories in the days to come, automatic unattended upgrades mechanism will take care about to update computers of current users.



Now we focus our effort into better integration of GTK themes into Q4OS user interface, it will be introduced within some of the next minor Q4OS releases.

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Q4OS 2.0, development version

04 August, 2015

We introduce the initial development build of the new major Q4OS version 2.0, codenamed 'Scorpion'. This release is based on Debian 'Stretch' and Trinity desktop 14.1 development branch. Q4OS Scorpion will be in development as long as Debian Stretch becomes stable and will be supported at least five years from official release date. Anybody is invited to try out the brand new version and report bugs and glitches, you can download live CD's for x64 and i686-pae cpu architectures from dedicated Testing releases page.



The Q4OS Desktop is a powerful and reliable operating system based on proven desktop model, represented by the recent 'Trinity desktop' environment. Q4OS comes with its own exclusive utilities and features, especially with the 'Desktop profiler' for profiling your computer into different professional working tools, 'Setup utility' for the smooth installation of third-party applications, a 'Welcome Screen' with several integrated shortcuts to make system configuration easier for novice users, KDE4, XFCE, LXDE and LXQT alternative environments installation scripts and many more.



Q4OS is designed to work flawlessly on the latest laptops and desktops as well as older computers, supports a wide range of different hardware. There is native integrated wireless networks manager and numerous drivers and firmware received from the famous Debian base.

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Q4OS Live CD, stable

10 July, 2015

The stable version of Q4OS live CD is available for free download and use. Users are now able to perform safe Q4OS testing on a real hardware without installation. Anybody is welcome to try out and see Q4OS system in action. As an option, it's possible to proceed Q4OS installation directly from the live environment using integrated graphical live installer. You can download the live CD iso from our website and burn it onto CD/DVD or create bootable USB stick, we can recommend to use 'unetbootin' or similar tools for this purpose.

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Live CD, beta

29 June, 2015

The first beta version of Q4OS Live CD is available for download from our sourceforge archive. Anyone is welcome to give it a spin and report issues.

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Q4OS 1.2.5

23 June, 2015

Q4OS 'Orion' 1.2.5 improves power management support and it's able to detect more types of external disk drives partitions. Desktop profiler tool has been optimized to install more accurate profiles. Several internal improvements and bug fixes has been closed. There is a new 'q4os-api' package, that establishes Q4OS specific application binary interface for C/C++ developers.



We exert considerable effort on the development of the Q4OS live installation media now. It could be released in about a month.

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Q4OS 1.2.3

08 June, 2015

The new Q4OS 1.2.3 version is out, brings numerous improvements and some new features. The most significant is the new LXQT desktop environment installation option, users can simply run 'qinst-lxqt' script to install complete LXQT environment, and choose login into LXQT or default Q4OS from the login screen.



Q4OS core system has been updated into just released Debian Jessie 8.1. Both Software Centre and Desktop Profiler tools got numerous of improvements, Software Centre now supports direct uninstallation of applications. Other updates include improvements in hardware support, for example better synaptics touchpads configuration, better power management configuration, Thinkpad laptops detection and more.



All the updates will arrive into repositories in the days to come, automatic unattended upgrades mechanism will take care about to update computers of current users.

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X2Go bugfix update

26 May, 2015

X2Go Server has been updated to fix the bug causing Server start crash on some platforms. The bug is related only to Q4OS versions 1.2.x 'Orion' with X2Go Server installation. Admins are encouraged to install the new X2Go Server release, the best way is to use Software Centre. The buggy version of the X2Go Server has to be uninstalled first with the terminal command:

$ dash /usr/share/apps/q4os_system/uninst_q4inf/uninstall_x2goserver-q4.esh

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Q4OS 1.2.2

22 May, 2015

We introduce the new 'Software Centre' in this version, now it makes management of free applications much easier. We plan an important option for the Software Centre, which would allow direct purchasing of non-free applications and installing them in Q4OS seamlessly. The other notable change coming with the new Q4OS release is completion of several Welcome Screen translations, thanks to excellent work of external translators from different countries. A few internal improvements and bug fixes has been closed as usual.



All packages will arrive into repositories in the days to come, automatic update process will take care about to update computers of current users.

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Q4OS 1.2 final

27 April, 2015

We are proud to announce the immediate availability of the new Q4OS 1.2 release, codenamed 'Orion', supported until 1st May 2020 at least.



The Q4OS Desktop is a powerful and reliable operating system based on proven desktop model, represented by the recent 'Trinity desktop' environment. Q4OS comes with its own exclusive utilities and features, especially with the 'Desktop profiler' for profiling your computer into different professional working tools, 'Setup utility' for the smooth installation of third-party applications, a 'Welcome Screen' with several integrated shortcuts to make system configuration easier for novice users, KDE4, XFCE and LXDE alternative environments installation scripts and many more.



Q4OS is designed to work flawlessly on the latest laptops and desktops as well as older computers, supports a wide range of different hardware. There is native integrated wireless networks manager and numerous drivers and firmware received from the famous Debian stable base.



We introduce the new official logo, it will be an integral part of Q4OS branding. The legacy 0.5.x Q4OS branch will continue to be supported by the security team.





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Q4OS 1.1-RC2

14 April, 2015

Users will find Q4OS 1.1-RC2 version, the second release candidate, in a new dedicated Testing releases webpage. Final Q4OS ver.1 will be supported for at least 5 years, the release date is preliminarily set at about the turn of April and May. It is based, as announced, on Debian Jessie and Trinity R14, inheriting new features and packages, but preserving famous Debian stability. There are quite significant Q4OS specific improvements and fixes, UEFI boot support, new firmware and more.



The most important Q4OS specific features include 'Q4OS Welcome Screen' with different integrated shortcuts to make system configuration easier for regular user, XFCE and LXDE alternative environments installation scripts, desktop smoothing effects pre-configuration and many more.



Anybody is welcome to give the RC version a trial and report bugs and issues. Keep in mind we don't recommend to use testing versions in production environments.

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Desktop Profiler and Q4OS 0.5.27

05 March, 2015

We are happy to release the next Q4OS version and introduce brand new handy tool 'Desktop Profiler' integrated. The Desktop Profiler enables one-click installation of different predefined profiles and applications sets, it will help users to configure the Q4OS computer an easy and quick way. Users will find Desktop Profiler in 'System' section of the Q4OS Start Menu.



We are getting closer to release stable Q4OS version 1.0 in expectation of forthcoming Debian Jessie release, stay tuned !

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Q4OS 0.5.18 released

08 September, 2014

New update of the Q4OS distribution is available, version 0.5.18. The new version includes several security updates and updated packages. Lookswitcher, the tool to easy switch between classical and modern user interface, has been rewritten, bunch of GUI improvements have been made. Script for APT database lock detection ported to C programming language. Prepared underlying API for easy installation of recent application versions from backports repository and automatic detection of national environment and language. Q4OS is now stable enough to be recommended for everyday use.

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New applications available

26 August, 2014

There is couple of new powerful applications in Downloads section. LibreOffice suite and Mozilla Firefox installers are ready to be downloaded, autodetecting of the specific system language is included. Firefox installer will always pick the latest stable release version, at the moment it's 31. Keep in mind Firefox is rebranded into Iceweasel for Debian systems, but any functionalities are identical.

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Application Server updated

12 August, 2014

New version of Q4OS Application Terminal Server is out. There are optimizations and bugfixes, especially important one, which fixes dependencies and failing installation on some computers. Get new version 0.3.1-r1 from software downloads section of Q4OS web.

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Website design update

06 August, 2014

Website design has been updated. Find more Q4OS user information as well as press news, we prepare new forum and additional web functionality. Feel free to email us any suggestions.

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Q4OS 0.5.17 dev version released

17 July, 2014

Q4OS 0.5.17 development version has been released. It fixes known "logoff bug", includes several essential bugfixes and look'n feel improvements. This is the first version to be recommended for everyday use !