The Genode project has released Sculpt OS 24.04, the general purpose desktop operating system based on the Genode OS Framework. This release is absolutely jam-packed with new features, improvements, and changes, and it’s hard to know where to begin. One of the biggest new features is support for suspend/resume, an experimental feature for now, for which the developers also made starting and stopping drivers and related components easier straight from the user interface. In addition, NVMe, AHCI, and Intel GPU drivers will resume automatically after a resume.
Sculpt OS 24.04 also ships with a brand new audio framework, which brings support for “pluggable drivers, arbitrary sample rates, and the flexible routing and mixing of audio signals”, but the audio driver does need to be manually restarted after a resume. This release also adds support for 4K displays and I2C touchpads, underlining that yes, Sculpt and Genode developers dogfood their operating system on real hardware. Do note that at least for now, the I2C touchpad driver needs to be started manually, so an external mouse will initially be needed.
Various images are available for download from the download page.
I am looking forward to getting my hands on a mini computer to run this. I understand that it is good for virtualising guest OS and think it would work quite well as a platform to run Haiku, given that the latter does not have multi-user security. Thus in order to compartmentalise Haiku I envision being able to simply run more instances – dedicated to different tasks – on top of Sculpt.
That’s a good idea!
They have the option of VirtualBox or Seoul. There are several articles about setting up virtualization on https://genodians.org/ . Currently, setup doesn’t have a GUI front-end, but there are examples, including pre-built ones. In fact, I am about to take the plunge myself, using Sculpt to host all my VMs. :^)
Let me know how you get on! Perhaps OS news would publish a story?
I will probably write it up for Genodians, but as a long-time OSNews reader, I will definitely submit it here!
In fact what I would love is for Haiku to make Genode part of their infrastructure. Genode development runs like a racehorse whereas Haiku is progressing at a rather pedestrian pace, and Genode works on modern ARM chips unlike the moribund Haiku ARM ports. I am not a computer scientist, but wonder how Haiku might leverage that underpinnings? There is a framework “Haiku on Genode” to assist porting of native Haiku apps onto that system, which might be a start.
Somehow in my mind I feel that these two systems would compliment each other. Haiku is Gallic because of JLG, all colourful and fun, whereas Genode is pure German engineering, with the national characteristic of grey drab UI.
I’m a long-time Haiku fan also. Although it’s unlikely that the Haiku project would officially switch kernels, I agree that this seems like a fruitful approach. There are obviously several ways of going about it, basically differing on how far down the software stack to draw the line.
I’ve seen the Haiku-on-Genode project in action, and while it’s still a work-in-progress, it’s very impressive already!
I guess we just have to stay tuned…
This is a milestone release for Genode! For years, it has been a mature, capable system, which the developers use as their “daily driver” (running VMs for software not yet ported natively). Now, with the “Year Of Sculpt OS Usability”, they are adding the UI niceties to make things easier to use, but also adding features that no other system has.
For example, one of the strengths of the system for several years has been how easy it is to add / update software from various independent sources (called “depots”). Recently, they added the concept of “Presets”, which allow you to switch between completely different system configurations with just a couple of clicks (especially useful on resource-constrained devices like the PinePhone). Now, they’ve added a streamlined system for enabling certain features with a click on a checkbox.
Anyone with an interest in a secure OS environment should give this release a try! It is a unique system design, with all software divided into components, which can be configured as desired for complete flexibility, while retaining the ability to control (and view!) the Trusted Computing Base of every component in the system. Now, with the efforts on UI/UX, it is easier than ever to get started!
Really interesting to see this OS progressing so fast in such a long time. And curiously, it’s still missing a “normal” desktop. Normally, it’s the other way round, people like to focus on the UI but not the hard work behind it (see Serenity OS, or the dozens of Linux desktops)
I understand that Genode is supposed to be a “rolling chassis” – to make an obligatory motoring metaphor – on which others can build their own coachwork. It would indeed be good to see desktops like Serenity, or my example Haiku, utilise Genode’s rapidly evolving underpinnings rather than cobble together everything themselves. But making your own is no doubt the point of hobbyist operating systems.
This is an interesting point. It is definitely true that they have focused mainly on the technical underpinnings over UI flourishes. (And it shows, because in my experience, the code is rock-solid, even as they make design paradigm changes.)
But it’s also interesting to note that they take the same approach to the UI/UX that they do with the code architecture – i.e. starting without assumptions, and testing completely new ideas. For example, the Component Diagram in Sculpt that shows the Trusted Computing Base relationships between all the components in the system, the “Presets” concept, etc.