Haiku R1 / Alpha2 released

Eight months after the release of the first alpha, the second alpha Haiku R1 was released on schedule. Download the distribution in various formats here .

New opportunities:

• The distribution includes a new Webikt-based WebPositive browser. Note that it is not very stable yet.
• WiFi support through the FreeBSD 8 compatibility layer. Those parts of the drivers that cannot be included in the distribution are installed using install-wifi-firmwares.sh. To support WEP encryption, the experimental application setwep is used (it will be replaced with a more convenient and friendly one later).
• Implemented MSI (Message Signaled Interrupts) support. This will help improve interrupt performance.
• Fixed a network problem leading to partial loading of web pages.
• When splitting a disk, DriveSetup installs a basic bootloader in the MBR for subsequent booting from the active partition.
• There are consequences of localization.
• There are translations of the user manual and other documentation.
• A large number of locks have been optimized, resulting in a significant reduction in assembly time.
• Kernel and virtual memory management code has been optimized.
• Improved font smoothing
• A large number of updates in the accompanying software, the most noticeable transition from bash 2.x to 4.x.
• Added installoptionalpackage, the simplest skrit, to replace package management tools via PackageFS. It allows you to install some packages from Haiku's OptionPackages.
• Great performance gains with USB flash drives and disks, due to changes in the strategy of working with memory.
• ACPI is enabled by default.
• Improved operation of embedded sound cards based on Nvidia Chipet.
• Fixed module for working with the UDF file system.
• Numerous improvements in the implementation of POSIX.
• API / ABI changes:
  
  • BJoystick - fixed compatibility issue with BeOS.
  • Changed ABI GCC 4, applications using it were reassembled
  • Added support for different versions of libraries.
  
  
• GCC4-based Hailku can be compiled on a 64-bit Linux distribution, but the GCC2 version still requires a 32-bit Linux distribution to build.
  
• A new type of anyboot image has been created that allows you to burn a Haiku image both on CDs and directly on USB flash drives. Please note that recording software may be clever , which will result in incorrect recording on the disc.

While missing features:

• No support for WPA encryption, only WEP.
• There is no package manager yet.
• The Haiku bootman loader currently supports booting from just one disk.
• USB keyboards connected to an OHCI controler or USB 2.0 hubs do not work in the kernel debugger (KDL). In order for the keyboard to work, it must be connected directly to the ports of the UHCI controller.
• Overlaying fonts is not yet implemented in Haiku. As a result, if at the beginning of the installation you select a language that is not supported by the default font (for example, Japanese), then the text in this language will not be readable. Until font mapping is implemented, choose English when launching the installer.

Known issues:

• Performance when first loading and booting from the LiveCD. When you first boot after installing or booting from the LiveCD, several tasks run in the background that complete the installation. This leads to a decrease in performance. When running from a hard disk, this does not constitute a problem and tasks complete quickly. In the case of a LiveCD, this is more noticeable, since the speed of reading and searching from a CD is lower. Since the CD can only be read, in the LiveCD mode, these tasks are started at each boot.
• Font smoothing has been improved due to patent expiration, but not optimal yet. In connection with the unclear situations of patents, the code that relates to patents is disabled in the official release. This code includes subpixel anti-aliasing used in FreeType. After all aspects have been clarified, sub-pixel anti-aliasing will be included in the official releases.
  
• Although ACPI support in Haiku is enabled by default and is fairly stable, it can still cause problems. You can turn off ACPI in the bootloader menu.
  
• Copying large amounts of data from fast disks to slower ones (for example, USB flash drives) can cause swapping.
  
• The Haiku loader may hang on some computers.
• Localization / internalization support has experimental status. Some applications are partially translated and have problems with lines that can be longer than in the English version. Localization setting is not working yet.
• When selecting the Ukrainian translation of the user manual, the British flag is displayed.