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Jan 2, 2014

Third WIP version for beta testing

A new year has begun and it immediately brings a new work-in-progress version of Icaros Desktop. There are some news in the AROS system files and Magellan departments: AROS bootloader has been updated and it doesn't start from the /boot directory anymore. Kernel and other bootstrap files have been moved in the brand new /Arch directory which, according to AROS devs, will make kernel more modular and maintenance of flavours and ports for different architectures easier. This meant for me that I had to change the way I build Icaros Desktop again, but thanks to our nice friend Deadwood it has not been a problem at all. I've also made some step forwards understanding why Magellan still refused to drag and drop icons when running in workbench screen, even if the issue was solved in the meanwhile on the AROS kernel side. In the end, I discovered that the problem was (once again) AmiStart, that just interferes some way in the DnD operations. Just close AmiStart, and Magellan will start running as intended. The "GUI Choice" script in /Prefs will now check for system configuration and warn the user about this compatibility issue with Directory Opus 5, allowing to disable AmiStart if Magellan is chosen instead of Wanderer as main GUI. To replace most of AmiStart functionalities, though, I've added a new "Icaros" menu to Magellan with the bare minimum applications already linked in its "compact" profile.


There are some little quirks that I still have to fix during installation (repeated files) and under Janus-UAE for AROS M68K (some configuration files that must be updated - it should be a easy fix anyway). I guess it's good enough for a third work-in-progress version. So don't report theme, they're already known issues. ;-)

As like as the last time, I have to warn you. This version of the distribution is not based on mainstream AROS nightlies, but instead on a more advanced (in many areas) custom version by Deadwood, who's backporting from ABIv1 everything which won't hurt (so much) binary compatibility with current software. This means, in a nutshell, that this work-in-progress version of Icaros Desktop is formally NOT compatible with the mainstream one, and you should NOT mix its files with the ones on your hard drive, NOR try to update your current setup with this one. Why? Because 1) it won't work and 2) I won't help you fixing the mess, since you've been warned. Please dowload it and install on a spare computer, on a new virtual machine, and test it, test it, test it! This version of Icaros Desktop is a benchmark for me, for Deadwood, for BSzili and for everyone involved in the "next Icaros revolution" program which in a few words means: new AROS, new GUI, new Experience. We need to catch and fix bugs, compatibility issues, and everything which might bring problems to users. Remember, it's just a TEST, not something we consider suitable for your daily Icaros fun.

By downloading this, you AGREE you have read all above, and you'll also expected to help us. How? Simple!
> You can download Icaros Desktop 1.5.2 Experimental WIP here.

If you find a bug, please test it again on your regolar installation and, if you spot differences, don't forget to tell us. Where? Easy.
> You can report bugs and other issues in our little on line bug tracker here.




Have you got hints and suggestions? (I mean clever ones, like: please set this option like this or like that, move this thing from here to there, and NOT "make Icaros run on my iPhone", thanks). Please follow this thread on AROS-EXEC!

DO NOT FORGET
DO NOT, under ANY circumstance, mix executabiles and other binaries of this version with your regular Icaros 1.5.2 installation, or you'll mess it. Keep the testing environment separed from your "production" one.

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