Genesis OS v2.1.0
Genesis OS 2.1 - Release Notes
Version: 2.1
Developer / Maintainer: Lucas Prado Coelho
🚀 What's New in 2.1
🌐 Browser & Connectivity
- Internal Pages: Added built-in browser support for system pages using the
genesis://protocol (e.g.,genesis://home,genesis://about,genesis://help, andgenesis://system). - Serial HTTP Gateway: Added support for external web browsing through a serial-port HTTP helper proxy.
🔊 Audio & System
- PC Speaker Driver: Added support for the PC speaker driver.
- Linux Subsystem: Introduced a lightweight Linux subsystem for driver support and extended system utilities.
💻 Desktop & Performance
- Clean Boot: The desktop now starts with no windows open by default.
- Background Caching: Added wallpaper caching to improve rendering performance.
- UI Polish: Removed the legacy "MODULAR DESKTOP READY" overlay from the default wallpaper.
🐛 Bug Fixes & Improvements
- Paint App: Fixed a bug where drawing occurred while merely hovering the cursor.
- Light Theme: Fixed rendering and visual issues in Light Mode.
- About App: Updated the credits to correctly attribute the project to Lucas Prado Coelho instead of Genesis Team.
- Codebase Cleanup: Reorganized and cleaned up the project repository for the 2.1 release.
🌐 External Web Browsing via Serial Helper (Real Hardware)
Genesis OS can access external websites by routing HTTP requests through a helper application running on a host computer over a serial connection.
🔄 How It Works
- Genesis Browser sends an HTTP request through the
COM1serial port. - A host computer running the helper script receives the request and performs the HTTP request over the internet.
- The host computer sends the HTTP response back to Genesis OS through the serial connection.
🛠️ Setup Guide
1. Hardware Connection
Connect the Genesis OS machine's COM1 serial port to a host computer using either:
- A straight-through RS-232 serial cable, or
- A USB-to-Serial adapter.
2. Host Helper Setup
Make sure Python 3 is installed on the host computer, then run:
# Install the required dependencies
pip install requests pyserial
# Start the HTTP helper
python tools/http_helper.py3. Accessing the Web
Launch the Browser application in Genesis OS and navigate to any HTTP URL, for example:
http://example.com
⚠️ Technical Notes
- Internal Pages:
genesis://pages are handled entirely by Genesis OS and do not require the serial helper. - Protocol Support: Only unencrypted HTTP is currently supported. HTTPS is not yet available.
- Connectivity: The host computer must remain connected to the internet while the helper is running.