The Raspberry Pi Foundation's Raspbian OS now comes with the latest PIXEL desktop user interface. PIXEL, abbreviated from Pi Improved Xwindows Environment Lightweight, aims to create an even better desktop user experience thanks to its appealing visual upgrade together with other functional improvements and new applications.
So what's new in the Raspbian PIXEL update? For starters, users will see a splash screen with the Raspbian image as the software boots up.
"[T]he code for the splash screen has been carefully written and tested, and should not slow down the Pi's boot process; the time to go from powering on to the desktop appearing is identical, whether the splash is shown or not," UX Engineer Simon Long wrote on the Raspberry Pi blog.
Revamped Features
Users will see a background wallpaper when the Raspbian PIXEL desktop loads. Sixteen new images have been added and can be found in the "/usr/share/PIXEL-wallpaper/" location with an EXIF data for each one revealing where the image was shot. This can be changed via the Appearance Settings app.
Aside from the wallpapers, Raspbian PIXEL revamped the icons for its menu, file manage and taskbar. Windows now have slightly curved corners, thinner overall frame design and a cleaner title bar that houses all the regular minimize, maximize, and close buttons.
Despite using the same Roboto font, Raspbian PIXEL optimized the way the symbols, letters and numbers appear on screen. Users might not be blown away by this improvement at all, however.
The login screen has been spruced up to visually match the entire desktop interface. Raspbian PIXEL also added a connectivity menu so owners can turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on or off. Users can also disconnect from any wireless connection by simply clicking the name within the connectivity menu panel.
New Applications
RealVNC is now ported to the Raspberry Pi through the VNC server and viewer applications, which are all incorporated into the operating system. There's also a Sense HAT emulator added for simulations, reducing the need to have an actual unit when developing programs compatible with the sensor.
Chromium is another application added with Raspbian PIXEL. Using the Pi board's updated hardware, Chromium speeds up video content streaming.
How To Update
Users who prefer to start anew can directly download the Raspbian PIXEL image here. Otherwise, here are the commands needed to run atop the existing image.
Open the Terminal app on the Raspberry Pi and run the following commands in order:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install -y rpi-chromium-mods
sudo apt-get install -y python-sense-emu python3-sense-emu
sudo apt-get install -y python-sense-emu-doc realvnc-vnc-viewer
Make sure to reboot afterward.
For users who want to use RealVNC but are not using xrdp to access Pi remotely, use the following command:
sudo apt-get install -y realvnc-vnc-server
The total size of the uncompressed image is more than 4 GB so the update could take longer than usual because of all the additional features bundled in. Free applications such as 7-Zip and The Unarchiver on Windows and Mac, respectively, can be used to decompress the file without problems.