DRAFT RELEASE NOTES

The fourth beta release of Haiku continues the trend of more frequent releases in order to provide our users and developers with an up to date and stable platform to work on.

Please keep in mind that this is beta-quality software, which means it is feature complete but still contains known and unknown bugs. While we are mostly confident in its stability, we cannot provide assurances against data loss.

System requirements

This release is available on the x86 32-bit platform, as well as the x86_64 platform. Note that BeOS R5 compatibility is only provided on the 32-bit images, but the 64bit version is recommended if you don't need BeOS compatibility.

MINIMUM (32-bit)

• Processor: Intel Pentium II; AMD Athlon
• Memory: 384MB
• Monitor: 800x600
• Storage: 2GB

RECOMMENDED (64-bit)

• Processor: Intel Core i3; AMD Phenom II
• Memory: 2GB
• Monitor: 1366x768
• Storage: 16GB

SSE2 support is required to use the WebPositive web browser. On machines where this is not available, it is recommended to install the NetSurf browser instead.

Highlights

Installation process

• Fixed an issue with Installer not installing bootman and DriveSetup not setting up the created partition correctly, leading to an unbootable system
• 32-bit EFI support is now available. It's possible to boot a 64bit OS from a 32bit EFI as well.

Package management

• Added a new warning when downgrading packages through pkgman.
• Added package dates in HaikuDepot to allow users to determine when a package was added or updated.

User interface

• B_UNDERSCORE_FACE has been implemented to allow applications to display underscores in textviews.
• Introduced new functionality into Tracker that allows image thumbnails to be shown.
• Fixed an issue with ShowImage's "Save As" function failing silently.
• Added underlines to links on mouseover in AboutSystem
• Fixed a preflet crash whilst trying to select a WiFi network.
• Tracker image thumbnail support
• Fixed an issue with Tracker not showing custom folder icons.
• Fixed an issue with the Flurry Test screensaver crashing upon exit.
• Improved support for High DPI displays
• AboutSystem replicant

app_server (graphics server)

Applications

• An eject button has been added to Media Player for optical disks.
• Terminal now allows you to configure ANSI colours in settings.
• Terminal supports 24-bit colors and enhanced mouse events.
• Fixed an issue in WonderBrush where selections were appearing opaque, not transparent.
• The software renderer will now correctly handle unsupported colour spaces - previously the application simply crashed.
• Fixed an issue with apps started via Shortcuts not receiving any environment variables.
• Fixed an issue where users could not click the teapot in GLTeapot with Mesa17.
• Big performance improvements to Debugger

Web browsers

• WebPositive now correctly reports the architecture of the system (previously it reported the system was x86 regardless of the actual architecture).
• Fixed an issue with a KDL occurring whilst using Falkon.
• In WebKit, an issue with YouTube timelines not displaying properly was fixed.

APIs

Storage and file systems

• Fixed volume names of newly created FAT16/32 filesystems via mkfs (and fat fs_tools)
• Fixed an issue with NTFS handling file deletions incorrectly.
• Fixed an issue with Tracker suspending all internal processes when copying files from a BFS to NTFS filesystem.
• Fixed an issue with incorrect file creation dates being displayed in NTFS.
• Fixed an issue with KDLs occurring when performing multiple writes in ntfs_inode_close.
• Fixed an issue with a KDL occurring when a busy BFS image was unmounted.
• Fixed an issue where the system did not recognise partitions formatted with the mkfs.ext4 command.
• Fixed an issue where the system became unresponsive when there was concurrent reading/writing happening to a FAT32 partition.
• Support for sparse files on ext2, ext3 and ext4 filesystems.
• More use of the entry cache for btrfs, ext2/3/4 and exfat.
• Userlandfs is now compatible with FUSE 2.9 (the latest version in the 2.x series)
• Added ramfs to the build by default and mounted at /var/shared_memory, meaning file-mapped shared memory will not ever be flushed to disk.
• Fixed FAT returning spurious errors for supposedly too-long names, preventing creation of some partitions in DriveSetup.

BeOS compatibility

• Fixed an issue with SpiroGraph not drawing its background transparent.
• Box labels are drawn a bit higher to match what BeOS R5 applications expect.

POSIX compatibility

• Increased maximum argument length to match FreeBSD (roughly doubled)
• Rewrite of mlock() and munlock() to more closely match POSIX
• Support for C11 threads
• Addition of locale_t and the related methods
• Fixed behavior of the O_NOCTTY flag, fixing a lot of GPG's functionality.
• malloc() aligns data on 16 bytes (instead of 8 previously) to allow SSE2 instructions generated by gcc11 to not crash

Build System

• Haiku now includes a Jamfile engine in the Haiku source tree.
• Rdef file support has also been added to the Jamfile engine.
• Fixed an issue with mimeset under libroot_build being slow and inefficient.
• Fixed an issue with HaikuPorter unmounting packagefs causing a KDL.
• Static libraries provided by Haiku are now built with hidden symbol visibility by default, some internal APIs will not be available anymore to 3rd-party apps.

System performance

• Fixed an issue with cached memory continually increasing.
• Gave undefined weak symbols a value of 0 in System Runtime Loader, fixing issues with programs not running with errors about unresolved symbols.

Internationalization

• Fixed an issue in HaikuDepot with the "Rate Package" window automatically defaulting to Russian.

Hardware compatibility

PCI

• Improved support for 64-bit PCI BARs in various drivers
• CPU TSC frequency is read from CPUID if available, instead of trying to measure it with a loop

Sound

• Fixed an issue with 5 Series/3400 Series Chipsets being detected but no audio was being emitted.

Mass storage

Network

• Updated drivers to use the latest versions available from FreeBSD
• Addition of an OpenBSD compatibility driver to get more drivers from OpenBSD
• Support for 802.11ac Wifi thanks to OpenBSD drivers
• Support for "jumbo frames" (ethernet frames larger than 1500 bytes)
• New driver for USB-RNDIS, allowing to use USB tethering from Android phones.

USB/Peripherals

• An issue with the Corsair K70 LUX RGB, AZIO MK Retro and Razer Deathstalker keyboards not functioning has been fixed.
• Support for keyboard bitmap reports (n-key rollover)
• Fixed an issue with XHCI endpoints not being initialised, which meant that the system could not start whilst USB devices were plugged in.
• Fixed an issue with USB mice abruptly not working when being used.
• Fixed an issue with the vHUION Giano 1409 Digitizer not recognizing clicks.
• Support for USB mass storage drives larger than 2 TB
• Support for low baudrates in the pc_serial serial port driver (for use with old serial mouses, for example).
• Support for flushing serial port buffers

Graphics

• Fixed issues with Intel i7-3770 (HD Graphics 4400), HD Graphics 2000 , 2500 and 4600 booting into black screens.
• Many other improvements to the intel_extreme graphics driver for modern systems: Broadwell, Haswell and later.
• Experimental support for VESA BIOS patching to enable custom video modes (disabled by default)
• New large font for the kernel debugger on high-DPI displays
• Automatic fallback to VESA or framebuffer drivers if other drivers fail to initialise and report it to app_server

Deprecations

• mkfat binary removed. Use mkfs -t fat
• The driver for floppy drives was removed (it was not working anyways)

Known issues and workarounds

• WebPositive sometimes gets stuck when loading a page (curlThread maxes out a cpu core). Workaround: a) try reloading the page or re-click the link. b) Install another browser with the HaikuDepot application...

Bugs closed as fixed in the R1B4 Milestone

• #3080 PhotoGrabber cannot be killed when camera is attached
• #4012 NTFS handles deletions incorrectly
• #4303 app_server doesn't gracefully deal with missing accelerant
• #4401 Opaque visible part in WonderBrush canvas thumbnail
• #4925 Tracker freezing all internal trackers processes while copying from BFS -> NTFS
• #5360 Ryan's awesome Jamfile-engine should be included in the Haiku nightlies / releases
• #5783 [Tracker] don't try to fix executable bit on read only file systems
• #6781 mkfs -t bfs KDLs on small image files
• #6813 Support for .pls (easy)
• #6932 Two errors with the Pairs application
• #7175 Realtek 8187SE (USB) Driver
• #8288 Undefined weak symbols should get a value of 0
• #8395 Automatic Vesa graphics fallback
• #8555 [AboutSystem] underline links on mouse over
• #8761 Software renderer should gracefully handle unsupported color spaces.
• #9205 Wine needs some mmap improvements
• #9900 "Double fault!", copying from BFS partition on USB external drive
• #10065 Jam clean fails
• #10336 TRIM / fstrim can destroy data on SSD's when executed
• #10505 radeon_hd needs ACPI support for finding the AtomBIOS
• #10570 Native video mode with VESA through vesa bios live patching
• #10835 Package system does not warn on downgrading packages
• #11016 Significant NTFS write performance differences USB2/eSATA
• #11059 No sound on Haiku
• #11180 Intel i7-3770 (HD Graphics 4400) boots into black screen
• #11207 File Info: Wrong creation Date with NTFS formatted HD
• #11316 [HaikuDepot] defaults to ru in Rate package window
• #11407 KDL when performing multiple writes in ntfs_inode_close
• #11492 Add eject button to MediaPlayer (for optical disks) (easy)
• #11627 MediaPlayer troubles on x86_64
• #11643 [Terminal] mouse doesn't work in mc
• #11732 [HaikuDepot] Scrolling the list with the keyboard create a loop in the items
• #11753 BFS fails initializing 1.9TB size volume (KDL assert)
• #11797 Calling getpid() from constructor of global static object returns 0
• #11822 Implement B_UNDERSCORE_FACE
• #11919 Fix and enable ipv4 multicast
• #12015 Implement RNDIS for USB tethering
• #12024 Preflet crashed while trying to select wifi network
• #12353 [Debugger] cache function list for visited libs in Images tab
• #12356 [hda] 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset detected but no audio
• #12476 framapad (etherpad) doesn't work.
• #12534 Apps started via Shortcuts prefs don't get env variables
• #12667 ARM [beagle] undefined memory type
• #12840 Exit from screensaver Flurry Test causes exception
• #12846 WebPositive fails to login on Outlook.com
• #12847 Unmounting a busy BFS image results in a continuable KDL (block_cache still has partial slabs)
• #12931 Spirograph (BeOS app) doesn't draw its background transparent
• #13006 HaikuDepot: add date a package was added/updated
• #13093 System does not recognize partitions formatted with mkfs.ext4 command.
• #13130 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter TP-LINK TL-WN727N Does not work at all
• #13169 [Interface Kit] switch to 32x32 icons in menus with large font size
• #13177 [Interface Kit] scale BToolBar
• #13178 [libtracker.so] filepanel buttons are cut off
• #13313 Print to file (PDF) not working...
• #13619 GLTeapot hit-testing fails with Mesa17 (x86-64)
• #13669 Intel HD Graphics 2500 black screen on VGA out
• #13844 Sometimes, the timeline in YouTube is not shown in the right position
• #13845 Expose the MediaPlayer playlist as a scripting object
• #13855 WebPositive crashes in BHttpRequest::_MakeRequest()
• #13881 Restructure MediaPlayer scripting interface
• #14104 Concurrent read/write to FAT32 partition deadlocks
• #14298 [8086:3165] Intel iwm driver not loading for idualwifi7260
• #14301 Intel HD Graphics 2000: black screen on VGA out
• #14389 USB mouse stops to work during work
• #14454 XHCI: Device check-sum error
• #14523 USB wireless keyboard/mouse not working after unplug (through KVM)
• #14581 no audio on T410 (8086/3b56) - mixer not used (DMA/IRQ problem?)
• #14592 HUION Giano 1409 Digitizer not recognizing "click"
• #14640 Application Crashes when Missing SSH Port (easy)
• #14643 Black screen booting with Intel HD4600
• #14662 HP Paviliion B&O works in legacy mode with safe video enabled!
• #14670 Support for USB drives greater than 2TB
• #14708 [ProcessController] grow icons with font size
• #14847 add -pthread helper
• #14936 [FileTypes] add splitter to application type window (easy)
• #14937 Tiny chunks of entropy from /dev/urandom when using virtio RNG
• #14943 XHCI: trying to submit a transfer to a non-existent endpoint!
• #14946 "Edit query..." forgets search attributes
• #14971 USB Ethernet adapter doesn't work anymore
• #15010 [HaikuDepot] Install button is disabled at times
• #15035 Black screen when trying to boot on a Surface Book (1st gen)
• #15158 HDA. Failed to setup new audio function group
• #15169 Setting cursors with custom size
• #15198 gui checks for 1970 and 2037 on non x86
• #15212 Fix nvme_disk on non-x86
• #15371 Open window with full height to void scroll bar
• #15392 unrelated intel video card
• #15455 EFI loader doesn't save syslog from initial stages of booting
• #15481 disneyworld.disney.go.com: missing text and images
• #15516 Misaligned and slow display on Intel Skylake GT2
• #15551 WebPositive's user agent is always x86
• #15563 [launch_daemon] desktop target won't start
• #15625 After using "Open Link in new window" the session is lost
• #15704 [registrar] rewrite shutdown dialogue to use layout api
• #15709 [DeskCalc] some localized buttons stopped working (regression)
• #15743 implement dl_iterate_phdr
• #15746 eDP flat panel not working
• #15747 flat panel switches to black on intel Haswell Mobile
• #15827 memset is causing infinite recursion with clang build
• #15866 Network keeps restarting
• #15895 Desktop occasionally does not start
• #15934 WebPositive: leak of WorkQueue (CryptoQueue, ImageDecoder, etc.) threads
• #15941 JPEG & JPEG 2000 Translators about tabs are using document text colour
• #16045 mounting ntfs partitions not allowed
• #16069 Smap after installing Matrox to Ryzen
• #16130 [AboutSystem] window is too wide
• #16132 Intel Wireless Adapter AC 9462 not working
• #16150 Crashing on GMail (JSC::JSLockHolder::JSLockHolder(JSC::VM&)
• #16176 [Terminal] Pick system font and size on first start
• #16179 [Deskbar] Too narrow leaf button in horizontal mode under HiDPI
• #16180 [Interface Kit] button proportions look wrong in HiDPI
• #16184 [Interface Kit] dropdown menu arrows are too small on HiDPI
• #16288 mimeset under libroot_build is rather slow and inefficient
• #16296 5Ghz Wifi not working on Lenovo 720
• #16323 usb error xhci 0: unsuccessful command 9, error No slots (9)
• #16345 [regression] profile: doesn't record userland functions
• #16366 NVMe KDL: release_spinlock: lock was already released
• #16370 [desklink] scale deskbar icons
• #16408 [Interface Kit] scrollbars are cut off in some apps
• #16412 Problems changing Decorators/ControlLooks
• #16413 Unable to change refresh rate setting (Hz) under "Screen", under preferences.
• #16512 virtio_block device ordering reversed
• #16554 intel_extreme takes too long to initialize, leaving display unrefreshed
• #16565 Debugger CLI crashes trying to save a report
• #16596 extend review.haiku-os.org/robots.txt
• #16625 [Tracker] context menus use plain font instead of menu font
• #16647 Problem with HIDReportItem and padding
• #16697 TMR: Debugger triggered - conformance/interfaces/strftime/2-1.c
• #16702 THR: Test FAILED - conformance/interfaces/pthread_cond_signal/1-1.test
• #16712 Failure to boot with wrong reporting too much RAM
• #16725 WebPositive: Wrong status bar size while showing loading bar
• #16729 5.1 channel wav file in mediaplayer.
• #16741 Kernel Panic on Multiple user_xsi_semget Syscall Invocations
• #16750 EFI build generates files without MakeLocate
• #16752 app_server: crash when zooming picture
• #16794 XHCI: Divide error exception in SubmitNormalRequest
• #16813 XHCI: failed to get the device descriptor: Device check-sum error
• #16823 net_server: crash when receiving B_ABOUT_REQUESTED
• #16833 [Terminal] Allow modifying ANSI colours from Settings
• #16852 Corsair K70 LUX RGB not working unless in BIOS mode.
• #16877 Build system still using mtools
• #16878 HUION Giano 1409 Digitizer KDL on plug to USB port
• #16894 nvme: release_spinlock: lock already released!
• #16935 Boot fails with "PANIC: did not find any boot partitions!"
• #16945 Tracker: show filesystem type in volume info window
• #16965 STDC_NO_THREADS is not defined in Haiku
• #16969 USB stop working after disconnecting USB hub with keyboard and mouse (again)
• #16970 Intel WIFI 6 AX200 / ax201 not functioning
• #16973 KDL: address must be dword aligned
• #16975 haikuports.cross: inconsistent ICU version
• #16980 DiskUsage window may open off-screen after switching to a lower resolution display (easy)
• #16983 System Development page changes
• #17008 Testing Rudolf's Intel driver on Thinkpad X220
• #17013 GLTeapot grab not working
• #17061 SMAP violation with cp from BTRFS volume
• #17065 WebPositive crashes on ​https://arstechnica.com/ in WebCore::ResourceHandle::client
• #17067 haiku-minimum-anyboot hangs after all icons lit.
• #17091 deadbeef in notify_select_event_pool while using serial port with avrdude
• #17094 HTML6test: haikuwebkit 1.8.2 regressions from haikuwebkit 1.7.0
• #17095 Installer - Text cut off after installation in installer (RC0)