Genode OS Framework release 21.05
As always the fresh release comes with many changes, of which the Webcam support and the File Vault are the most notable highlights.
The new webcam feature enables the use of Genode-based systems like Sculpt OS in currently prevailing settings of remote and home-office work. Our native USB video class driver based on libuvc was first connected to VirtualBox to enable online conferencing in a setting familiar to users with well-known tools and operating systems. Two additional but not less important ingredients are our custom webcam model plugged into the ported Qemu XHCI model for VirtualBox and the considerably improved support for isochronous USB transfers. The latter permits using a standard USB headset in a plug-and-play fashion directly from the guest OS.
With the new File Vault Genode 21.05 brings a ready-to-use component for native encrypted data storage. The vault is based on the consistent block encrypter (CBE) in combination with ext2 for file-based access. It can be readily deployed on Sculpt OS and comes with a graphical front end that aims at making the creation, use, and maintenance as intuitive and secure as possible.
Our last update of the GNU compiler tool chain dates back to May 2019, so it was time to refresh the tools with this release. The update comes with GCC 10.3, Binutils 2.36, and GDB 10.2.
Last but not least, the Genode Foundations book got its annual update and comes now with a companion - the Genode Platforms. The new book complements Foundations with low-level hardware-related topics and is primarily intended for integrators and developers of device drivers. This initial edition represents a field guide to bring Genode to a new ARM SoC using the example of the Pine A64-LTS board whose SoC is also used in the Pinephone. We plan to continuously extend the Foundations with further practical topics as we go.
The extensive release documentation https://genode.org/documentation/release-notes/21.05 features all improvements and changes of Genode 21.05.