14 DAY TRIAL // Android-x86, a port of the Android operating system for the x86 platform that allows users to experience a mobile OS as a desktop experience, has been upgraded to version 4.4-r3 and is now ready for download.
The developers of Android-x86 didn't use this name without good merit. The OS is not some Linux distribution that imitates Android with the help of themes or a fancy desktop environment. It's an actual port of Google's Android that's been modified to work with a mouse and keyboard. In fact, the truth is that it seems to function just fine.
The Android operating system is after all a Linux distribution, at heart. It's not using the vanilla kernel, but those are the roots of Android, so porting the entire distro is not really a stretch. It also indicates that Android is not really all that far off from its close Linux relatives.
What's new in latest Android-x86
Users won't find too many differences from the regular Android OS, but that is also the point of this entire exercise. The only major difference is the Linux kernel, which has to be changed in order to keep this distro fresh and ready to boot on any type of hardware. The other thing that people will probably notice is the use of Android 4.4 Kit Kat, which is an older version.
"The 4.4-r3 release is based on the Android 4.4.4_r2.0.1 (KTU84Q) release. We have fixed and added x86 specified code to let the system runs smoothly on x86 platforms, especially for tablets and netbooks.," reads the official announcement.
According to the changelog, the Linux kernel has been upgraded to version 4.0.8, Bluedroid has been replaced with Bluez, a new sensor HAL has been added, Mesa 10.5.9 has been implemented by default (NVIDIA anbd vmwgfx support), GPS HAL has been improved, and lots of other fixes have been implemented as well.
You can download the Android-x86 4.4 R3 Linux distribution from Softpedia if you want to give it a spin; you can use this Linux distribution in Live mode and you don't need to install it.