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GNOME 3.2 Released

68 points| Garbage | 14 years ago |library.gnome.org | reply

50 comments

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[+] jannes|14 years ago|reply

  GNOME core modules now only depend on introspection-based
  Python bindings (pygobject-3) and hence pygtk, gnome-python
  and gnome-python-desktop are not required any more.
Interesting. I have been out of the loop for a while. Does this mean that existing pygtk applications have to be ported to pygobject-3 or is it a simple "import" change?
[+] bkor|14 years ago|reply
They will still work, but switching to pygobject-3 requires to port the application. There is a script in the pygobject tarball/module which handles most (not all) of the changes.
[+] devinmrn|14 years ago|reply
Anyone else move away from Gnome recently? I've switched to XFCE and find the workflow better adapted to what I'm used to, I gave gnome-shell a month or two before I couldn't take it anymore.
[+] aroman|14 years ago|reply
Really? I've played around with GNOME Shell a few times, but recently I've been seriously considering using it for my laptop because I would like to get the most real-estate-optimized modern GUI possible on there.

Right now I'm running Pantheon (elementary project's DE) on one partition and i3 (tiling WM) on another, and neither quite seem to feel right -- the former likely because it's very WIP (granted I'm optimistically biased being a core developer of the project).

What specifically have you found advantageous to your workflow with XFCE? What did you miss from GNOME-Shell, and what exactly made you switch?

[+] dhoe|14 years ago|reply
I was sceptical, but become enthusiastic to the point of not wanting to miss Gnome Shell anymore once I realized how great it works with keyboard shortcuts. For example: hit the windows key, start typing a couple of letters of the desired application or document, hit enter. Fast, convenient, great.
[+] rkalla|14 years ago|reply
Used gnome-shell on Fedora 15 for a few weeks, loved it but didn't love Fedora.

Moved to Ubuntu 11.04 before giving up on Linux and even though I'm not the biggest Unity look-and-feel fan, it has most of the aspects of gnome-shell I like and worked smoothly on my ThinkPad T60 except for hardware volume buttons which was fixed with [1] and slow wireless due to an older kernel which was fixed with [2].

Overall this idea (inspired by Spotlight and I think perfected in Windows Vista by mapping it to a single key) of mapping the Windows key to an auto-focused, system wide search box is fantastic. I really wouldn't want to go back to a system without that keystroke. Gnome using that same structure and taking you to this nice overview/launch panel is a really slick refinement.

[1] http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=60945#p3793... [2] http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1837729

[+] zmalltalker|14 years ago|reply
Me too. I went back to XFCE after a few months in Gnome 3, and functionality-wise I prefer. I miss the sexiness of gnome-shell, XFCE is pretty bare-bones. With the online accounts in 3.2, I'll probably give it another try.
[+] orblivion|14 years ago|reply
Funny, I can't get enough of it. It's rough around the edges probably because I'm running from the Gnome PPA on Ubuntu Natty, but the way it manages windows on multiple desktops is like nothing I've seen. It makes so much more sense. To each their own I suppose. Isn't there an option to go back to the traditional desktop?
[+] plaes|14 years ago|reply
I'm using awesome window manager with basic gnome-session (no panel) which still gives me most of the desktop integration (nm-applet, consolekit, policykit, etc)
[+] jcurbo|14 years ago|reply
I moved to an xmonad based environment but I still keep a gnome-panel on screen, so it's kind of a hybrid environment.
[+] theatrus2|14 years ago|reply
I stuck it out with Gnome 2.x on Ubuntu, until I "had" to convert that machine to Windows 7 (for running IAR). Windows 7 is somehow an improvement over Gnome 3.
[+] Luyt|14 years ago|reply
I wonder why their showcase features a picture of a DigiNotar certificate [1]. Could it be that DigiNotar was in the news recently?

From WikiPedia: "On July 10, 2011, a certificate was issued by DigiNotar's systems for Google by an attacker with access to their systems. This certificate was subsequently used by unknown persons in Iran to conduct a man-in-the-middle attack against Google services. On August 28, 2011, certificate problems were observed on multiple Internet service providers in Iran. The fraudulent certificate was posted on pastebin."

..and that was only the start of a whole chain of events...

DigiNotar went bankrupt a few days ago [3].

[1] http://library.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/3.2/figures/cert...

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diginotar

[3] http://www.diginotar.nl/

[+] bkor|14 years ago|reply
The screenshot was made when DigiNotar wasn't yet bankcrupt. The reason for using DigiNotar is because of two things: 1) my sense of humour 2) makes it really clear why you might want a certificate viewer. Ok, maybe a 3rd one: Dutch government initially saying they could still be trusted for some certificates.

It is not the only screenshot with my sense of humour though

[+] wazoox|14 years ago|reply
The "web application" trick is a great idea. I think we may see this idea stolen soon by all major OSes.
[+] clhodapp|14 years ago|reply
This type of functionality is already supported by on Windows, OS X, and, of course Linux-based systems through Chrome, Firefox, and even IE. I believe that the first way to get this type of functionality was to use Mozilla's Prism project, which has been around since 2007 (though that is just the first that I am thinking of off the top of my head). I never end up finding these sorts of things to be very useful, since I always have a browser open anyway.
[+] ugh|14 years ago|reply
So, what’s with Linux and margins? I thought they had solved that by now but nope, the margins are still all over the place, inconsistent and visually distracting.

I feel this is even more apparent now that they dialed up the margins even more.

[+] chao-|14 years ago|reply
Please excuse my question, as I am quite design-inept, and often have no problem with whatever visuals are presented. I'm trying to figure out which margins are worthy of ire or inconsistent, for the sake of my own improvement on such visual matters.

The only difference/inconsistency that leaps out at me is that between the content of a window and its border, in which case there seems to be a clear divide between popup/info windows ("Save a Copy", "Color", "Online Accounts") and the more persistent, full-application windows ("Contacts", "Documents" and the image viewer).

There are differences between the spacing of other UI elements, for sure, but I don't really understand why one element should or should not be placed a consistent distance away from another. E.g. in the "Online Accounts" window, the All Settings button has identical top and bottom margins, but it is a different margin from left margin, as well as different from the margin between the white box in the pane below, and its container. Which of these, if any, would you change and why?

[+] rbanffy|14 years ago|reply
You know, everything you see on most GUIs (Gnome is not Linux-only, you know) is themable. If you feel inclined to help the designers make a prettier interface, you can easily find information on how to actually help.
[+] alperakgun|14 years ago|reply
I switched to gnome 3 and enjoy it so far on my ubuntu. I also like kde4.6....tried other desktops with pleasure too.

... good to see how bold choices created a diversified spectrum of of linux desktop.

[+] listic|14 years ago|reply
Which Linux distributions are going to use it?
[+] nagnatron|14 years ago|reply
Finally anti-aliased window corners.
[+] drivebyacct2|14 years ago|reply
I'm happy to see 3 shaping up like KDE4. It seems like the rough edges are being ironed out very quickly! I'd love to see the font dialog get more options rather than a simple cosmetic rearrangements. The Mac font chooser dialog is perfect and very compact too.
[+] FlowerPower|14 years ago|reply
Down to the "ON-OFF" button/switch it still attempts to look like something it will never be, MacOSX.

Down.

[+] Luyt|14 years ago|reply
This is indeed an unhealthy trend. The past years nearly all major desktop environments have been adding stuff like window compositing, shadows, translucent windows and other graphics gimmicks which just add bloat, bling-bling and no usability value. In many cases usability even suffered. For example, KDE4 removed a lot of configurability that made KDE3 such a malleable environment. It's fashionable to remove choices from the user and do windowdressing instead.

Ever had to drill down the network settings in Windows Vista control panel? As soon as you're past the initial window and at the TCP/IP settings tab, you're suddenly back in Windows XP land with the @#$% tiny list of interfaces, having to use both vertical and horizontal scrollbars, and no way to resize the window, thank you Microsoft. But at least the Start Menu looks like a glossy magazine, and have you seen the translucent taskbar? Wow! That's what we needed!

[+] rbanffy|14 years ago|reply
Actually, I think I saw those first on iOS.

I see every car has a steering wheel. There is nothing wrong with interfaces that appear consistent across manufacturers.