The GNOME Desktop 2.4 Release Candidate 1: “Kublai”, is available for immediate download on ftp.gnome.org and mirrors.
GNOME Desktop 2.4 Release Candidate 1: “Kublai”
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
Now the stalled RedHat Linux 10 beta 2 can move on!
Amen!
wow…RC1 already? They are pushing this along nicely. Haven’t tried it yet…Buggy?
Buggy? Nope, it was so stable that RedHat put the early builds into rawhide and pushed back the release of RedHat 10 so they could include 2.4 Final.
Which is a mix of the 2.4 betas and some Ximian stuff.
Very nice.
This along with the FooBarWidget fileselector patch makes for a very nice desktop experience.
Now it’s time to get OpenOffice.org 1.1 into RHL 10.
PS> OSNews really needs a threaded comment system.
I have read the change-log and cannot figure out whether there exist any major new features or whether this release is really just a ‘fixing bug’ update … does anyone know?
Any Debian packages already?
Victor.
…and you’ll get a second Slashdot. My two cents.
wow…RC1 already? They are pushing this along nicely. Haven’t tried it yet…Buggy?
Not buggy, I have been using 2.3.x version at all the time on FreeBSD 5.1-CURRENT and it’s pretty very stable. Only very very few hiccup on panel, session and very small others, but they got fixed very quickly.
I second that.
In this I have been using Gnome 2.4 beta and it works nice. Other than it is a bit slow on letting go the splash screen loading up but once up it is nice. I prefer KDE but I dont like the direction Gnome has been going lately. If this new RC1 of 2.4 helps Redhat and any other distro to move ahead. Lets go!
Ps. I agree please openoffice wrap up 1.1 so we can have that too soon. But not to soon we dont that either. hehe.
I’m using it on MDK cooker and it’s very stable… The only think I really don’t like is that file selector…
opps I really got to proofread I meant I do like the direction Gnome is heading. sorry
All the updates that I have heard aboyt seem really cool. I was wondering though does anyone have any idea when ximian would adopt the new cool stuff from Gnome 2.4?
PS> OSNews really needs a threaded comment system.
An option to view by date/time or threaded view would be nice.
While were on the subject, I’d love a threaded comment system also.
http://www.ilug-cal.org/GNOME_2_4.html
Gives you some idea of the new stuff.
awh well least i’ve got the irish translation up to 25% of the desktop apps, hard work doing translation stuff all by your lonesome that’s for sure lol
And its finally got to a state of usefulness. Gnome 2.2 and 2.0 were very primitve and not as mature as the 1.x series. Theres only one thing that really bugs me. It’s that they removed the ‘extract here’ option from the context menu of archives (gz, bz2, zip files). Now I have to go through the menus which slow me down!. If that was fixed, then I’d be very happy. In fact, I may go back to Gnome 2.2 until they put the option back!
I think Eugenia was one of the persons that wanted them to take it off from the menu (pardon if i’m mistaken…)… don’t know why, though. I always loved that too.
Victor.
The difference between 1.4 and 2.x that annoys me is the options availible for panels. I know that some simplification was necessary, but I’d really like to have the ability to choose whether maximized windows cover a panel.
I’m unable to do so with Mandrake 9.1. Which is using Gnome 2.2. An edge panel with geyes doesn’t need to be visible all the time.
I believe that might actually be a window manager controlled feature, in which case maybe Sawfish does it…
2.3 has been very stable; haven’t had any serious issues since 2.3.1. Mandrake 9.2 betas and RCs have happily shipped with 2.4 betas and haven’t seen anyone with GNOME problems.
You can still get the same functionality by using a nautilus-script. (See http://g-scripts.sourceforge.net/ )
I think scripts should probably be the preferred way of adding these kind s of functions to nautilus in the future. And before anyone complains about using scripts: just think of them as plugins, you don’t need to write them yourself.
“You can still get the same functionality by using a nautilus-script.”
but those scripts aren’t come preinstalled with gnome or the gnome-based-distros, right?!
i can understand that there might be a need to clean up the menues, but doing so without providing adequate substitute at the same time (submenue, scripts etc.) is just stupid.
I’m using it on MDK cooker and it’s very stable… The only think I really don’t like is that file selector…
Which file selector comes with GNOME 2.4? The old from 2.2?
GNOME is a very ugly environment, IMHO. Why are almost all of its themes gray? What a terrible, ugly way to go about creating a pleasing working environment. Reminds me of M$.
I wish that XFCE 4 could change the color schemes of things like 3.x used to be able. Looks like I’m being forced into KDE since it includes this very basic functionality.
After a bit of research I found this is the bug report responsibe for removing the ‘extract here’ dialog!
( http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=115335 )
What a terrible, ugly way to go about creating a pleasing working environment. Reminds me of M$.
Or NextStep perhaps. Anyway, in art.gnome.org there are plenty of themes with sparkly cheerful cute colors for the camper in you
I like the fact that it isn’t threaded…thanks to OSNews I have discovered the joys of un-threaded comment systems, that joy mainly being that the result is fewer and more valuable posts. I would never even think of posting on slashdot…what’s the point? “eBay gets a new CEO” generates 500 comments. Anything you write just gets buried in the slashdot comment shitpile.
I think it will look nice with these themes from redhat.
http://people.redhat.com/glesage/screenshots/bluecurve_nextgen-prev…
http://people.redhat.com/glesage/screenshots/bluecurve_nextgen-prev…
http://people.redhat.com/glesage/screenshots/bluecurve_nextgen-prev…
http://people.redhat.com/glesage/screenshots/bluecurve_nextgen-prev…
http://people.redhat.com/glesage/screenshots/bluecurve_nextgen-prev…
http://people.redhat.com/glesage/screenshots/bluecurve_nextgen-prev…
I agree, and I’ve said it a bunch of times, Gnome is so dang drab I can’t stand it. I call it the perfect desktop solution for a demoralizing data entry job in a beige cubicle. I have NO idea why some people get off on it, but they’re always male with no sense of color or style.
you can always get a pretty decent desktop in gnome as you can do the same with others de/wm
mosrail wrote:
“After a bit of research I found this is the bug report responsibe for removing the ‘extract here’ dialog!
( http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=115335 )”
That particular bug report only criticizes the “Extract to subfolder” and “Extract to…” entries (suggesting that it’s more intuitive to DnD instead), but it makes no suggestion to eliminate the “Extract Here” entry.
When i read that bugzilla, the word that comes to my mind is “insane”.
A guy said there that the “extract to subfolder” is good (and i agree) because you’re never sure the archive already has a subfolder; and then this guy comes up with this gem:
“Murray i claim in that case than that you should do file->new folder, dnd the file to that folder and extract it there.”
Now, the real question is: how on earth can that be as simple as Right Click->Extract to Subfolder??
I feel really embarassed with this new Gnome “feature”.
Victor.
http://freshmeat.net/projects/6nome/?topic_id=988%2C987%2C9…
Here I think is a good example of a Gnome/GTK2/GTK1 theme that isn’t drab. I like it very much. Wish there were more ‘drab’ themes for KDE. Much like Windows XP, it looks a little to much like something Fisher Price created. Then again, I like to have functionality and a smooth look in my DE, rather than having something that distracts from what you’re using. Sure KDE (with the keramik theme) is nice and colorful, but who wants to be distracted by all that when there’s actual work to do? Personally I don’t care for the interface that leaps out at you, I prefer one that looks good, yet is also functional and won’t hurt my eyes after looking at it for a while. (though I do admit that the Keramik settings that is default for Knoppix is pretty sweet. I just don’t get the yellow…. same reason why I couldn’t really get used to BeOS.)
KDE 3.1.x + Plastik (Style) + Knifty (Window Decoration) + Slicker icons + pastelish colors is a really really nice combination. It certainly doesnt look like something that Fisher Price made
I’ve read a couple of comments regarding GNOME being “ugly”. Sure, it isn’ t my cup of tea either, but in comparision to what is out there, IMHO it is clean and functional.
The best comparision is furnitures. MacOS X is like the ultra modern furniture one would purchase from David Jones, GNOME is like Shaker Funiture (from the US) – Clean, eligant furniture that is not over complicated and sticks to strick minimalistic rules, Windows XP is like that cheap nasty white furniture made out of fibre board covered in that awful white plastic stuff and with an over-the-top number of twirles and curls. Ugly, gaudy and screams cheap.
Not to sound “wishy-washy”, but you have a point, Shawna. Earlier, I posted that I would be in favor of some kind of option to view messages as a thread or by date. But, I agree with you. If you take time to comment, you’d like to think someone actually saw it. I wouldn’t want to see it turn into another slashdot. OSnews feels more like a community whereas Slashdot feels more like a pissing match to see who can make the wittiest comment first and then top that one.
Maybe there’s a happy “in-between”.
Kerneltrap.org forum works perfectly. Quoting the person one is responding to, compulsory registration (to filter out trolls) and the ability to follow conversations when they happen instead of having the first post being responded to and the response placed as 79th post, hence, no context can be maintained between the different posters comments.
wrawrat: unfortunately, yes, it’s still the old file selector. it was supposed to be a new one in 2.2, then 2.4…now it’s scheduled for 2.6. I’ll believe it when I see it. sigh.
criticising GNOME for how it looks is downright absurd. Just like KDE, it’s entirely themeable; you can make it look like almost anything. GNOME’s stock themes match its philosophy of simplicity and unobtrusiveness; if you want something prettier, just download it (or, if you’re using any decent distribution, you don’t even need to bother – they’ll have themes packaged).
Oh okay. Sucks. I’m now trying GNOME 2.2 and I find it not so bad except for that file selector. I also have other issues but that’s off-topic.
Your example theme features that annoying gray again. The main problem with GNOME themes is that they are not fully configurable like KDE styles are. And, sadly, almost all of the themes for it are gray. Just check art.gnome.org. Only about 10% of the themes are not primarily gray. Lots of themes with color names actually are mostly gray, too such as Smooth-Orangish, Smooth-Peachy-Clean, CleanTangerineDream. Even the Aqua ripoffs are primarily gray (instead of white).
It is absurd that you should have to put up with the default colors specified by a theme’s author. I am fond of many different color schemes, styles, wallpapers. With KDE, I can choose my color scheme to suit my mood, decor. Some days I like blue, other days, red, green, yellow, purple, black, and yes, even gray. I can shift my window decorations how I like them (all on the left except Pin).
GNOME is not empowering anymore. GTK 1.x used to allow for color changes and XFCE 3.x implemented this well. Since 2.0, GNOME has become elitist and dumbed down. It’s also the drabbest environment this side of Windows 95.
You cannot:
create file <type>,
extract file here,
find a file in filemanager by typing first letter,
change permissions on all files in a directory via the gui,
have more than 4000 files in a directory nautilus will go boom,
We do not have:
Office apps (openoffice != Gnome)
Database apps
Design apps
Multimedia apps
I mean “integrated and working like a charm” apps and not the scripted transcendental geek-o-meter increasing cascade of toolkits, audiolibraries, not working stuff and other frustrations which made me go back to windows.
Gnome needs another 10 years, I guess 10000 manyears, before it’s getting close to commercial offerings.
Same goes for KDE, which is just heaps of apps without design or direction.
Just promises and hype, I’m going to wait to see if and when a working product will be delivered.
create file <type>,
True, I hope they fix that in next releases.
extract file here,
You can “extract to…” or install a nautilus script to do the “here” part. But yes, I too think it was a bad idea to remove that. Hope they rethink that part.
find a file in filemanager by typing first letter,
Weird, I’m on nautilus 2.2.3 and I can do that (though it’s far from perfect). Which nautilus version are you using?
change permissions on all files in a directory via the gui,
Properties dialog for multiple selected files is there in 2.4. Don’t know if permissions there was borked, but somehow I doubt it. Perhaps you’re using an old version.
have more than 4000 files in a directory nautilus will go boom,
I can, I can even watch /dev, and directories with 6000 files. Check your nautilus version (any after 2.06 should suffice) and that there isn’t a file display limit set up (you can check that in gconf).
We do not have:
Office apps (openoffice != Gnome)
Database apps
Design apps
Multimedia apps
http://www.abisource.com, http://www.gnome-db.org, http://www.gnumeric.org, sodipodi.sf.net, gimp.org, http://www.rhythmbox.org, http://www.hadess.net/totem.php3, http://www.gstreamer.net...
What do you mean by “We”?
Oh, and be ready. Stable versions of Abiword2, gnome-db 1.0 and gnumeric should be out this month.
I mean “integrated and working like a charm” apps and not the scripted transcendental geek-o-meter increasing cascade of toolkits, audiolibraries, not working stuff and other frustrations which made me go back to windows.
You can still use KDE, XFCE or whatever desktop you like.
Gnome needs another 10 years, I guess 10000 manyears, before it’s getting close to commercial offerings.
http://www.ximian.com
Same goes for KDE, which is just heaps of apps without design or direction.
Oh, if you prefer Windows, fine. But I really don’t get what is better on Windows on that basis.
Just promises and hype, I’m going to wait to see if and when a working product will be delivered.
From your comments, it looks like you’ve used old versions. Try again now, or wait for Gnome 2.4 to be out. Next KDE and Gnome versions will be much better, and in the future much more integrated. Work in progress, but pretty usable already and delivers. At least for me and many users
“I mean “integrated and working like a charm” apps and not the scripted transcendental geek-o-meter increasing cascade of toolkits, audiolibraries, not working stuff and other frustrations which made me go back to windows.”
as a user of a dualboot pc (win xp and xd2), i can only agree. what linux on desktop needs is integration, not new features. i’m still waiting for a mediaplayer which integrates seamlessly (or currently, at all) into browsers like the win media player does, streaming files from win pcs over the network, ooo being not the bloatware it currently is (yes, even in 1.1) etc.
i’m sure sooner or later this will happen, but i think with a tighter interproject management or taskforce helping to avoid shifting of responsibility (hackers of mediaplayers:”the browser folks are responsible for integration of players into browsers!”-hackers of browsers:”integration of players is the task of the player-folks!”-both:”integration lies in the hands of the distributions!”-distributions:”no, it’s the responsibility of the projects!” etc.), it could happen a lot faster!
too much redundancy and less communication, focus on users needs-hope this will change.
Mplayer-plugin integrates very nice with all browsers…
“Mplayer-plugin integrates very nice with all browsers…”
don’t know how well this plug works, because i wasn’t able to get a fullscreenvideo with mplayer on my notebook, so i use xine. nevertheless, what is needed is that those plugs (or the players at all) are getting integrated into the distributions by default-and that’s not happening.