Gnome Archive

Representatives of the Junta of Extremadura (regional government) announced that a sweeping initiative has put 80,000 computers in schools across that region running a special version of Linux, GNU/LinEx. Our Take: I wish the government in my home country, Greece, also put together cheap $199 PCs (plus $60 1024x768@75Hz 15" monitors) and give them away to high-schools. Problem is, we talk for at least $50m in hardware/support -- Greece is a poor country. With time I guess...

Ximian Desktop 2 came out of few days ago and I gave it a go. This is not a usability experts review, and probably more of a first impressions thing than a review. I consider myself an intermediate user, (probably advanced intermediate). I installed Ximian Desktop on the following computer:

Ximian has released their long awaited Ximian Desktop 2, their popular Gnome-based desktop, and Evolution, their popular email client and calendar program. They can be found on the main Ftp server. You can also check their mirrors. OSNews featured an interview with Nat Friedman of Ximian recently.

One year ago I wrote a review of Gnome 2. Some people thought I was harsh, others thought I was fair, point is, I always write what I think and surely Gnome 2.0 didn't have the polish or stability of a .0 release. But one year has passed. Gnome 2.2.1 is out, and I must say one thing: I am starting to get impressed by the effort and the clean interface Gnome 2 is now offering. Update: Screenshots inside.

The Fink project already features KDE 3.1.1, but Tony Arnold is working on bringing Gnome 2.4 (2.3.x for now) under X11 for Mac OS X, via Fink. Screenshot. So far, older Gnome 1.4 is available via Fink.

The GNOME Development Series Desktop 2.3.2 "Little Hero", is ready for bug testing. It is available for immediate download on ftp.gnome.org and mirrors. Details here, changelog here.

Miguel De Icaza is the creator of the GNOME desktop environment (among other things). Aleksey Dolya interviews Miguel about the process of creating GNOME and what he's up to these days.

HP will not make further investments in Gnome and they will stick with CDE for their HP-UX operating system. This is a bummer for Gnome, but not all is bad today, as the Bitstream Vera TTF fonts for X11 are out of beta and available to download (read the release notes and get a newer freetype/fontconfig though, as it fixes some problems when using these fonts).

The GNOME Project has announced the immediate availability of the GNOME 2.2.1 Desktop and Developer Platform. The 2.2.x series is devoted to bugfixes, translations, and general polish.

eWeek reviews the Gnome 2.2 release and rates it as "good" overall.

"The launch of the latest edition of the Gnome desktop software for Linux and Unix operating systems marks a new attitude among its developers: Integration is key." BusinessWeek carries the story.

Announcement is here and the sources of Gnome 2.2 are available for downloading. Get more info about this version, and many screenshots here.

Chrisime, member of the Gnome project, has put up a page discussing UI shortcomings on Gnome 2.2. Update: And here is another one, this time for Mandrake 9.1b3.

"The minders ushered me into the dimly lit hut built of rough wood and palm fronds. They pointed to a place where I could sit. Then we waited. In a few minutes, the elder came in, then one of the chiefs. I was about to be shown something few outsiders had seen. After the ritual discussion of other things, the tall, animated chief motioned for me to approach. And then he showed me the current state of Ximian Desktop 2.0. It is very cool." Read the preview at LinuxAndMain.