Gnome Archive

The latest release of GNOME is here: GNOME 2.16.1, a bug fixing release. Release notess: admin, bindings, desktop and platform. Source code: admin sources, bindings sources, desktop sources and finally, platform sources. Additionally, GTK+ 2.10.6 was also released with some bugfixes in it.

Alexander Larrson (Red Hat), developer and maintainer of gnome-vfs and Nautilus has proposed a plan to replace gnome-vfs. "Having spent the last 4 years as the gnome-vfs maintainer, and even longer as the primary gnome-vfs user (in Nautilus) I'm well aware of the problems it has. I think that we've reached a point where the problems in the gnome-vfs architecture and its position in the stack are now ranking as one of the most problematic aspects of the gnome platform, especially considering the enhancements and quality improvements seen in other parts of the platform. So, I think the time has come for a serious look at what gnome-vfs could be."

The GNOME team has released version 2.16 of its desktop environment. The release notes detail many improvements in this new version. Ars reviews this new release (ok, a pre-release), and concludes: "Overall, I think that GNOME 2.16 is a good release with some nice additions, but I don't think it has any killer features that justify an immediate upgrade. I'm going to wait for the official Ubuntu Edgy release in October rather than upgrading early. Of the new features included in GNOME 2.16, I think that the vertical view mode for Evolution is probably the one that will benefit me the most." Update: On a related note, Monodevelop 0.12 is out, with lots of changes in it.

The GNOME team has released RC1 of GNOME 2.16. "We are pleased to announce the release of GNOME 2.16.0 Release Candidate 1 (2.15.92). This is one of the last releases in the 2.15 development series and represents a release that is now API/ABI, feature, string and UI frozen. Hard code freeze is quickly approaching : this means that we're pretty close to the final 2.16.0 release. The GNOME contributors are now busy fixing the most important bugs that are still out there, localizing the whole desktop or updating our documentation." You can use jhbuild or GARNOME to build it.

"GNOME 2.16 Beta has been in Edgy Eft (Ubuntu 6.10) for the past few days . It is functioning extremely well. I’ve seen some occasional crashes with Epiphany and Nautilus but I hope that it will be fixed soon. Other than that, there are lots of new things in GNOME 2.16", read the pictorial review here.

The second GNOME 2.16.0 Beta (2.15.91) release which leading up to imminent release of 2.16.0 has hit the shelves and is going fast. You can find a changelog and download locations here.

After all the debate, gtk# will most likely find its way into GNOME. "The release team has completed its second meeting to try to finish the new module decisions. And, after all the long threads on d-d-l and the many discussions amongst ourselves trying to determine community consensus, we finally have the decisions. In summary: orca, alacarte, and gnome-power-manager are in; gtk# and tomboy are in, assuming the issues mentioned are resolved; sticky notes becomes deprecated, assuming tomboy issues are resolved and gets in." Update: Elijah Newren emailed me concerning an important aspect of the current decision, and asked me to highlight it. So, read more!

GNOME 2.15.4 has been released. "This is our fourth development release on our road towards GNOME 2.16.0, which will be released in September 2006. GNOME 2.15.4 has some rough edges but you should definitely try it to see how well it works." Easiest way to get it is via GARNOME.

Alex Graveley introduced the Gimmie user interface and panel for GNOME a few days ago. In it, Alex is grouping the most used parts of a modern UI, e.g. Documents, Applications, People, and Computer (network connections go under it too). For info, videos, and shots check here.

GNOME 2.15.3 has been released. This is a development release, en route to GNOME 2.16, scheduled for September 2006. Release notes and download instructions are listed in the release anouncement. In the meantime, GNOME needs girls.

I enjoy using many different desktop environments and operating systems. On a day-to-day basis, I use Finder, Explorer, GNOME, and KDE. They all have their good sides, but obviously, they have their fair share of bad sides as well. The next couple of columns will be about the latter. This week, I take a look at whatever bothers me about Ubuntu's GNOME/Linux combination (Dapper, obviously).

BetterDesktop has published its research results concerning ease of use and usability on GNOME. "Below are videos that we have taken of user tests. Please consider when watching the videos, that they may touch on many parts of the desktop. For example, a test that deals with changing the background may involve Nautilus or GNOME Control Center. In other words, there is a lot to learn from these videos! In addition to providing the videos, we have also aggregated some of the Data Results to see stats on specific tests. We have also created some Research Reports on this data."

The second development release en route to GNOME 2.16 has been released. "GNOME 2.15.2 works well and you should definitely try it to see how well it works. So go download it. Go compile it. Go test it. And go hack on it, document it, translate it, fix it." The various download locations and NEWS files are listed in the release announcement.

"The Nautilus program in GNOME is not only the default file manager, it creates and manages the desktop. While it looks simple on the surface, there is a lot of hidden power under the shell. The latest version of Nautilus is 2.14.0, which is included in Fedora Core 5. That's the one I poked with a stick."