Desktop Renovation Issue: GNOME 44 Released
After six months of development, the desktop renovation issue of GNOME 44 has been presented. The new release includes many updates to enhance its capabilities, and specialized LIVE devices have been prepared to assess its performance.
For quick assessment of the capabilities of GNOME 44, specialized LIVE devices based on openSUSE and installation image, prepared as part of the initiative of Gnome OS. Additionally, GNOME 44 has already been included in the experimental assemblies of Ubuntu 23.04 and Fedora 38.
The new issue of GNOME 44 includes the following updates:
- In the dialogue opened in GNOME applications for the selection of files, the mode of displaying the contents of the catalogs in the form of the icon grid is added. By default, a classic representation in the form of a list of files continues to be used, and a separate button has been integrated. However, the new dialogue is available only in the applications translated to GTK4 and is absent in the programs until remaining on GTK3.
- The translation of applications to the use of GTK 4 and Libadwaita libraries offers ready-made widgets and objects for building applications corresponding to the new recommendations of GNOME HIG. The new libraries are able to adapt adaptively to screens of any size. GNOME Shell user shell and composite manager Mutter have completely switched to use the GTK4 library and got rid of the strict dependence on GTK3.
However, GNOME is still associated with GTK3. Not all applications and libraries are ported on GTK4 yet. For example, on the GTK3 remain webkit, Libpeas, Libibus, Viewer of the documents Evince, video player total, viewer of images EOG, Boxes, ConNECTIONS, disks, Simple-scan.
Overall, GNOME 44 is a significant update for the popular desktop environment. The new release includes several noteworthy enhancements that are sure to interest users.