GNOME 2.0

Phantasm66 · Jul 25, 2002

GNOME Revisited at 2.0
By Eric Foster-Johnson

GNOME (http://itw.itworld.com/GoNow/a14724a61988a80107751a10 provides one of the two most popular desktop environments for Linux, with the KDE environment(http://itw.itworld.com/GoNow/a14724a61988a80107751a11 constituting the other popular environment. Most Linux distributions include both KDE and GNOME but the release of GNOME version 2.0 has GNOME poised to content for greater favor amongst Linux users.

Both desktop environments provide or integrate a window manager, a means to launch applications, and a large set of included programs focusing on productivity applications. Among the changes included in GNOME 2.0 is an improved Nautilus file manager with new features and faster performance, as well as major improvements to the general interface.

Less is More
The GNOME developers revamped the entire interface to simplify the number of steps users must go through to get work done. As part of the simplification, GNOME applications should run much better on older, slower computers -- the idea being that less is more. By removing some choices and simplifying the interface, life becomes a lot easier for users. We'll see how well this holds out through continued usage, though.

Thanks to usability testing and new development, GNOME now sports an interface much more accessible for people with disabilities. Additionally, 2.0 better supports user interface themes, along with a new Web site for GNOME themes (http://itw.itworld.com/GoNow/a14724a61988a80107751a7 In
general, the icons and look of GNOME 2.0 is a lot better than previous versions. Put simply, it looks really good.

GNOME has advanced from just being a Linux environment too. GNOME now runs on Solaris, HP-UX, BSD, and other forms of UNIX, including Darwin, which is the BSD UNIX portion of MacOS X.

As always with GNOME or KDE, unless you are familiar with the process of upgrading, it is best to wait for the Linux distribution vendors to integrate the new version into their Linux releases. There are simply too many libraries and too much work to do to upgrade to a new desktop environment release. For example, the installation instructions list 60 packages that you must build, in order.

With all the gnashing of teeth over whether Linux has a place on the desktop, GNOME 2.0 couldn't come at a better time. Linux unseating Windows domination of the desktop is not likely to occur any time soon, but each improvement helps make Linux a better system for users.

About the author(s)
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Eric Foster-Johnson has written 14 books on Linux, Unix, programming and open source tools. Eric can be reached at erc@pconline.com or at http://itw.itworld.com/GoNow/a14724a61988a80107751a9
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

GNOME 2 Desktop Beta is Out!
http://itw.itworld.com/GoNow/a14724a61988a80107751a1

The Gnome Installation Guide (for GNOME 2.0)
http://itw.itworld.com/GoNow/a14724a61988a80107751a8

GNOME 2.0: The Next Generation in Desktop Accessibility
http://itw.itworld.com/GoNow/a14724a61988a80107751a4

What's New in GNOME 2 for Users
http://itw.itworld.com/GoNow/a14724a61988a80107751a5

source: http://itw.itworld.com/

Elros · Jul 30, 2002

What ever happened to the talk by Gnome top brass about a .NET/XP style Gnome. I hope that doesn't come off.

Gnome 2 looks sexy as hell though.

I am still using Gnome 1.4 with Mandrake 8.2, and it was pretty good. Nautilus was a bit slow though, hopefully 2 should fix that.

TechSpot

GNOME 2.0

Phantasm66 Newcomer, in training

Elros Newcomer, in training