Gnome is a big reason I switched fully to linux
I was already full Linux, but gnome is the reason I stopped messing with window managers and maybe large 4k monitors.
It finally hit enough of 'just works' and customizability to use my standard workflow.
The only thing I want that I don't have right now is horizontal monitor splits for vertical monitors.
The only thing I want that I don’t have right now is horizontal monitor splits for vertical monitors.
You can do that with this shell extension (which is the upstream of Ubuntu's "gnome-shell-extension-tiling-assistant" package, which on Ubuntu is installed by default and called "Ubuntu Tiling Assistant" in the GNOME Extension manager).
ubuntu has that feature, i think its from a tiling extension, you may want to look it up.
Looks like a boring update but being boring is kinda the thing I appreciate in GNOME. It's all about expectations.
Gnome 40 was not a boring update! :)
the couple of releases after were also pretty cool
While most changes (file manager improvements, etc.) are cool to have and are just improvements to the overall experience, what's up with the "fractional scaling and Mutter improvements"?
Why does nobody explain them more? At least for me, fractional scaling is the first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about what Gnome needs the most.
And performance improvements are also good to hear, but in which aspect? Triple dynamic buffering?Does anyone have further information?
I believe the explanation is "it's hard, it's being worked on, but it will take some time until all the pieces are in place", and they're not going to hold off releases until it is.
This release changes the ngl renderer to be the default renderer. The intent of this change is to get wider testing and verify that the new renderers are production-ready. If significant problems show up, we will revert this change for 4.14. You can still override the renderer choice using the GSK_RENDERER environment variable. Since ngl can handle fractional scaling much better than the old gl renderer, we allow fractional scaling by default with gl now. If you are using the old gl renderer (e.g. because your system is limited to GLES2), you can disable fractional scaling by setting the GDK_DEBUG environment variable to include the gl-no-fractional key.This is what I've found here
This submitted article is far from a comprehensive changelog, and kinda glosses over some stuff, as you say.
Yeah but new wallpaper! Between this and Plasma 6 I'm having a hard time choosing based on all these new wallpapers.
Man I really want to see that VRR patch merged in, even if it still takes a flag to turn on.
With KDE having VRR and now HDR it feels like the choice you have to make if you are gaming on Linux. I prefer Gnome generally so I would like to see them catch up.
Glad.im not alone in this.
I use Gnome on the laptop and KDE on the gaming computer.
But I also dock the laptop, and gnomes workflow is still amazingly intuitive with keyboard and mouse.
It also handles HiDPI better than anything else I've used even windows and Mac. Truly remarkable.
But I use KDE for gaming because I want vrr and can use HDR.
I have good news my friend. The vrr patch was just merged into 46 beta as an experimental feature.
I saw, very exciting!
Ok, the change for the date format in file manager is huge!
They refused to implement it for years
And I think that was my biggest gripe with gnome.
Like me, that user wants to use ISO-8601 format for dates.
I didn't see that option in the screenshot. Anyone know if that's possible in this Beta?
Holy cow, over a decade!
Something something filepicker thumbnails. I'm a fan and daily user of GNOME but it has its issues.
Gnome devs are just built different.
I love Gnome as it looks nice and is so efficient once you know how to use it (using different workspaces)
I’ll soon install a KDE distribution in Gnome Boxes just to try it and see what it’s about.
I switched to KDE for gaming, I miss GNOME so much.
Same I wish they'd prioritize mutter-vrr and get it over the finish line already. Thankfully, it'll reportedly make it in the next version.
Am I taking crazy pills or did that article not actually include any new features?
It's a new gnome release: they don't add features. Just rework things internally to break any extensions you have, then remove features you were using to "simplify" things
This but also:
Files already had a search button, but now, you get a new search icon in the top-left corner of the window, and the older search icon gets a new look. gnome 46 global search button screenshot
You can also head to search settings to adjust how you want to look for things.
The new search button lets you search across the system. However, the older one (with a new look) lets you search inside the current folder/directory you are in.
Is really new peaks of not-a-new-feature
I use Gnome 3 because of Comic-like tiling extensions, lack of random bugs and crashes (looking at you my beloved KDE), and because so many apps require GTK that it almost always gets installed by something I want to use.
I dislike using it because SO MANY features and quality of life things were removed and never reintroduced. Like, I have to make a custom bookmark for root or my Desktop folder in Nautilus, and can't remove the default ones that I never use. Creating symlinks is disabled by default. I have to go to "other locations" and manually type in a network address because you can't even type in the ADDRESS BAR. If too many windows are open on a tiled workspace, the lack of any reserved clickable space on the titlebar means Nautilus gets squished and I can't drag and move a window without either moving something else first, opening the overview, or using the keyboard. Not entirely the Gnome team's fault, but it's little oversights like that which make the desktop a pain to use. The awful "classic mode" application menu with no ability to search or right click on entries for more options is a good example too. I have to open the mobile-like workspaces view or whatever its call to do that stuff now. I'm not on mobile, this is a desktop.
It's like they're trying to force me to use their cursor/touch based UX in some ways, but in others I have to use a keyboard or dig in the settings to do anything. Or maybe they're just of the opinion that if people want features, someone will volunteer to make and maintain an extension to enable them.
Don't get me wrong, Gnome 3 is impressive, looks good, and is generally simple to use, but I end up trying to spend so much time working around its intentional limitations, that I start to hate it a little more every day. I use it begrudgingly, waiting for something better to come along. If I was a smarter person with more time, I'd try to help the project with these papercuts, but my coding skills are crap.
But, just so I'm not beating up on them for no good reason, I'll add that there are a ton of very nice things they created or implemented that I enjoy. The quick settings menu comes to mind; and the settings app in general is very nice.
I think the Gnome devs made a lot of good choices. I just wish they could have done so without removing so many features or trying to force a paradigm change in how I use my computer. I appreciate their work, I really do, but damn...
It seems like a polishing release to me. Nice of see.
I still miss gnome 2, before gnome shell was a thing..
This would be a minor release in KDE
We get it, you use KDE btw
Very cool, we're very proud of you.
Thanks
I don't
It is a fairly minor release for gnome. The problem with KDE is that it has so many features that it is harder to use and setup. It also doesn't have a focus on stability.
They've also had to spend several cycles rearchitecting the codebase and reducing duplicated efforts.
Plasma 6's future seems very bright. Especially if they keep improving Breeze especially if they keep focusing on sane defaults and a simple unified and consistent style.
But, they have a new wallpaper!
And file manager changes, settings changes, account integration changes, notification system changes, changes to a handful of their other core apps, compositor improvements, memory optimisations, a new rendering system, hardened security for their image viewer, and a bunch of accessibility improvements.
But, you know, if your attention span only allows you to focus on a new wallpaper, then sure.
But if you want to get into the weeds a bit:
Both have a new wallpaper, this is truly an age of innovation.
