Developer Emmanuele Bassi is confident that with the new usability updates, the GNOME desktop will become more flexible and convenient.
In 2005, the GNOME developers set out to take 10% of the global desktop market by 2010. 15 years have passed. The share of desktop computers with Linux on board balances around 2%. Will something change after a few new releases? And in general, what is special about them?
Desktop environment has undergone many changes since its first release in March 1999. Since then, the open source project has consistently released updates twice a year. So now users know in advance when to expect new features.
Latest release was released in March, and now the developers are planning the next release for September. I spoke with Emmanuele Bassi to find out what deserves special attention in the current version of GNOME - and most importantly, what will be new in future versions.
Emmanuele has been with the GNOME team for over 15 years. He first worked on a project that gave developers the ability to use the GNOME libraries with other programming languages, and then moved to the development team for GTK, a cross-platform widget for developing GNOME applications. In 2018, GNOME hired Emmanuele to the GTK Core team, where he works on the GTK library and the GNOME application development platform.
GNOME 3.36 was released in March 2020. What features do we need to know about?
Emmanuel Bassi: [First of all, I want to point out that] GNOME has been on a tight release schedule for 18 years now. The next version of GNOME comes out not according to the readiness of any features, but in accordance with the plan. This makes it easier to work on releases. At GNOME, we don't wait for the next fat feature to be ready. Instead, we just make a new release every six months. We always fix bugs, add new features and lick everything to a shine.
In this release, we checked that all functions are convenient and pleasant to use. GNOME 3.36 has many usability improvements. For example, I like the ability to turn off notifications. This feature was available in a very old version of GNOME, but was removed some time ago because it didn't work very reliably. But we brought it back because this feature is very useful and important for many people.
You can turn notifications on and off for all apps at once, or customize them for each app you use. You can find this feature in GNOME Settings, in the Applications menu.
We've also added some tweaks to the GNOME lock screen. It's been in the works for ages, but now it's ready. When the lock screen is displayed, the background of the current workspace becomes blurred, but running applications are still not visible. We've been working on this and related tasks for the last three or four iterations, and we've gone through a lot of issues to get it to work well.
Another thing that we found important in terms of user experience is access to all extensions (Extensions). Previously, extensions could be accessed through the Application Center (GNOME Software Center), but not everyone knew about it. Now we have moved extension management to a separate application.
And we also finished the GNOME shell itself a little. For example, folders in the Launcher are a great new feature. It's really easy to create your own application groups or folders in the launcher. Many users have been asking for this for a long time. Folders were actually added in an earlier version of GNOME, but the [feature] needed some tweaking to make it really cool. And I hope you appreciate it in GNOME 3.36.
Folders are more visible and look great. GNOME will suggest a name for your folder, but it's very easy to rename it if you want.
What GNOME features are underestimated or left unnoticed?
E.B.: I don't know if there are other really important features in GNOME 3.36. If you're a heavy user of GNOME, then the most important thing you should appreciate is the improved user interface. We are talking about the most βtactfulβ [and friendly] interaction with the user. The system shouldn't give you any trouble.
[I also remembered that] we have simplified the work with the password input field. Previously, everything had to be done through the menu, which you had to find somehow, but now everything is at hand.
This is especially true if you use long and complex passwords, like me. In any situation when you enter a password, you can click on the small icon to make sure you entered it correctly.
E.B.: More and more applications in GNOME now respond to resizing. In response to these changes, the user interface is rebuilt. The Settings app is a good example of this. If you make its window too narrow, it will display interface elements differently. We've been working on this because of the need for responsiveness as companies like Purism use GNOME on other screen sizes (including phones) and form factors.
You won't notice some changes until you're actively using the GNOME desktop. There are many great features that allow you to customize GNOME to suit your preferences.
You are not only a developer, but also a user of GNOME. Can you please tell us which features of GNOME do you find most useful in your daily work?
E.B.: I use keyboard navigation a lot. I use the keyboard all the time: I live with my hands on the keyboard. By using the mouse too much, I can even get RSI (muscle pain or injury due to repetitive fast movements). Being able to use only the keyboard is great.
The advanced hotkey system is one of the strengths and part of the GNOME culture. In the same direction, our design is also developing, which is based on the paradigm of using "fast" keys. So it's a core part of the design language, not an optional feature that will ever be removed.
Also, I need to open multiple windows on the screen and organize them in space. I usually place two windows side by side. I also use multiple workspaces. I tried to manage my workspaces back in the 1990s using different virtual desktops. But I always had extra virtual desktops that just hung around idle. With GNOME, it's easy enough to create a new workspace whenever you need it. And it just as easily disappears when it is no longer needed.
What's in store for GNOME 3.37 and GNOME 3.38 scheduled for September 2020?
E.B.: Change is happening all the time. For example, we are currently working on the app grid and its settings. Right now, the apps are sorted by name and arranged alphabetically, but soon you'll be able to drag and drop them and arrange them as you like. This concludes the massive changes we've been working on for five years or more. Our goal is to make GNOME less authoritarian and more user-centric.
We also worked on the GNOME Shell. The developers want to do some testing with the Overview. As of today, you have a panel on the left, a panel on the right, and windows in the center. We will try to remove the dashboard, because, in our opinion, it is useless. But you can still return it and customize it. This is a kind of nod to mobile-first. But on desktop, you're in landscape mode, and you have a lot of screen space. And on a mobile device, there is less space, so we are experimenting with new ways to display content. Some of them will appear in GNOME 3.38, but all this is a very long-term story, so let's not guess.
More options will appear in GNOME Settings. GNOME 3.38 will introduce a multitasking bar. Some of the new settings are already implemented in the GNOME Tweaks app, and some of them will move from Tweaks to the main Settings app. For example, the ability to turn off the hot corner - some people don't like this feature. We will give you the ability to customize the user interface with multiple screens by placing a separate workspace on each of them. Many of these tweaks are not available right now, so we're moving them away from GNOME Tweaks.
[In conclusion,] each of us has done a great job to make GNOME better, including for people running more limited systems like the Raspberry Pi. In general, we have worked hard and continue to work to improve GNOME [and make it friendlier].As advertising
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Source: habr.com