GNOME is one of the most widely used Desktop Management Environment in the Linux community and has seen a lot of changes over its somewhat long existence. The nearest competitor to Gnome is KDE and both projects have been going head to head in order to woe Linux fans over. About six months ago, Gnome was update to version 3.0 which changed everything about GNOME from the ground up. Linux fans have made several complains about GNOME 3 but despite all the noise, Gnome 3 still has its good points intact. Gnome 3 brought to the Linux desktop a lot of eye candy and almost Apple Mac feel to the Linux experience.
The latest version Gnome 3.4 comes six months after the last GNOME release and includes major new features, significant updates to a host of GNOME applications, and a huge number smaller fixes and refinements.GNOME 3.4 introduces a range of new features. A new document search facility allows quick access to content stored both on your device and online. Smooth scrolling means that moving through content is slick and graceful. New application menus, which are located on the top bar, provide a useful way to access application options and actions.
The main focus of this release has been to patch up bugs from previous releases and improvements in the GNOME experience.There are updated interface components, a much more polished visual theme, better hardware support, and much more. These changes add up to a major step forward in the quality of the GNOME 3 user experience.
The GNOME team however advice that those hoping to try GNOME 3.4 out should wait till it is available on their local Linux software repository. Below is an excerpt from the press release announcing GNOME 3.4.
Groton, MA, March 28 2012: The GNOME project is happy to announce the release of GNOME 3.4, the second update to GNOME 3.0, originally released in April 2011. This new version of GNOME 3 combines six months of development effort, resulting in major new features, updated applications, and a raft of subtle refinements. GNOME 3 has taken a major leap forward with this new release.
Matthias Clasen, who oversaw the completion of the release, said: “The GNOME Release Team is proud to present this latest release of GNOME 3. The GNOME project has been delivering major improvements with every release since 3.0, and our emphasis on feature-driven development is yielding excellent results. The new version includes some significant new features, as well as many smaller enhancements. In all, 3.4 is a great leap forward for GNOME 3 and we hope that our users enjoy it.”
New features being introduced in GNOME 3.4 include a new documents search facility, smooth scrolling, new application menus, video calling, and Windows Live online account integration.
GNOME’s applications have received significant updates for this release. The GNOME web browser, which is now known as Web, has a beautiful new interface for 3.4, as well as significant performance improvements. Documents and Contacts, both of which integrate with online accounts, have also received updated interfaces and new features. These application enhancements are the result of a major development drive which is in the process of creating a new suite of modern and stylish GNOME 3 applications.
