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GNOME 3.8 Released Featuring New "Classic" Mode

Posted by Unknown on from the extend-freely dept.

Hot on the heels of the Gtk+ 3.8 release comes GNOME 3.8. There are a few general UI improvements, but the highlight for many is the new Classic mode that replaces fallback. Instead of using code based on the old GNOME panel, Classic emulates the feel of GNOME 2 through Shell extensions (just like Linux Mint's Cinnamon interface). From the release notes: "Classic mode is a new feature for those people who prefer a more traditional desktop experience. Built entirely from GNOME 3 technologies, it adds a number of features such as an application menu, a places menu and a window switcher along the bottom of the screen. Each of these features can be used individually or in combination with other GNOME extensions."

11 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. So, they heard the complaints... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    ...and did something about it that didn't ruin their code base.
              Kudos Gnome Team.
      I kinda like the KDE they forced me to try with their second-to-latest abortion, but I'll give Gnome 3.8 a try.

    1. Re:So, they heard the complaints... by Coryoth · · Score: 4, Informative

      How do you launch something when you don't know its name? Sit a newbie down in front of gnome panel and they'll never find all of the "hidden" programs.

      The type to search applications feature searches more than just application names -- it searches a number of fields in the .desktop files, including application descriptions. Thus a search for "spreadsheet" will bring up LibreOffice Calc for example. Type what you want to do, and you'll find what you want ... that's the theory.

      --
      Craft Beer Programming T-shirts
    2. Re:So, they heard the complaints... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Willful ignorance? The point of Coryoth's post is that you don't have to know exactly the right verb to get the thing right... or even a verb at all.

      For example, webcam application is named Cheese. Type "cam" or "webcam" because that's what you want to use, and Cheese shows up (or type "cheese" and it shows up). Gnome's implementation seems leagues better than Microsoft's to me, but I only rarely use Win7 so I might be wrong about how MS has done this. And no idea about OSX or other WM's.

      But this is a LONG way from having to know to type "ls" to list files or "find" to find files, etc. post

  2. Cinnamon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    I tried Cinnamon on Mint 14.1 and found it to be freezing frequently when changes to it were made. Not ready for prime time IMO and back to Ubuntu 12.10. Unity isn't perfect, but it just works.

    1. Re:Cinnamon by voss · · Score: 4, Informative

      I used Mint 14.1 and I found the alternate but included MATE interface to be far more stable than cinnamon.

  3. Re:Too late by ADRA · · Score: 5, Informative

    Moved on, XFCE and it's at least replaced all uses for what Gnome was doing for me. Instead of creating a rich unified DE for all to use (with small enhancements and extensions), they flushed down all their good will in re-inventing something that many/most? of their community didn't seem to want.

    I wish you well, but this is one ship I simply refuse to sail on (In the same likes as Windows 8 and unity alas).

    --
    Bye!
  4. 2013??? by amginenigma · · Score: 3, Informative

    Wait, wait, wait... wait, just wait... I thought the world DIDN'T end in 2012 like those crazy Maya believers said. The gnome team listening to feedback... wow what's next, no wait don't tell me. Microsoft will realize the folly of Windowz 8 in time to 'add' a feature in Windowz 9 SP1 that'll make the IT industry happy again. There it is, you heard it first here kiddies!

  5. Re:idle curiosity by jcupitt65 · · Score: 3, Informative

    You can turn min and max back on with tweak-tool. You can also disable dynamic workspaces. Handy!

  6. Two Reviews Worth Reading by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Over at datamation.com they have two reviews worth reading. One general review on GNOME 3.8 and a separate review on the all new GNOME Classic.

    1. Re:Two Reviews Worth Reading by ssam · · Score: 4, Informative

      "In many fundamental features, GNOME Classic actually fails to match GNOME 2's standards. On closer examination, the panel proves to be unmovable and un-resizable. Nor has GNOME Classic followed Mate's lead and restored the ecosystem of applets, the small utilities that could do so much to customize a GNOME 2 desktop." -- datamation.com

      So i'll be sticking with MATE (on fedora) and GNOME2 (gentoo stable) for atleast the next 6 months then :-)

  7. Everything Just Works by tuppe666 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I tried Cinnamon on Mint 14.1 and found it to be freezing frequently

    Very little I install on my computer does not just work. I don't mind Unity, and prefer it to Gnome shell but Cinnamon has been an incredible project. I am more than happy to provide you with a working video of my desktop :) I suspect your overstating the position. BTW you can install cinnamon on Ubuntu.