Gnome 40 - The anti-desktop desktop
www.dedoimedo.com
Review of Gnome 40 desktop environment, tested in Fedora 34 beta, covering look and feel, ergonomics and many associated problems in the default design, new Activities, Gnome Tweaks, Extensions, desktop scaling, performance, search, tour, and more
  • jeffers00n
    28·
    4 years ago

    Reading a Gnome 40 review from someone who already doesn’t like Gnome is a little useless IMO. Yeah, it doesn’t follow a lot of old desktop paradigms that started back in the Windows 95 days. Get over it. If you want that style of desktop experience there are plenty of options.

    • AceKat
      5·
      4 years ago

      Agreed. I tried many different desktop environments and I still come back to gnome when I want a more polished and modern DE. I can completely understand the critiques but it’s a matter of taste after all

    • necrophcodr
      3·
      4 years ago

      The whole point of GNOME is to do things “better” than those systems. If they manage to do so or not I’d say is subjective, but in my own opinion it provides me a better workflow. So yeah. People are indeed different.

    • Ephera
      3·
      4 years ago

      I’m 100% on board with letting niche desktops be niche desktops, but GNOME isn’t niche. It has been elected the default of many distros. Many users will come from traditional desktops and get thrown onto GNOME without being asked whether they like it or not.

      As such, I do feel like the GNOME devs have a responsibility of catering to a broader audience. Obviously, they also have the responsibility to push users towards what they envision as the most efficient workflow, but I don’t think that justifies a hard break with the traditional desktop paradigm when the two paradigms don’t get in the way of each other.

    • xe8
      1·
      4 years ago

      I much prefer macOS to Windows, and Gnome is a good transition from macOS.

      I use a trackpad, and never found the need to use min / max buttons. I use the upper left hot corner to display all windows, and lower left to display the desktop.

      On Mac I use 4 finger swipes a lot to transition between workspaces for applications I want to use full screen. So those gestures in Gnome 40 sound like a welcome addition, and I’m sure they’ll go some ways to convince more Mac users to try Linux.

      I know Gnome and especially Pop!_OS are meant to be very keyboard-centric. But I’m quite used to using a trackpad.

      Well, I’m transitioning into using TWMs like Sway now, but Gnome is definitely my favorite DE.

      I’m also forced to use Windows a lot, but don’t enjoy it at all.

      • Michal
        5·
        4 years ago

        You might already know that, but Pop is developing a tiling extension for gnome called Pop Shell. I had been using different TWMs for years before I tried Gnome with this extension, and it does its job. It probably isn’t great for people who prefer automatic layouts, but transition from i3/sway to Pop Shell isn’t that hard. I gotta say that I enjoy the polish of Gnome, mostly notification, sound or bluetooth settings, etc. Though InstantOS is trying to achieve something similar with a tiling window manager, which is very interesting, but it’s still in beta, but worth checking out.

      • talkinwhip
        2·
        4 years ago

        I have never used a Mac in my life and also really like gnome (prefer it greatly to what I’ve seen from macs) - it just feels a lot more natural and fluid of an approach. It takes some relearning but formation and new habits and I get that not everyone are up for that.

  • 2wT
    121·
    4 years ago

    The author seems to not get how Gnome in its default is meant to be used. Opening applications is not very efficient if you do it with your mouse but this part of Gnome is incredibly efficient when the keyboard is used. Moreover, that the dock is now further away is something that the Gnome designers have become aware of and planned fixes are in the pipeline for Gnome 41.

    Of course the author also has some fair points. Extensions would be better of to be updated and downloaded via the systems package manager as otherwise updating them might break them.

    That files does not give any default files to create by default I find a bit idiotic too but this functionality exists you just need to add a file to the template folder.

    • Blattstruktur
      3·
      4 years ago

      The first sentence struck me also when I read the first part about the “minimizing” and “maximizing” buttons. GNOME has it’s own UX models, and if you try to force different models onto it, of course it’s going to be a bad experience. Also, I think the negativity and dismissiveness is something which is uncalled for. There is a lot to objectively appreciate, even if one doesn’t like it for their own usage, for example that mobile users will quickly feel comfortable or that it is by far the best touchscreen interface.

        • bmrd
          1·
          4 years ago

          To be ussable Gnome requires time to set up too. Looks like Gnome is for some kind of tablet laptop hybrids. On a pc it is a pain to use out of the box.

      • 2wT
        4·
        4 years ago

        I did not mean that you do literally everything with a keyboard.

        What is quicker for opening an application? Going to the app overview finding the application and then clicking on it or quickly moving my hands to the keyboard (especially when using a laptop) and typing the application name + enter key?

        A tiling WM renders my computer unusable for other people to use so it only is an option for a machine that only I will ever use.

    • comrade_toaster@lemmygrad.ml
      1·
      4 years ago

      Moreover, that the dock is now further away is something that the Gnome designers have become aware of and planned fixes are in the pipeline for Gnome 41.

      Source? Overall I like the changes made except for the dock movement, would be great if my one gripe was being improved

  • linkert
    7·
    4 years ago

    The author makes me want to smack the handle of my hammer on a nail. The anti-hammer hammer.

    • linkert
      5·
      4 years ago

      Plasma is bombastic, have been on it for a few weeks now rocking Krohnkite Kwin script for tiling magic.

      More and more things impress me to the extent that me, a previously not-very-keen-on-qt-guy want to nuke my SSD and start fresh with all things KDE.

      I chose to make my Plasma minimal and remove visual cruft, I was given the choice to set it up as a regular old tiling window manager. That’s the beauty of it. Also enjoy how great GTK things work in Plasma, much more fitting compared to the other way round.

    • Ephera
      1·
      4 years ago

      I’ll underline KDE once more, because yeah. Combine it with openSUSE for maximum maximalism and minimum disk space.

      Enlightenment is also kind of interesting in this regard. It certainly doesn’t have the manpower to be truly maximalist, but it has some of the fanciest graphical effects and supports features that you’re not going to find elsewhere.
      Unfortunately, it’s also not terribly stable, not often packaged very well by distros, and it has some unusual defaults which you’ll have to get used to or customize them in some way.