The Gnome Foundation has released version 44 of its free desktop environment. This release removes vestiges of GTK3, and Gnome will now load the corresponding libraries for programs using this toolkit. Gnome 44 has expanded the quick access menu in the notification area to include a drop-down list of known Bluetooth devices, and gives windowless background programs a new menu for overview.
The compositor “mother” responsible for outputting the Gnome desktop via the graphics driver throws support for OpenGL 2.1 overboard. This applies to older graphics chips and CPUs with an integrated graphics unit released before 2010 and not supporting OpenGL ES 2.0. These processors would not be suitable for Gnome 44 anyway, saving the Gnome developers tests on old x86 hardware.
Gnome’s file manager also now provides image previews for known graphic formats. If you prefer a small-scale view, you can get an expandable tree view in the file manager settings with the “Expandable folders in list view” option, which should save many mouse clicks. A change that affects file selection dialogs, the file manager can write image data in the clipboard directly to a graphic file in PNG format.
Gnome now provides support for a piecemeal scaling of graphical elements with Wayland, which now also allows increments between 100 and 200 percent. Gnome 44 now includes revamped Accessibility options, no longer lined up in one long menu.
The developer’s live system can currently be used to try out the new Gnome desktop; however, it is not intended for productive use. The Fedora Linux 38 Beta already shows Gnome, which is available in its pre-release version Gnome 44RC.
