GNOME 3.14: We analyze a desktop that continues to advance

As we already know has been released GNOME 3.14, a Desktop Environment that does not need any presentation and that little by little (as it happened with KDE 4.0) has been getting out of the pothole in which it was with the output of GNOME-Shell.

GNOME 3.14 Review: Get the Test Image

To make this Review I used a test image that the guys at GNOME have made available to everyone, which weighs just over 1GB.

Download GNOME 3.14

I put the image on a USB stick using the command:

sudo dd if=gnome-3.14.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=8M conv=fsync

Of course, we must replace sdb by the unit that corresponds to our USB memory (which must not be mounted).

GNOME 3.14 Review: General Data

This test image when we start it launches a very interesting Wizard that will allow us to configure our languages, locals, our remote accounts and our user. Let's see the images:

First we select our language:

Now we select our keyboard layout. If it is not any of the ones that appears on the screen, click on the 3 vertical dots and voila:

We choose where we live:

We can use our accounts online. At this point I must say that they are added correctly, but in the test iso it gave me an error once I entered the session, saying that the master key had changed and is no longer the one we had established.

Now comes the part of our user:

The start of the corporate session is interesting, although it would be necessary to see what type of domain it works against:

Our password:

And all ready 😉

If I really liked something once we accessed the desktop, it is the introductory guide to GNOME 3.14, where we can see 3 videos that teach us various aspects of using the desktop, and also links to an offline manual. Point to the GNOME team for that.

GNOME 3.14 Review: Appearance and Personalization

GNOME y OS X they are copying each other, of that I have no doubt. Anyone who has used OS X in its latest versions will know what I mean. Sure, some elements change and truth be told, I really like how GNOME looks in general.

There are some details that I think need to be improved, for example, there are applications that load with a light theme and others (like Photos) with a dark theme. They both look great, but I think overall a solid color would be much better for everything.

Another detail is that it is still noticeable that some applications are designed for when we have a touch screen, but others are not. How do you know? It's simple, applications designed for «the touch»Are those that hide their preferences menu in a single button next to the title bar. Others like Port, they don't have that option. Also, being designed for touch devices, some buttons or bars waste a lot of space because of how large they are.

The main problem with this is that GNOME insists on not putting a tool like GNOME Tweak Tool by default to customize window buttons, colors, etc.

For example, something that I always change on my desktops is the default font. Some applications allow it to be done manually, but we cannot do it for the whole system.

But ignoring these details, I think the final result is quite good and in the section on Appearance you earn a good vote. The desk is elegant and understated, the effects and transitions are very smooth, but it is a pity that it loses for the part of Customization. Did I mention that the lock screen is gorgeous?

You have to slide with the mouse (or fingers) up to unlock it and enter the username and password 😉

GNOME 3.14 Review: Usability

It's a shame I haven't had a chance to try GNOME 3.14 on a touch device, as it could have a better idea of ​​how the gestures work. However, to get the best out of this Desktop Environment it is advisable to learn a few keyboard shortcuts, which are illustrated in the help.

Once we master the keyboard, the work will be really very comfortable with GNOME. It is also worth recognizing the work done in the Usability / Accessibility section where there are a lot of options for disabled people in one way or another.

GNOME 3.14 Review: Applications

We come to a really interesting section. GNOME 3.14 includes very good applications in both design and functionality. The first example is the weather application, simple, beautiful and provides enough information or at least the necessary.

Another application that I really liked was Maps, since it loads quite fast and moves quite well.

Looking at Web (Epiphany) and looking at Safari are the same (or vice versa). Although the browser has improved in terms of design, it is the only application that has stuck when I open more than one tab.

Gedit it's still too simple a text editor for my liking, but I can't deny that it looks cool and minimalist just like the app Notes.

One of the coolest, coolest, greatest apps, , is undoubtedly Boxes (Boxes), which allows us to create our virtual machines extremely easily:

And well, in general, it would take me a long time to talk in detail about all the GNOME 3.14 applications, so I invite you to try them first-hand to get a better judgment, first-hand. Music y Video, which have been simplified a lot and look great.

Performance

This is always a difficult section, as it depends on each person's hardware. In a virtual machine the consumption of RAM and processor was always a little higher than directly from the USB memory.

Taking that into account, I think that once installed on the PC the initial consumption should be less than 500MB of RAM. In general, GNOME 3.14 works quite well when we have good features, although as I said above, some applications like Web threw my system a bit.

Conclusions

I couldn't come to a final conclusion until I had been using GNOME 3.14 for at least a couple of weeks on my computer, so I'll wait for it to enter the stable Archlinux repositories. But for now I can leave my impressions with this test image.

It is convenient to learn the shortcuts because as you know, in GNOME we do not have a list of tasks in the panel by default. This is a topic that has been discussed ad nauseam, and today, although many users are comfortable with this desktop, I think it is still true that it is too focused on an area in which GNOME does not exactly shine, I I mean touch devices.

The applications have improved visually, but some are too simple. Nautilus It feels very full of functions and although the simplicity of programs such as Boxes, I do not think it is good to remove options left and right. It will always be a negative point precisely the little customization that we find in GNOME, something that is noticeable when we are adapted to other Desktop Environments.

But on the other hand I quite like the appearance (OSX) of GNOME 3.14, and its improvements in general, therefore my impression is the following:

[5 of 5] Appearance [/ 5 of 5] [4 of 5] Usability [/ 4 of 5] [3 of 5] Performance [/ 3 of 5] [4 of 5] Ease for beginners [/ 4 of 5] [3 of 5] Personalization [/ 3 of 5] [4 of 5] Personal Appreciation [/ 4 of 5 ] [4points] [/ 4points]