GNOME 3.24 Provides Users With More Pleasing Linux Desktop Experience

The open-source GNOME desktop environment received its first update for 2017 on March 22 with the debut of GNOME 3.24, code-named Portland. According to the GNOME Project, the 3.24 release includes 28,459 changes that were made by approximately 753 contributors. Many of the changes are incremental, fixing small bugs and making the overall desktop experience more fluid and enjoyable by users. There are also, however, a number of more noticeable changes, including a new Night Light mode, enhanced notifications and many updated GNOME applications. In this slide show, eWEEK takes a look at some of the new features and enhanced capabilities in the GNOME 3.24 open-source desktop environment update.

The GNOME 3.24 update is the first major milestone release for the GNOME desktop in 2017. The last update, GNOME 3.22, was released in September 2016. The GNOME 3.24 desktop will be an available option for many of the leading Linux distributions, including openSUSE and Fedora.

In a bid to help people who use devices at night sleep, a common feature with mobile operating systems reduces blue light. This feature in GNOME 3.24 is called Night Light, and it changes the screen color based on the time of day in an effort to reduce sleeplessness.

GNOME 3.24’s enhanced layout for notifications makes it easier for users to stay informed. Part of the update is the integration of weather information based on the user’s location.

GNOME has its own browser, which is now simply known as Web. In the 3.24 update, Web benefits from a new address bar that is intended to be more usable than prior releases. There is also a new interface for bookmarks, helping to make bookmark management and access easier.

The GNOME Photos application has been updated to provide an improved thumbnail image view, which allows for a better overview of available images.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is still the chat platform of choice for Linux users. GNOME’s IRC client, called Polari, has been updated in 3.24 release with new features to make it easier to initiate a private conversation with a user.

The GNOME Files application, which provides access to files and folders on the desktop, now benefits from an integrated approach to view restricted files and folders. Users can now simply enter a password to view a restricted file, rather than needing to run the entire Files application with higher-level privileges.

The GNOME Builder integrated developer environment (IDE) benefits from several new capabilities in the 3.24 update, including enhanced support for the open-source Rust programming language and the Flatpak packaging system.