What's New For Users

1.1. Desktop

1.1.1. Look and Feel

GNOME 2.12 introduces a new standard theme, also known as "ClearLooks", making your desktop more attractive while remaining simple and uncluttered.

Figure 1Attractive, friendly, simple: the new default theme.

1.1.2. The File Manager

The file manager, also known as Nautilus, has several user interface improvements in GNOME 2.12. Most noticeably, the list view can now show files in directories, allowing you to navigate down to a sub-folder and open a new folder window only when necessary. Also for your convenience, the Bookmarks menu now shows the same locations as the File Chooser dialog.

In GNOME 2.12, dragging text from an application to a folder window will save you time by creating a new text document. You'll also notice that GNOME now shows a preview of the text being dragged, instead of just an icon.

Figure 2Clean-cut and powerful: the Nautilus file manager

There are also major improvements to the browse mode, making it similar to GNOME's existing File Chooser dialog:

  • Places and Bookmarks may be displayed in a sidepane.
  • The location is now shown with the GNOME's path bar instead of a text entry. The text path is still available via the Control-L keyboard shortcut.

GNOME's simple CD-burning feature can now copy Audio CDs as well as data CDs. Just right-click on the CD after inserting it.

1.1.3. Clipboard

GNOME now remembers data that you copy, even when you close the window from which it was copied. This long-standing problem has finally been solved without the performance problems usually associated with clipboard daemons, by allowing applications to explicitly request the use of this feature.

1.1.4. The Panel

The panel, which you normally see at the top and bottom of the screen, allows you to start applications and control various aspects of your environment. In GNOME 2.12 vertical panels with menus are possible, thanks to the rotated menus.

You might also notice that applications may now flash their names in the Window List, to indicate that they are ready. For instance, an instant messenger application could flash its icon when a friend sends a message.

Figure 3The GNOME Panel

1.2. Applications

1.2.1. Video Player

GNOME's "Totem" video player, uses GNOME's GStreamer multimedia framework. In GNOME 2.12, the video player now has a playlist sidebar instead of a separate window, and supports DVD menus and subtitles.

Figure 4The video player

1.2.2. CD Ripping

GNOME's CD ripper easily extracts audio from CDs for later playback on your PC or portable music player. And now, you can play tracks before extracting them. This latest version can also extract files to networked servers or removable devices, using GNOME's VFS system.

Figure 5The audio extractor

1.2.3. Web Browser

GNOME's "Epiphany" web browser is based on Mozilla yet integrates fully with the GNOME desktop environment. Improvements in 2.12 include

  • A Find Bar, as seen in Firefox, and previously available as an Epiphany extension. This allows you to find text on the page, without hiding the page behind a dialog window.
  • Clearer error messages, shown directly in the browser.
  • Use of the standard GNOME printing system.
  • Bookmarks can be easily shared over the network.

Figure 6The web browser

1.2.4. Evolution

GNOME's integrated Email and Groupware client, Evolution, supports traditional mail setups as well as Novell Groupwise and Microsoft Exchange. With Evolution you can read, write, and manage your emails, contacts, and calendar events.

In GNOME 2.12 evolution now has an easier-to-use menu layout and an improved attachments bar, and allows inline PGP encryption and PGP signatures. In addition, the calendar now allows delegation of your meeting attendance.

Groupwise proxy and IMAP accounts are now supported, and some compatibility problems were solved for people also using Mozilla Thunderbird with IMAP.

Figure 7The email client

1.3. Control Center

1.3.1. About Me

GNOME now has a new About Me control panel in which you can enter your personal details, such as your telephone numbers, address, email address, and instant-messenger IDs, instead of repeating the information in several applications. You can also change your password here.

Figure 8About Me

1.3.2. Mouse Preferences

The Mouse Preferences control panel now allows you to change your cursor theme.

Figure 9Mouse Preferences

1.4. Utilities

The GNOME utilities have some improvements, such as:

1.4.1. Document Viewer

GNOME 2.12 has a new document viewer, also known as "Evince;" to replace the previously separate PDF and .ps document viewers. This new viewer is simpler and more convenient, with a useful search feature and the ability to show several pages at once.

Figure 10Document Viewer

1.4.2. Image Viewer

The GNOME image viewer can now show pictures with color correction, using ICC profiles.

Figure 11Image Viewer

1.4.3. Help Viewer

GNOME's Help Viewer, Yelp, now uses the same engine as Epiphany, the web browser. The look, feel, speed and stability of Yelp have been vastly improved.

Yelp also has improved support for locale specific formatting, allowing documentation to be rendered using language specific formatting rules, an excellent complement to the new documentation translation system, that allows translators to translate help documents as easily as applications.

Figure 12Help Viewer

1.4.4. Search

The GNOME search tool now shows image thumbnails instead of just generic icons.

Figure 13Search

1.4.5. Dictionary

The GNOME Dictionary now has a simplified user interface and presents the entries in an easier-to-read layout. You may now select the fonts used to show entries.

Figure 14Dictionary

1.5. Games

GNOME's games put extra fun in the desktop. The Mines game has some improvements in GNOME 2.12 - for instance, the first click is guaranteed to clear a useful number of squares so you don't have to blindly click and hope you don't hit a mine, and an explosion graphic is drawn when you set off a mine.

Figure 15Mines