What's new in Gnome 2.24?

Gnome, the biggest competitor of K Desktop Environment, is out with the latest release 2.24. This is not a big jump from 2.22 but we see some improvements, bug fixes and new features. From an end-user perspective we look at the new Gnome release.

Empathy: Default instant messaging application Pidgin is replaced with Empathy. For the casual user, we do not expect much of an interface change, but the underlying telepathy framework is really a good technology with promises. Since telepathy lets the developers access instant messaging functionality, as well as support for Jabber, Gtalk, MSN Messenger and Apple (Bonjour/Rendezvous), we may expect embedded status updates, chats within various programs. An example can be updating your presence information when you are working on a document with your colleagues without leaving the software you are using. The possibilities are endless and creative open source developers are out there to exploit this potential. Stay tuned.

Ekiga: Speaking of the instant messaging, we can not leave Gnome's Ekiga without mention. If you do not know about this particular program, it is an audio/video conference program. Ekiga has been updated to the 3.0 release, which comes in Gnome installation. You will easily catch that the interface is very Skype-alike and whether or not you have used Skype before, the interface is fairly intuitive.

Time Tracker: If you are in business and you are charging your clients based on your project time or if you need to track your time spent on a task or series of tasks, the Gnome applet Time Tracker will be an invaluable tool for you. Previously known as Project Hamster, it was renamed to Time Tracker and is available in Gnome installation.File management: I am not trying to spread FUD or starting a flamewar, but Gnome's file management was lacking some features previously. The ones that are fixed with the 2.24 release are tabbed navigation and the compact view. For tabbed navigation, just right-click on the folder that you want to open and choose "open in new tab"; a very useful implementation indeed. The compact view comes handy when you want to squeeze a lot of file names in your current working window.Next: Deskbar, desktop eye candy, sound effects, accessibility ...