GNOME 41, the latest stable version of an easy and elegant desktop user interface, just released Wednesday 22 September 2021 six month after the previous version. This article overviews the release with step by step guide for you to download and try it out on computer. Thanks to GNOME, now software freedom is more user friendly and accessible for all computer users!
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Overview
GNOME 41 is fast on computer! Several things that would impact end users including:
- Speed improvement, faster than 40 even faster than 38.
- Memory friendliness, you might find 41 lighter than prior versions.
- Multitasking, a new entry in Settings to configure workspaces.
- GNOME Shell Extensions now moved to new app called Extensions, not in Tweaks anymore.
- By time, GNOME 41 will eventually be available in multiple GNU/Linux operating systems. See availability info at Further Reading.
Official video published by The GNOME Project can be viewed below:
If you cannot watch YouTube directly, watch this video via Invidious.
Community Events
Discussing GNOME 41 involves its community events happening beyond the screen. It releases around the time when multiple events of its community being held including this year's GUADEC and GNOME Asia conferences. Are you a computer science or informatics student? You are invited to join GNOME development as a software developer. Want to help fund GNOME? You can donate to foster GNOME development.
Where To Download
To get GNOME 41 running on your computer, you can either install it on an existing OS or download an OS preinstalled with it. In this article, we choose the second choice. Download openSUSE Next, it is the GNOME operating system everyone can use today. Once downloaded, your file will look as a file with ISO image type with some 1.3GB size named more or less same as mine GNOME_Next.x86_64-41.0-Build14.334.iso. More alternatives are coming by time and the information can be followed at Further Readings.
How To Make a Boot Disk
Once downloaded, you should burn the ISO image file to a USB flash drive. To do so is easy using program like Disk Utility, Rufus or Unetbootin.
How To Run GNOME System
- Plug the USB into the USB port.
- Power on your computer and immediately enter BIOS.
- Switch your BIOS to boot first to USB.
- Save BIOS configuration and restart.
- openSUSE GNOME screen will welcome you.
- Press Enter to select its 1st option.
- GNOME 41 system will run on your computer.
(GNOME applications menu displaying installed apps and running ones)
Play With GNOME System
Once running, you can try to play around with your new user interface:
- Push your cursor to topleft. What happens?
- Click Activities, click 9 dots, what happens?
- Run several apps and repeatedly press Windows key. What happens?
- Likewise, press Windows+A instead. What happens?
- Run an app, press Windows+H, what happens?
- Run an app, hold Windows key, play with arrow keys. What happens?
Issues
I can confirm that GNOME Software is not working as expected on openSUSE Next which I use to try out 41. It failed to display offered applications unlike what reported on the Release Notes. This is a known issue on Software I experience every time new GNOME version released. Other issue is that Nautilus File Manager's image preview is not working and this is also an old issue I always experience with openSUSE Live.
Further Readings
Availability on Multiple Distros
This article is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.