In the first of a series on the new software can expect to find in Ubuntu 9.10 ‘Karmic Koala’ this October, we take a look at the new GNOME Control Centre.
Akin to the Windows Control Panel, this one-stop hub makes it easier to find and fine-tune various system settings as/when needed.
Although this isn’t strictly new.
GNOME Control Centre has been in Ubuntu for a while. Didn’t know that? Nor did I! Previously, the only way to launch the tool was using the command line (or, for those who do things properly, adding a launcher to your desktop panel via the Main Menu tool.
For such a useful and clear-cut application, it seems a shame it was hidden away for so long!
Here’s what it looks like in the Ubuntu 9.10 development builds:
But times are changing. The Karmic Koala is making this control centre accessible from the System menu. Putting it within easy reach means more folks will use it, and benefit from it. Speeding up helping people when they need to make a tweak or configure the GNOME desktop.
New Look Incoming?
Though this nifty control center is a consolidated improvement, saving the need to menu surf to access the same options, the design could be improved. It’s not an awfully designed layout, but it is dense.
Which is why there are proposals to simplify and streamline Control Center to make it even more useful.
Though designs are not finalised, and certainly not in development – it won’t end up in Ubuntu Karmic Koala.
But the designs are part of an ongoing movement to retool GNOME applications with cleaner, sleeker and less overwhelming users interfaces. Banshee and F-Spot have already received UI tweaks, and it won’t be long before even more apps are made even easier to use.
So there you have it: something to look out for in October, and a tease at something in the future.