GNOME sliding Linux onto business desktops

The next version of GNOME has been designed to make it easier for administrators to deploy the Linux desktop environment in enterprises.

GNOME 2.14, which is due for release on March 15, will include new administrator tools such as a profile manager and an editor to lock down PC functionality, developer Davyd Madeley wrote in an article posted on the GNOME project Web site last week.

Madeley explained in his blog that he wrote the article to "pimp the shiny features" in GNOME 2.14, although he cautioned that the details of what is included in the final version of 2.14 may change.

The profile manager, called Sabayon, enables administrators to make profiles for groups of users and to create default and mandatory settings for these groups.

The lock-down editor, called Pessulus, lets them disable certain functionality in the GNOME desktop. "This feature is useful in corporate environments and Internet cafes where users should not be allowed to edit panels, use the command line, etc.," Madeley wrote.

GNOME 2.14 should also offer "significant" performance increases due to a new memory allocator. The new allocator takes only two seconds to perform an operation that took the previous one 26 seconds, claimed Madeley.

Although GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) has a devoted following among the technical community, Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux, is not a fan of the desktop environment. Last year, Torvalds claimed that GNOME has been developed by "interface Nazis," and recommended that users switch to the rival desktop environment, KDE (K Desktop Environment).

Ingrid Marson reported for London-based ZDNet UK.

More from News.com on this story's topics

Linux desktop OS

Create an email alert | RSS feed

Desktops

Create an email alert | RSS feed

Open source

Create an email alert | RSS feed

Linux

Create an email alert | RSS feed

See more CNET content tagged:
GNOME, Linus Torvalds, Linux desktop, Linux

Add a Comment (Log in or register) 7 comments (Page 1 of 1)
It is odd....
by Atari05 February 21, 2006 2:01 PM PST
That most enterprise DE's are gnome. Its not that I don't like gnome but I really thing that KDE would be an eaiser switch for more users.

As of late KDE has been kicking out some really decent applications and adding much needed ************ lacking in some of the more (at the time) *advanced* gtk apps. My only issue with kde is they sometimes have a handfull of KDE branded apps that do the same (example media players). If they could just focus on dev'ing one app pertask and then let the community worry about "3rd party" or forked projects, that would be great!
Reply to this comment View reply
Can anybody spell s h i t?
by alegr February 21, 2006 8:19 PM PST
Last time I tried it, GNOME was incredible pile of c r a p. Even Windows 95 user interface (original) is better designed. Looks like the folks are stuck in OpenWin epoch.

My favorite (mis)feature of both OpenWin and GNome: Click on a file name in the folder view and start typing (thit will initiate file name editing). There is NO WAY to cancel it and return to original name (especially if you clicked on a file by mistake and don't know what it was). Esc DOES NOT cancel it!
Reply to this comment View reply
can you spell l i a r ?
by CuriousMiguel February 22, 2006 1:55 PM PST
i'm using the 6-revisions-old gnome 2.8 and it does exactly what you say it doesn't do: escape takes you out of the rename-mode immediately.

same thing on my other gnome 2.12 desktop.
Reply to this comment
does the author have an axe to grind with GNOME?
by CuriousMiguel February 22, 2006 2:04 PM PST
quoting:

-- 'Madeley explained in his blog that he wrote the article to "pimp the shiny features" in GNOME 2.14'

why go out of your way to use the word "pimp" in this article?

-- 'The new allocator takes only two seconds to perform an operation that took the previous one 26 seconds, claimed Madeley.'

to the uninitiated, this makes it sound like typical desktop operations take 26 seconds on the current gnome desktop. the operation in question was a benchmark consisting of one million memory allocation operations. why not say "a recent benchmark shows the new allocator performing thirteen times faster than the previous one."?

-- 'Last year, Torvalds claimed that GNOME has been developed by "interface Nazis," and recommended that users switch to the rival desktop environment, KDE (K Desktop Environment).'

to be honest, despite the inflammatory nature of the sentence, i can't still decide whether it's relevant to this article or not :-)
Reply to this comment
Powered by Jive Software
advertisement
RSS Feeds
Add headlines from CNET News.com to your homepage or feedreader.
Google
Yahoo
MSN
More feeds available in our RSS feed index.

Latest tech news headlines

Most Popular Stories
Google's search secret: It gets rid of you
Developer creates copy-paste tech for iPhone
Will Wright on the origins of 'Spore'
Palm Treo Pro: Not digging it
American Airlines launches in-flight Wi-Fi
Resource center from News.com sponsors
Aligning CIO & CEO visions
What CIOs need to know

Click Here!
It's a simple truth. The closer you and your CEO see things, the greater your chance for success. Our exclusive report can help you get there—and help your business grow. Get the report featuring the views of 765 CEOs on innovation. learn more

Click Here!
What CEOs think: Innovation Insights for CIOs

Learn How CIOs can deliver strategic success for their enterprises

The New CIO: Beyond Technology

Learn how CIOs become heroes

Podcast: Chris Gorog of Napster

Learn about the impact of technology in strategy execution

The future of the Enterprise

Read more about tomorrow's organization

CIO Vision Series:Innovating within a retail industry disrupted by the Web

Video: CIO of Virgin Entertainment Group, Robert Fort

CIO Vision Series: Innovating around social search

Video: Yahoo CIO Lars Rabbe

Markets

Market news, charts, SEC filings, and more

Related quotes

Dow Jones Industrials (0.11%) 12.78 11,430.21
S&P 500 (0.25%) 3.18 1,277.72
NASDAQ (0.00%) 0.00 1,816.15
CNET TECH (-0.11%) -1.71 1,629.09
  Symbol Lookup
advertisement
On MovieTome: SEX AND THE CITY clips are here!
Advanced
search
Advanced
search
Visit other CBS Interactive sites