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GNOME 3.10 Will Have a Beautiful and Handy System Menu

GNOME 3.10 Beta 2 is now available for download and testing

Sep 6, 2013 10:12 GMT  ·  By
The new system menu of GNOME 3.10
   The new system menu of GNOME 3.10

The second Beta release of the upcoming GNOME 3.10 desktop environment has been announced last evening, September 5, by Javier Jardón Cabezas from the GNOME release team.

As we've reported in our in-depth article about the changes brought by the GNOME developers in the latest Beta version of the GNOME-Shell 3.10 package, a new system status area will be implemented in GNOME 3.10.

As you can see from the screenshot below (thanks to Allan Day), the entire design of the system status area has been completely revamped, offering a single menu for all the indicators (sound, Wi-Fi, battery, bluetooth, etc.).

On the currently stable version of the GNOME desktop environment, we found ourselves opening a new panel for each indicator (see the first screenshot for details) every time we want to modify or view something.

Starting with GNOME 3.10, which will arrive on September 25, 2013, users will find all the indicators mentioned above into a single panel, which will drastically improve the way you interact with your GNOME desktop.

Review image
The old system status area
Review image
The new system status area
The new system status area will not only unify all the indicators, but it will also display only information about things you care about. With a single mouse click you will be able to see how much time (percentage is also displayed) you have left on your laptop's battery, connect to mobile broadband or Wi-Fi networks, as well as to change the volume and brightness.

The new system panel, which can be tested right now via the GNOME 3.10 Beta 2 release, also includes shortcuts for the Lock, Shutdown, Restart, Log Out, and Change User functions, as well as for the GNOME Control Panel app.

Download GNOME 3.10 Beta 2 right now from Softpedia. Remember that this is a beta version and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended for testing purposes only.