Linux has several desktop environments to “dress” the distribution you want. All have advantages and disadvantages and are classified by many criteria. However, the main criterion used by most users to choose one is the consumption of computer resources. It has to be said that not everyone has a very modern computer, they usually choose a light desktop environment. One of the lightest and most functional is XFCE which is waiting for a new version. So, in this post, we will tell you about XFCE 4.14 that is about to arrive along with its main news.
XFCE 4.14 a development as long as important
The XFCE development cycle is one of the things that generate the most criticism of the project. XFCE takes a long time to release a new version. However, this is also an advantage, since in general, these releases are quite stable and users do not have many surprises.
So XFCE 4.12 was released four years ago and has been an excellent release. However, it is based on GTK 2 and it was lagging a bit behind in new features. So, as you can see, this is an important release because it is possible that it takes other years to see another one. You lose some novelty, but you gain stability.
The first beta has been released
In this release, one great thing stands out above the rest. It is that the entire desktop environment will be migrated to GTK 3. This way it will be compatible with most of the current topics. It will also provide more advanced development libraries.
Then, each application that makes up the desktop environment has its own particular novelties, for example:
- xfwm4: The window manager now supports HiDPI. In addition, it switches to GLX for rendering.
- The XFCE panel called xfce4-panel is now more reliable and stable. Fixed bug affecting semitransparent themes.
- Thunar should now be faster thanks to an optimization in the source code. In addition to multiple bug fixes, they have updated the Danish translation.
At a general level, many translations have been updated. In addition, the energy manager has received a bit of affection. Which will make it better manage the battery of the laptops. Parole the multimedia player has been robust, now it is more stable.
How do I get it?
Please note that it is a test version and not suitable for production equipment. However, if you want to try it you can use Ubuntu 19.04 or Fedora 30 that have included part of their development.
For June is expected the second beta or Pre2. With that, we should see a more polished code, but the important thing is that XFCE 4.14 is almost here.
Now it’s your turn. Do you like XFCE? Do you use it? what do you think about XFCE? let us know in the comments. Please share this post with your friends.
