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FreeBSD GNOME News Flash

FreeBSD GNOME News

April 2006

  • 29 April, 2006: Even though 5.5 and 6.1 have not been released, the ports freeze has been lifted, and GNOME 2.14 has been merged into the ports tree. Packages built against the update ports tree will be available shortly. Be sure to check out the list of known issues as well as the 2.14 release notes .

  • 15 April, 2006: In his latest bsdtalk podcast, Will Backman interviews Joe Marcus Clarke about the FreeBSD GNOME Project. The podcast is available at http://cisx1.uma.maine.edu/~wbackman/bsdtalk/bsdtalk032.mp3 .

  • 6 April, 2006: While we are still waiting for the releases of FreeBSD 5.5 and 6.1, GNOME 2.14.1 has been released, an we are maintaining it in the ports module of the MarcusCom CVS repository . Ports and packages are ready, and we have hammered out quite a few known issues for this release. Primarily, problems with GStreamer and OSS have been fixed as well as many crashes on amd64.

March 2006

  • 16 March, 2006: GNOME 2.14 and FreeBSD: it's what your computer would want. Read the official release announcement for all the new goodies, fixes, and most importantly, performance improvements. Instructions for upgrading can be found on our development branch FAQ . After 5.5 and 6.1 are released, we will put out the official announcement, and update the website with all new documentation; and of course, put GNOME 2.14 into the ports tree.

  • 1 March, 2006: The GNOME 2.14 Release Candidate is out, and ports and packages are ready . It looks like GNOME 2.14.0 will be out on time on March 15th. Now is the time to report any serious problems as well as submit GNOME 2.14 screenshots and splash screens.

February 2006

  • 15 February, 2006: Get your BETA 2 here! That's right, GNOME 2.14 Beta 2 has been released, and FreeBSD ports and packages are ready . We are trying to document (and hopefully eliminate) any and all bugs (especially crashers). So if you find anything wrong in this release, please report it . We also need people to start sending in their FreeBSD GNOME 2.14 splash screen entries. So down your favorite energy drink, and get to work.

  • 9 February, 2006: The last release from the GNOME 2.12 branch is out with FreeBSD ports right behind it. The next GNOME Desktop release will be 2.14.0 which is due out on March 13. GNOME 2.12.3 is a bug fix and translation release.

  • 4 February, 2006: It's BETA time! GNOME 2.13.90 (aka GNOME 2.14 Beta 1) has been released along with a hot batch of FreeBSD ports. While still a beta, this release looks pretty solid. One of the biggest known issues is that the new GConf schema layout leaves behind a lot of leftover files (see #328623 for more details). This should be fixed by release time. We are entering crunch time, so please report any and all problems. Enjoy!

December 2005

  • 15 December, 2005: If you are wondering what to get for that special GNOME user on your Christmas list, look no further. GNOME 2.13.3 has been released, and ports and packages are ready . Most of the kinks from GNOME 2.13.2 have been worked out (in particular, all games should be functional now).

  • 1 December, 2005: The latest stable GNOME release, 2.12.2, is now ready for your upgrading pleasure in both ports and packages formats. This is primarily a bug-fix release, but a few new features made the cut.

November 2005

  • 17 November, 2005: The exciting new winter line of GNOME Desktops has been released, and ports are now available for FreeBSD. GNOME 2.13.2 features three new proposed desktop modules: atomix, fast-user-switch-applet, and gnome-screensaver, along with Firefox 1.5 as the base for Epiphany and Yelp. Testers to their mark, go!

  • 5 November, 2005: Now that FreeBSD 6.0 is out the door, GNOME 2.12.1 has been merged into the FreeBSD ports tree. Check out the official announcement for more information. Packages built against the update ports tree will be available shortly. Be sure to use the upgrade script to handle the upgrade process!

October 2005

  • 6 October, 2005: Even though we are still waiting for 6.0 to be released, GNOME 2.12.1 has been released, and ports and packages have been updated. At this point, most (if not all) of the FreeBSD-specific known issues have been resolved.

September 2005

  • 10 September, 2005: GNOME 2.12 and FreeBSD, together at last. Read the official unofficial release announcement for instructions on upgrading. After 6.0 is released, we will put out the official announcement, and update the website with all new documentation.

August 2005

  • 26 August, 2005: GNOME 2.12 Release Candidate is out ! Man were there a lot of problems to tackle in this one. Fortunately, everything should now be ironed out, and GNOME 2.12 is shaping up to be a solid release. Please test our ports and packages .

  • 11 August, 2005: GNOME 2.12 Beta 2 is upon us , and ports are now ready for FreeBSD. Packages for amd64 and i386 are forthcoming. For this release, we have introduced a new feature that "normalizes" the shared library versions for many of the major GNOME 2 components. This means that future updates will most likely not see a shared library version bump which will help tremendously with upgrades. Test like there's no tomorrow!

July 2005

  • 28 July, 2005: That's right, folks. GNOME 2.12 Beta 1 is now out, and ports have been updated for your testing pleasure. We also have a complete set of Desktop packages available for i386 and amd64. Don't forget to checkout the GNOME 2.12 Preview Tour so you can see what to expect from your shiny new desktop.

  • 19 July, 2005: GNOME 2.11.5 has been officially released, and ports are available for FreeBSD. Packages for i386 and amd64 are cooking as we speak. New modules for this release include evince and libgnomecups. Test it already!

  • 7 July, 2005: GNOME 2.10.2 has been released, and FreeBSD ports are now up-to-date. This is primarily a bug-fix release for GNOME 2.10. All of the changes can be found in the official release announcement . Packages for i386 and amd64 are forthcoming.

June 2005

  • 29 June, 2005: GNOME 2.11.3 has been released, and FreeBSD ports are ready with packages on the way! The FreeBSD GNOME team has been working like crazy to get this release out the door. Unfortunately, the GNOME project has not made any official release announcements, so this release only has one new module, gnomekeyringmanager. Get your copy now from our development branch FAQ .

  • 29 June, 2005: Starting with GNOME 2.11, and continuing with the release of 2.12 and beyond, the FreeBSD GNOME team will no longer support the GNOME Desktop on FreeBSD 4.X. Some of lower-level components will be supported, however. FreeBSD 4.X lacks many of the features needed for a modern desktop, and there are now two stable 5.X releases with 6.0 around the corner. If you haven't done so already, now would be a good time to upgrade to 5.X or 6.0.

April 2005

  • 18 April, 2005: GNOME 2.10.1 has been released, and FreeBSD ports are already to go. This release is primarily a bug fix and performance improvement release, but some new features have been added. In particular, pkg-config got an overhaul to cleanup library linkage. This caused some unexpected build failure fallout, but work is underway to correct the problems. All of the changes in GNOME 2.10.1 can be found in the combined change log .

March 2005

  • 12 March, 2005: GNOME 2.10.0 has been released, and merged into the FreeBSD ports tree. We even beat the 5.4-RELEASE ports freeze! This new release is jam-packed with changes , including some brand new goodies now available on FreeBSD. Be sure to check out our upgrade FAQ prior to jumping in. For those that do not want to spend time compiling, packages for i386 are almost done building on our Tinderbox .

  • 9 March, 2005: The search for the FreeBSD GNOME 2.10 splashscreen is over. Thanks to all the artists that submitted entries . Our winning entry was designed by Franz Klammer (based on the default GNOME 2.10 splashscreen by Sami "alump" Viitanen), and is the default GNOME 2.10 splashscreen for FreeBSD. However, unlike previous release, all other entries have also been installed. You can use the deskutils/splashsetter port to choose the one you like best.

February 2005

  • 22 February, 2005: GNOME 2.8.3 has been released and the FreeBSD ports tree has been updated. Packages for i386 are also freshly baked, and ready for your upgrade pleasure. All of the bugfixes, changes, and optimizations can be found in the release announcement .

  • 11 February, 2005: GNOME 2.9.91 (aka GNOME 2.10 BETA 2) has been released, and ports are available for your favorite OS. This release features the final set of GNOME 2.10 modules. Please join us in heping to make this the best release since 2.8!

  • 7 February, 2005: GNOME 2.10 is scheduled to be released on March 9, 2005, and we need talented artists to design a new FreeBSD GNOME splashscreen. The splashscreen should be in PNG format, feature both FreeBSD and GNOME, and work well with the scrolling application icons. The actual version of GNOME can be omitted if desired. Send all entries to gnome@FreeBSD.org . The FreeBSD GNOME user base will decide the winner, and the artist will be credited in the GNOME 2.10 commit log.

  • 3 February, 2005: GNOME 2.9.90 (aka 2.10 BETA 1) has been released, and ports are available for FreeBSD. For this first beta, we have updated the module list to what should be the final list for GNOME 2.10. Now would be a good time to join the testing effort, and be sure to send in some screenshots if you do.

January 2005

  • 15 January, 2005: GNOME 2.9.4 marks the first API/ABI frozen release of GNOME 2.9. GNOME 2.10 is still slated for release on March 9, so test it already ! GNOME 2.9.4 also marks the first "clean" desktop release in that it leaves no leftover files or directories are deinstall. Checkout the packages for yourself.

December 2004

  • 28 December, 2004: The Mozilla License Team has granted permission to the FreeBSD Gnome Team for use of the Firefox and Thunderbird names, official icons, and use of the --enable-official-branding configure option.

  • 25 December, 2004: HO, HO, HO, Merry Christmas! GNOME 2.9.3 has been released, and ports are now available . This latest development release adds gnome-control-center, and should be quite usable. Packages are also available for all supported i386 releases.

  • 11 December, 2004: GNOME 2.8.2 has been released, and ports have been updated in the ports tree with Tinderbox packages forthcoming. A merged ChangeLog is also available.

  • 4 December, 2004: GNOME 2.9.2 has been released (such as it is), and ports for FreeBSD are now available . Gnome-control-center and nautilus-media are still missing in action, but a lot of new modules including gnome-user-share, goobox, and totem-gstreamer have been added. If you like living on the edge, please help us with testing.

November 2004

  • 24 November, 2004: Although a bit late due to the 5.3 ports freeze, GNOME 2.9.1 has been brought to FreeBSD. This first 2.10 development release is not for the faint of heart. Due to changes in Nautilus, components such as gnome-control-center and nautilus-media will not work. However, if you have a strong constitution, please join us in testing GNOME 2.9.

  • 7 November, 2004: After being delayed waiting for FreeBSD 5.3-Release, GNOME 2.8 for FreeBSD is here! Be sure to use the gnome_upgrade.sh script to handle your upgrade, and check out the tinderbox if you prefer packages. Visit the FreeBSD/GNOME webpage for more information.

  • 6 November, 2004: Michael Johnson has become the newest member of the FreeBSD GNOME team. He has shown an exceptional prowess for multimedia applications, but he will also be contributing to All Things GNOME.

October 2004

  • 26 October, 2004: Although a bit late with the news release, GNOME 2.8.1 was released on October 26th, and FreeBSD ports have been available since then. Packages are also up on the Tinderbox server. We are still holding off on the FreeBSD ports tree merge until after 5.3 is released.

September 2004

  • 16 September, 2004: The GNOME 2.8.0 Desktop has been released, and the FreeBSD ports are ready to go. However, bad timing has struck once again, and GNOME 2.8 was released in the middle of the 5.3-RELEASE ports freeze. Therefore, GNOME 2.8 ports will not make it into the FreeBSD ports tree until after 5.3 is released. The good news is, this will give the FreeBSD GNOME team more time to do quality assurance so to give you the best upgrade experience possible. If you just have to have the updates now, you can get the GNOME 2.8 ports from our development CVS server . Packages for i386 will also be available soon from the GNOME Tinderbox .

  • 16 September, 2004: The BSD# Project has recently been formed on Novell Forge and is devoted to porting and maintaining the Mono .NET framework from Ximian on FreeBSD. The Mono framework consists of not only the Mono runtime environment and compiler but the XSP webserver and Apache mod_mono for handling ASP.NET applications, the IKVM Java virtual machine for handling Java within the .NET framework, and numerous data providers to access common library functions in C# or integration with existing C libraries. The project is currently in it's early stages but has recently finished ports for all the latest Mono packages distributed by Ximian. There is still much more work to be done; from fixing threading issues in the runtime environment, to wider testing of XSP and IKVM, to further understanding the framework and how it all functions. Those interested in Mono and the BSD# Project are asked to visit the project's homepage and join the mailing lists .

  • 16 September, 2004: The BSD# Project is pleased to announce that the entire Mono 1.0.1 .NET framework from Ximian has been ported for FreeBSD and is ready for use. In addition to an updated port of the Mono runtime, ports for all the latest library bindings, XSP and Apache mod_mono for ASP.NET, and the IKVM Java VM for .NET have been made. Please be aware that due to changes in the latest Mono release and recent changes to threading in the 5.X branch of FreeBSD, these packages only work on 5.3-BETA versions and above. These ports are not currently available in the standard FreeBSD ports tree at the moment as they require wider testing but the intent is for them to be there soon. Those interested in Mono may use mono-merge script available from the BSD# Project to merge the project's ports tree with their own.

  • 15 September, 2004: Koop Mast became the newest member of the FreeBSD GNOME Team. He will focus mainly on Gstreamer. Please join us in welcoming Koop to the team!

  • 1 September, 2004: GNOME 2.7.92 (aka 2.8 Release Candiate 1) has been released, and the FreeBSD port is right there waiting. This release has fixed most of the major headaches from 2.7.4, and users that were looking for a good time to upgrade should consider this a good time. All the details on how to obtain this release can be found in our Development Branch FAQ . Packages for i386 will be available shortly.

July 2004

  • 24 July, 2004: GNOME 2.7.4 has been released just five short days after 2.7.3, and the FreeBSD ports is ready to go. This latest release features a new desktop MIME system that is designed to integrate more closely with KDE. Unfortunately, not all of the GNOME applications have been converted over to it. All the details on how to obtain this release can be found in our Development Branch FAQ .

  • 19 July, 2004: GNOME 2.7.3 has been released, and the FreeBSD port has been updated as well. This is the first development release to have the full proposed modules list included. New GNOME desktop modules that are available for FreeBSD include evolution, gnome-nettool, gnome-keyring-manager, and vino. Those that like to run with scissors can check our Development Branch FAQ for instructions on getting this release.

June 2004

  • 29 June, 2004: GNOME 2.6.2 has been released, and the FreeBSD port has been updated as well. This is another bug fix release in the GNOME 2.6 series. That said, a few new features did sneak in. Check out the release notes for to see what's new.

  • 14 June, 2004: GNOME 2.7.2 has been released, and the FreeBSD port has been updated right along with it. This is the second step on the road to GNOME 2.8. Note: this release still identifies itself as GNOME 2.7.1 in Help->About GNOME, but it really is 2.7.2. Those that solemnly swear to be up to no good can check our Development Branch FAQ for instructions on obtaining this release.

  • 3 June, 2004: GNOME 2.7.1 has been released, and the FreeBSD port is available. This is a development release, and as such, should only be used by those willing to take risks. All of the details on getting this release, upgrading from GNOME 2.6, and debugging problems can be found on our Development Branch FAQ .

May 2004

  • 1 May, 2004: Jeremy Messenger has finally agreed to take the FreeBSD commit bit that he earned a long time ago. Additionally, he is joining the ranks of the elite FreeBSD GNOME committers. Please join the FreeBSD GNOME team in welcoming Mezz to the Project!

April 2004

  • 4 April, 2004: After a delay stemming from GNOME server security compromises, GNOME 2.6 Release is available for FreeBSD! There are instructions for the upgrade process, and packages for all supported versions of FreeBSD!

March 2004

  • 17 March, 2004: The GNOME 2.6 Release Candidate 1 desktop has been released and just cries out for use. GNOME 2.6 is on schedule for final release on March 24, so be sure to test this release thoroughly. Packages for all supported versions of FreeBSD are also available.

  • 13 March, 2004: The GNOME 2.6 Beta 2 desktop has been released and ports are available. We are currently looking for volunteers to help with testing ports and packages installation as well as provide feedback on bugs, missing features, screenshots, and FAQ ideas. Please send any and all questions and comments to the FreeBSD GNOME Team .

  • 8 March, 2004: A new package building server for FreeBSD GNOME packages is online, and serving out GNOME 2 desktop packages for both 2.4 and 2.5. Packages are available for all supported versions of FreeBSD. The server is still in its infancy, and a bit slow, but it's working constantly to provide the most up-to-date GNOME packages possible. As time goes on, other GNOME meta-ports will be added to the build.

  • 8 March, 2004: The GNOME 2.6 Beta 1 desktop is now available for FreeBSD. If you have been looking for a good time to switch away from GNOME 2.4, now is that time. Please test extra hard so we can work out all the bugs before the end of the month release date. All the details on upgrading to GNOME 2.6 Beta 1 can be found here . Note: the release identifies itself as 2.5.90, but it is, in fact, GNOME 2.6 Beta 1.

February 2004

  • 18 February, 2004: The GNOME 2.5.5 desktop is now available for FreeBSD. It slipped in a scant four days after 2.5.4 to test weed out some more bugs before the first 2.6 beta release. The low down on obtaining this version and upgrading from GNOME 2.4 can be found in the development FAQ .

  • 14 February, 2004: The nameless GNOME 2.5.4 desktop is now available for FreeBSD. This latest development release is slated to be the last before the GNOME 2.6 beta cycle begins. Those interested in joining the testing effort should read the development FAQ for details on obtaining GNOME 2.5 and upgrading from 2.4

  • 5 February, 2004: The FreeBSD GNOME team is proud to announce the availability of GNOME 2.4.2 for FreeBSD. This is the next release in from the stable GNOME 2.4 branch. GNOME 2.4.2 is mainly a bugfix and translation release. The next major feature release will be GNOME 2.6 due out in late March. GNOME 2.4.2 is available in the FreeBSD ports tree.

  • 3 February, 2004: The GNOME 2.5.3 desktop, "That and a pair of testicles" release, is now available for FreeBSD. This releases fixes a lot of bugs in the previous release especially having to do with broken icons. Evolution users will be happy to find the Calendar and Contacts functionality also works now. For those wanting to ride the walrus, read the FAQ on how to get GNOME 2.5, merge it into your ports tree, and even upgrade from GNOME 2.4.

January 2004

  • 6 January, 2004: The GNOME 2.5.2 desktop, "You want me to blow on your toes?" release, is now available for FreeBSD. To accompany this release, the FreeBSD GNOME team has setup an FAQ on how to track the GNOME development branches. Please read that to familiarize yourself with what is involved. This release can be checked out from the MarcusCom CVS repository . Also be sure to download the ``marcusmerge'' script from the same URL to merge this tree into your main ports tree.

November 2003

  • 14 November, 2003: The GNOME 2.5.1 desktop, "Hey, at least I'm housebroken" release, is now available for FreeBSD. This release is jammed packed with goodies including Evolution 1.5, gnome-network, gDesklets, and monkey-bubble. Those with iron constitutions, and a thirst for bug hunting should check out the ``ports'' module from the MarcusCom CVS repository . If you have not done so already, be sure to get the ``marcusmerge'' script from the above URL to aid in the upgrade. A man page for the script can also be found at the above URL.

November 2003

  • 29 November, 2003: The GNOME 2.4.1 desktop, the "Better late than never" release, is now available for FreeBSD. Due to the 5.2 ports freeze, GNOME 2.4.1 will not officially enter the FreeBSD ports tree until after 5.2 is released. However, it can be obtained from the MarcusCom CVS repository with the help of the ``marcusmerge'' script. For a complete list of what's changed, checkout the release announcement .

  • 29 November, 2003: The GNOME 2.5.0 desktop, the "Obviously you're not a golfer" release, is now available for FreeBSD. FreeBSD GNOME junkies can check out this release from the MarcusCom CVS repository . Be sure to get the latest copy of the ``marcusmerge'' script while you're there to help with the upgrade. Thanks to a few of our users, there is also a man page to go with this script. NOTE: this is a developers release, and bugs will exist. If you're not into bug-hunting, you should probably steer clear until 2.6.0 is released.

  • 12 November, 2003: Pav Lucistnik has been granted a commit bit, and has been added as the newest member of the FreeBSD GNOME team. Pav will be involved in all aspects of the FreeBSD GNOME project, and we're excited to have him aboard. Please join us all in welcoming Pav to the FreeBSD GNOME team!

October 2003

  • 24 October, 2003: Thanks to work by Marcel Moolenaar , the GNOME desktop now builds on ia64. There are runtime issues to be resolved, but this was expected. Most importantly, we have new ways to exercise FreeBSD/ia64 in general and KSE/ia64 in particular. Not to mention that we can proceed porting and building other GNOME ports. GNOME for FreeBSD now runs on i386, Alpha, Sparc64, and ia64.

  • 16 October, 2003: It's been one year since Adam Weinberger (aka adamw, aka lemniscate) signed his soul over to our project. Since then, project documentation readability is at an all-time high, we have more wacky GNOME games in the tree than ever before, and we're keeping up quicker with GNOME releases. Thanks, Adam!

September 2003

  • 10 September, 2003: The GNOME 2.4.0: "Temujin" has been released, and is now available for FreeBSD. Due to a timing conflict with the upcoming FreeBSD 4.9-RELEASE, GNOME 2.4 will not make it into the official ports tree until sometime in early October. In the meantime, you can get the ports from the MarcusCom CVS repository . Get the ``marcusmerge'' script to help you with the upgrade. If you already have this script, download it again as it has been updated. Thanks to all those who made this release possible.

  • 4 September, 2003: The GNOME 2.4 Release Candidate 1 (aka "Kublai") desktop has been released and ported to FreeBSD. Those wanting to make GNOME 2.4 the best release ever should checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at the MarcusCom CVS repository . Be sure to get the ``marcusmerge'' script as well to with the upgrade (even if you already have this script, download it again as it has been updated). Note, this release will identify itself as GNOME 2.3.90, but it is, in fact, GNOME 2.4 Release Candidate 1.

August 2003

  • 30 August, 2003: The GNOME 2.4 Beta 2 (aka "Subotai") desktop has been released and ported to FreeBSD. This final beta is deep-frozen, meaning the final 2.4 will have very few, if any, source code changes from this release. The few, the brave, the testers should checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at the MarcusCom CVS repository . Be sure to get the ``marcusmerge'' script as well to help with the upgrade. Note, this release will identify itself as 2.3.7, but it is, in fact, GNOME 2.4 Beta 2.

  • 17 August, 2003: The GNOME 2.4 Beta 1 (aka "Jelme") desktop has been released, and ported to FreeBSD. For those of you chomping at the bit to test drive this baby, checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at the MarcusCom CVS repository . Be sure to get the ``marcusmerge'' script as well to help with the upgrade. Note, this release will identify itself as 2.3.6, but it is, in fact, GNOME 2.4 Beta 1. For a list of what has changed between GNOME 2.2 and 2.4 checkout http://www.ilug-cal.org/GNOME_2_4.html .

  • 14 August, 2003: Alexander Nedotsukov has been granted a commit bit, and has joined the FreeBSD GNOME team. Alexander will be working on general GNOME desktop porting and bug-busting as well as focusing on his ports of the GNOME 2 C++ bindings. Please join us in welcoming Alexander to the team!

  • 3 August, 2003: The GNOME 2.3.5 desktop, the "Jebe" release, is now available for FreeBSD. Bleeding-edge GNOME fans can check out this release from the MarcusCom CVS repository . Be sure to get the ``marcusmerge'' script as well to help with the upgrade.

July 2003

  • 15 July, 2003: The GNOME 1.4 Desktop has been removed from FreeBSD. Users are encouraged to upgrade to GNOME 2.2 which offers many improvements over the older desktop. This follows the GNOME announcement that development on the 1.4 desktop had stopped.

  • 12 July, 2003: The GNOME 2.2.2 desktop has been released and ported to FreeBSD. GNOME 2.2.x is available in the main FreeBSD ports tree. Simply cvsup your ports, and upgrade. Packages may take a while, however. For details on what is new and what has been fixed, please see the GNOME 2.2.2 change log .

  • 7 July, 2003: The GNOME 2.3.3, "The Four Hounds", has been released and ported to FreeBSD. Hearty adventurers should checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi , and download the ``marcusmerge'' script to aid in the upgrade.

May 2003

  • 22 May, 2003: On time, and featuring gnopernicus, the FreeBSD GNOME team presents the next GNOME 2.3 development snapshot, the "Little Hero" release. Testers should checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi , and download the ``marcusmerge'' script to aid in the upgrade.

  • 15 May, 2003: It's a bit late, but here none the less. For those willing to live on the edge, the next installment of the GNOME 2.3 development snapshot, code named "Daddy Walrus," has been ported. This snapshot lacks three ports found in the official GNOME distribution. They are gnopernicus, gnome-speech, and gnome-system-tools. The latter is missing because it does not fully work with FreeBSD, while the two former components rely on festival, which is broken on -CURRENT. To help out with the testing, checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi . Be sure to download the ``marcusmerge'' script as well to aid in upgrading existing ports.

April 2003

  • 13 April, 2003: Calling all testers! The first of the GNOME 2.3 development releases is now available. Code named "Mighty Atom," this release includes quite a few new proposed modules. The GNOME 2.3 snapshots will become the GNOME 2.4 desktop on or around September 8. The full scoop can be found here . Those wanting to test this release should checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi . Be sure to download the ``marcusmerge'' script from the same page. This script will help you merge the GNOME development ports tree into your main ports tree. Send all questions to freebsd-gnome@FreeBSD.org .

  • 4 April, 2003: Now that 4.8-RELEASE is out the door, the ports freeze has lifted, and GNOME 2.2.1 has been committed. GNOME 2.2.1 is a bugfix and performance release. However, it does boast "the best Nautilus ever." More details can be found at http://www.gnomedesktop.org/article.php?sid=986 .

February 2003

  • 7 February, 2003: The GNOME 2.2 Desktop has been released, and ports are available for FreeBSD. Checkout the GNOME 2.2 release notes for the full scoop on what has changed. A list of known issues with the FreeBSD port can be found here .

January 2003

  • 28 January, 2003: The GNOME 2.1.91, "OUTATIME" release, is now available, and ports have been made for FreeBSD. This is the last release candidate before GNOME 2.2 is released on February 5. For those wanting to test this release, checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi . A script is also provided at that site to help in merging this tree with the official FreeBSD ports tree.

  • 19 January, 2003: The GNOME 2.0.3 desktop has been completed for FreeBSD after the long ports freeze to prepare for 5.0-RELEASE. This new release includes a variety of bugfixes over 2.0.2, as well as some polishing off of promised GNOME 2.0 features.

  • 12 January, 2003: The GNOME 2.1.90 desktop, "1.21 Jigawatts" release, is available, and ports have been made. This is the first release candidate for GNOME 2.2, and is considered to be quite stable. People wanting to test this release should checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi .

December 2002

  • 22 December, 2002: The GNOME 2.1.5 desktop, "Enchantment Under the Sea" release, is available and ports have been made. Testers should checkout the ``ports'' module via anonymous CVS per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi .

  • 12 December, 2002: The GNOME 2.1.4 desktop, "We don't need... roads" release, is available and port have been made. For those wanting to participate in the testing, the ports are available via anonymous CVS from MarcusCom. Checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi .

  • 1 December, 2002: The GNOME 2.1.3 desktop, "Twin Pines" release, is available and ports have been made for it (including the GStreamer components!). For those wanting to test this next installment in the 2.1 developer series, ports are available via anonymous CVS from MarcusCom. Checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi .

  • 1 December, 2002: GNOME 2.0.2 will be the default GNOME desktop in the upcoming FreeBSD 5.0-RELEASE. The default desktop installation will come with both the Sawfish and Metacity window managers.

November 2002

  • 24 November, 2002: The news updates from the FreeBSD GNOME Project can now be downloaded in RDF format. Simply point your RDF consumer at http://www.FreeBSD.org/gnome/news.rdf .

  • 12 November, 2002: The GNOME 2.1.2 desktop, "Life Preserver" release, is available, and ports have been made for most of it. There are still some FreeBSD issues with the new GStreamer stuff, and some of the newer modules (such as system-tray) haven't yet been ported. For those wanting to test this latest development snapshot, ports are available via anonymous CVS from MarcusCom. Checkout the ``ports'' module per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi .

October 2002

  • 26 October, 2002: The GNOME 2.1.1 desktop, "Flux Capacitor" release, is available, and ports have been made for those wanting to test this next installment of the GNOME 2.2 development version. The ports are available via anonymous CVS from MarcusCom. Checkout the ``ports'' per the instructions at http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi .

  • 13 October, 2002: The GNOME 2.1.0 desktop, "88MPH" release is available, and ports have been made for those wanting to test. The ports are available via CVS from MarcusCom. A cvsweb interface is available from http://www.marcuscom.com:8080/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi . The module name is ``ports''. Instructions for checking out the ports is available at the cvsweb site.

September 2002

  • 15 September, 2002: GNOME 2.0.2 development API and desktop has been released today (just in time for 4.7-RELEASE)! The ports tree is in sync with 2.0.2, and i386 -stable packages are available from MarcusCom .

  • 11 September, 2002: GNOME 2.0.2 Release Candidate 1, "The Considerable Duck", is now available. The ports tree is already in sync with this release, as is the package distribution at MarcusCom .

August 2002

  • 15 August, 2002: GNOME 2.0.1 was officially released today. More info can be found at http://www.gnome.org/start/2.0/ . The ports collection is already in sync with 2.0.1, and 2.0.1 packages are available for i386 -stable from http://www.marcuscom.com/downloads/packages/gnome/ .

  • 14 August, 2002: GNOME 2 packages for i386 FreeBSD-stable have been posted to http://www.marcuscom.com/downloads/packages/gnome/ . Both .tgz and .tbz packages have been posted. This includes everything needed to install GNOME 2 except for XFree86. These packages were built using XFree86 4.2.0 which is available in package format from a variety of locations. Please send email to freebsd-gnome@FreeBSD.org if you have any problems.

  • 10 August, 2002: The GNOME 2 components have now been updated to the just-announced GNOME 2.0.1 Release Candidate 1: "Not Considered Harmful" release.

June 2002

  • 30 June, 2002: The FreeBSD GNOME team is proud to announce that GNOME 2.0 Release has been ported to FreeBSD. This comes four days after the GNOME Project made their press release. Look for documentation updates to cover the new GNOME 2.0 desktop.

  • 15 June, 2002: GNOME 2 on FreeBSD is now up to the "Fever Pitch" RC1. This is supposedly going to be the final release candidate for GNOME 2, with a final release coming around June 21.

  • 11 June, 2002: GNOME 2 components have been updated to the "Release formerly known as..." release snapshot. This brings a number of GNOME 2.0 components to 2.0.0. GNOME 2.0 release is imminent!

May 2002

  • 28 May, 2002: GNOME 2 components have been upgraded to "Stay on target!" release snapshot. This brings a whole new round of bug fixes and GUI improvements to GNOME 2.

  • 21 May, 2002: The FreeBSD GNOME Team has finished porting of GNOME2 beta 5 release to FreeBSD. All existing ports were updated and many missed were added. The FreeBSD Ports Collection now contains all bits and pieces of the GNOME2 platform, both desktop and development ones.The team now works on improving quality of the port, by tracking down FreeBSD-specific problems and fixing them. Another goal is to provide set of pre-built GNOME2 binary packages on the official FreeBSD 4.6 release media along with GNOME 1.4 bits and pieces.We would encourage any help from our users in the form of problem reports, patches, suggestions etc.

April 2002

  • 26 April, 2002: All components of GNOME2 Platform already ported to FreeBSD have been updated to the latest versions found in the official GNOME2 beta4 distribution.

  • 6 April, 2002: All components of GNOME2 Development Platform already ported to FreeBSD have been updated to the latest versions found in the official GNOME2 beta3 distribution.

  • 5 April, 2002: Joe Marcus Clarke has been granted a FreeBSD commit bit (direct access to the cvs repository). His main focus as a committer will be FreeBSD GNOME, so that expect much faster problem resolution than ever. It is also expected that he would revive somewhat stalled GNOME2 porting effort. Welcome aboard, Joe!!!

March 2002

  • 12 March, 2002: Mozilla 0.9.9 is out bringing many bugfixes and new features and FreeBSD port was updated accordingly. Update is strongly recommended to all current users.

  • 11 March, 2002: All components of GNOME2 Development Platform already ported to FreeBSD have been updated to the latest versions found in the official GNOME2 beta2 distribution. Thanks to Joe Marcus Clarke for his help.

February 2002

  • 10 February, 2002: The FreeBSD GNOME team started some initial work on getting GNOME2 bits and pieces running on FreeBSD. The work is expected to take quite some time, though some initial set of ports making up core of the GNOME2 platform would be committed to the FreeBSD ports repository as soon as possible.

January 2002

  • 31 January, 2002: Brand new FreeBSD GNOME site is up and running. Many thanks to all who make it possible, particularly Joe Marcus Clarke and John Merryweather Cooper .

  • 29 January, 2002: Famous Ade Lovett , who was one of the main founders of the FreeBSD GNOME porting effort, but due to various reasons had left the FreeBSD GNOME team in June 2001 decided to re-join us. This is truly amazing news, because we still have many things to do, so that his help and huge experience in the field would be really useful.

  • 28 January, 2002: Several core GNOME ports were updated to the latest versions (gnomelibs, gnomecore, glade etc.) Please follow usual instructions to update your system.

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