It’s been a few months since I last reviewed the state of GNOME core apps. For GNOME 45, we have implemented the changes proposed in the “Imminent Core App Changes” section of that blog post:
- Loupe enters core as GNOME’s new image viewer app, developed by Christopher Davis and Sophie Herold. Loupe will be branded as Image Viewer and replaces Eye of GNOME, which will no longer use the Image Viewer branding. Eye of GNOME will continue to be maintained by Felix Riemann, and contributions are still welcome there.
- Snapshot enters core as GNOME’s new camera app, developed by Maximiliano Sandoval and Jamie Murphy. Snapshot will be branded as Camera and replaces Cheese. Cheese will continue to be maintained by David King, and contributions are still welcome there.
- GNOME Photos has been removed from core without replacement. This application could have been retained if more developers were interested in it, but we have made the decision to remove it due to lack of volunteers interested in maintaining it. Photos will likely be archived eventually, unless a new maintainer volunteers to save it.
GNOME 45 beta will be released imminently with the above changes. Testing the release and reporting bugs is much appreciated.
We are also looking for volunteers interested in helping implement future core app changes. Specifically, improvements are required for Music to remain in core, and improvements are required for Geary to enter core. We’re also not quite sure what to do with Contacts. If you’re interested in any of these projects, consider getting involved.
Maybe the GNOME Foundation should create some kind of campaign to attract new developers to work on the core applications?
I mean a campaign consisting of a website, social media posts and physical posters that people can print out and put up in universities.
I think they should let the world know more clearly that they need new developers. This could also be an opportunity to express the values of GNOME again and why it is worth developing for it.
With the integration of GNOME Mobile Shell, GNOME can also be promoted as a platform for developing mobile applications. This can certainly attract new users and developers.
Just my fifty cents