Fedora 44 made me forget I was using Linux – in the best way

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Fedora 44 is now available, and it’s something special.
• There are tons of improvements on just about every level of the OS.
• You can download and install Fedora 44 for free.

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Ah, Fedora Linux. I’ve used, abused, tested, and loved it for a long, long time. With each iteration, this open-source operating system has improved on its previous outings, sometimes with small steps and other times with great strides. There have been releases that showed remarkable improvement, while others only moved the needle the slightest bit.

Fedora 44 falls somewhere in between, while at the same time taking Linux to new heights.

Let’s talk about this latest release.

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I downloaded the flagship edition, which ships with the GNOME desktop. I’m not going to lie, I’ve kind of had a falling out with GNOME, mostly because the likes of COSMIC and KDE Plasma have both jumped ahead of GNOME in both aesthetics and usability. However, that should not be seen as an attempt to deride or discount the desktop. With Fedora 44, you get GNOME 50, which elevates the DE to be on par with those that have surpassed it over the past few years.

GNOME 50 is as polished as this desktop has ever been, and Fedora 44 puts that on display. 

One aspect of GNOME that has been outstanding over the past decade is its rise to being one of the most stable desktops on the market, and Fedora 44 really highlights that. No matter how I used this workstation distribution, the desktop never failed. It’s as rock solid as any desktop I’ve ever used. On Fedora 44, GNOME 50 is lightning fast and steady. I never once worried that GNOME would cause a single issue.

I realize that GNOME is not everyone’s cup o’ tea, but I sincerely believe that if you give it a go, you’ll find it to be much simpler and more efficient than you might have thought.

But this isn’t about GNOME 50, it’s about Fedora, so let’s talk about how the developers have improved the operating system.

Parental controls

I find this to be an important addition to the desktop, not because it gives parents the ability to get draconian over their children, but allows them to monitor and limit screen time and set break reminders. It’s also possible to set screen limits. When a limit is reached, the screen shifts to black and white, so it’s harder to use/enjoy.

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I really appreciate the movement reminders, as I know how easy it is to get caught in the time suck that is using a desktop PC. When children are doomscrolling on social media and get a reminder to look away or move around, hopefully they’ll heed those warnings.

Accessibility

Accessibility is an important topic for desktop PCs, and it’s one that some operating systems have fallen behind on. Fedora 44 and GNOME 50 take this seriously by making the following additions/changes:

• Reduced motion setting.
• All settings are now global, but can also be saved on a per-app basis.
• Automatic language switching for web content and app UI.
• Browse mode is extended to all document content.
• Sticky mode has been adjusted to automatically turn on for Electron apps. 
• Braille support has been enhanced.
• Mouse Review now supports Wayland sessions.

Graphics improvements

This is one area where Fedora 44 really jumps ahead. There’s a much-improved Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Fractional Scaling with plenty of bug fixes, enhanced stability, and user experience improvements. On top of that, these features are now enabled by default.

If you happen to have a compatible monitor, VRR gives you a tear-free experience, thanks to the ability of the display frame rate to match that of the application’s frame rate. This gives windows a much smoother motion.

With Fractional Scaling, you can now scale in increments to best suit your display. You can achieve scales such as 125% or 133%.

VRR also gives us a low-latency cursor, so it operates independently of an app’s frame rate (when VRR is active). This means you get a much more fluid cursor that’s every bit the equal of that of MacOS. This works even if an app is running at a lower frame rate.

Those using Nvidia graphics will enjoy a significant performance boost with workarounds for several driver quirks to prevent stuttering and frame-timing problems. This adds to an already smoother display.

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Finally, the next-gen color management found in Wayland has arrived, which allows those who demand more accurate color to achieve it across apps and hardware. At the same time, you’ll find the screen now supports High Dynamic Range (HDR), which means that color in screen sharing and recording is more accurate.

What’s it like?

Enough with the market-speak. What is Fedora 44 like to use?

I can happily say that this release truly brings Fedora in line with the best desktop operating systems on the market. It’s fast, it’s smooth, it’s easy to use. The best compliment I can give Fedora 44 (and don’t take this the wrong way) is that it’s the first time I’ve experienced this particular distribution where I kind of forgot I was using Linux and was just interacting with a PC. 

I never once felt the need to open a terminal app; it was as user-friendly as most would assume Windows to be, and the windows and the cursor were as smooth as MacOS.

Fedora 44 is a thing of simplistic beauty that should please users of all types. And if you can’t get on board with GNOME, there’s always Fedora KDE, which gives you a more traditional desktop environment while delivering the creamy smoothness found in this latest release of Fedora.

If you’re interested, download the ISO of the latest Fedora release, burn it to a USB drive, and install it on a spare computer. You won’t regret the choice.