The Future of Gnome... Gnome 3.0.

[Jayce]

Has anybody tried out Gnome 3.0 yet? Also known as Gnome Shell.

A lot of Linux users, even hardcore Gnome guys, don't have a clue what's being developed in the background. Gnome Shell is a completely re-vamped edition of Gnome, utilizing an overlay and a completely different menu system. I believe it's still in alpha stage still, but I have had very few problems with it in terms of stability. If you have Ubuntu 9.10, it's in the repos, however it's an older version and the newer version has several touch-ups that were done to it to make it improved, visually and usability wise.

Here's an array of Google images so you guys can check it out and see what I'm referring to. There's also a range of YouTube videos showing previews of how it's used, etc.

gnome shell - Google Search

I first tried out Gnome Shell a few months ago. I was so appauled by it that I quickly ditched Gnome all together and went to KDE. Well, KDE is very solid, and I really like what they have done. But with each KDE-centric distro I tried, I just kept looking back to Ubuntu. I felt that I didn't give it a strong enough chance to really breathe and show me what it can do. So here I am... using Gnome Shell full time on my work laptop in a production environment giving it a 30 day test-drive that I refuse to let myself budge from. To activate Gnome Shell after installed, it requires a command to replace the current Gnome 2.X desktop. I just tied that command to auto-start each time under startup applications, so now it starts during the login process. So far for me it's been very seamless.

Despite the fact it requires compositing to run, Gnome developers claim that it'll still run as thin as the previous Gnome did. I can confirm that I tested Kubuntu 9.10 w/ KDE 4.3.2 and Ubuntu 9.10 with Gnome Shell from the repos on the same old beat up computer with awful integrated graphics. I felt as though Gnome Shell was indeed a bit slimmer to run on poor performing machines.

As I originally stated, I hated it from the get-go. But so far I'm finding that once I put my stubborn guard down and decided to really adapt to it, I adapted very quickly. In fact I'm somewhat liking it. I feel as though my desktop is cleaner. It makes me feel as though my 15.4" work laptop is a 17 inch due to the lack of a bottom panel as well as a cleaner top panel.

I'm sure more stuff will come down the road. More ways to customize, more ways to alter it and make it "your own." However for the time being, it's 10 months away from being formerly released anyway. I'm sure Gnome developers are working hard to ensure Gnome 3.0 isn't a KDE 4.0.

But anyway, has anybody used it? I encourage you guys to slap Ubuntu 9.10 on a spare machine (or any other distro that suits your needs. I hear Fedora 12 has a repo for it as well) and tie in Gnome Shell to the mix. It's very interesting, and while it's different to get used to, you might find you like it.

Anyway, this is day 1 of my test drive with it. So far everything has been positive. But I'm going to try my best to rip it apart and find stuff I hate about it. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Jayce]

I've been following the Ricotz PPA recently, which is relatively easy to add and provides pretty consistent updates. If you are interested in trying out Gnome Shell, it's easy to do so, but when you fire it up, just don't have anything important open just in case. After all, this is software that is still in alpha (or beta?) stage, so it activating properly does pose a small risk.

You can add the Ricotz PPA with this command, however, I believe this only applies to Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ricotz/testing

Then:

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell.

To fire up Gnome Shell, open a terminal and issue:

gnome-shell --replace

As long as you want Gnome Shell running, don't close that terminal. If you turn into a die hard "GS" fan, you could always add that command to startup applications to fire up GS right away without a terminal.

Opinion thus far:

Despite being in alpha/beta stage, I have only used GS for a short time but have seen decent improvements week after week. Although it seems like somewhat of a shock at first, once you re-enter your comfort zone of knowing where stuff is, it's actually very comfortable to use.

I will say I'm not the biggest fan of using GS on a dual screen system. On my particular system, my main monitor is on my right, and since GS zooms in/out from the left, that's a heck-uv-a range to zoom in/out at, spanning across my secondary LCD before it hits my primary. It'd not a big deal, but I wouldn't mind having the option to change which inbound/outbound direction it derives from.

I will say, it's pretty dang slick on my laptop.

 

[iFargle]

I didn't really like Gnome 3.0.. I liked a few things about it, like the expose / spaces thing, but that's about it.. I didn't like the side bar too much, but that could have changed since the last time I used it. It feels like a netbooky UI to me.

 

[Jayce]

I didn't really like Gnome 3.0.. I liked a few things about it, like the expose / spaces thing, but that's about it.. I didn't like the side bar too much, but that could have changed since the last time I used it. It feels like a netbooky UI to me.

I can definitely see what you're saying. Gnome Shell does resemble the fundamentals of Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

While I do find myself liking GS more and more as I force myself to use it, I still just feel... a little limited. To be fair, it sounds like their notification system is what's supposed to really tie everything together, and only a small portion of it is installed so far. So we'll have to see how that goes.

It sounds like Gnome Shell isn't necessarily replacing panels, but that it's merely just taking over as default. So Gnome 3.0 will drop with shell by default, but will have the functionality of panels as well. This is a smart move, because that will enable Gnome to cover two areas that are similar, yet still very different (panels vs shell).

Besides, if they wouldn't, someone would fork it. That's the beauty of open source software. Hate it? Change it! There's enough Gnome panel lovers out there that could easily fork it and it be mainstream in a few short weeks. But Gnome wouldn't do that to us. They seem to be users and developers at the same time, which is a good combo to have (and often rare to see) when producing software.

One small thing I did (just to throw out a personal experience) that made me like the regular Gnome panels even more was simply setting my bottom panel to auto hide. Just a little bit of extra screen space being saved in between switching around applications is actually quite handy.

I'm sure by the time GS is final and released it'll be much better and more functional than what it is now. But regardless, I can see the pros and cons of both panels and GS. It just adds another choice to the long list of choices we already have as nix users.

 

[Jayce]

So tonight I got a little curious and fired up a dock with it. I chose AWN because I felt as though it was very polished and feature packed while still being stable. Docky is another great dock for Linux as well.

Point being, whether you use AWN, Docky, Cairo, etc, a dock REALLY enhances the overall Gnome Shell desktop. With using a dock I have grown to like Gnome Shell exponentially more in the few minutes I've been on it.

This, of course, brings a slight hampering on the situation because I don't feel as though a dock should be required. Something about Gnome Shell should exist in order for users to easily switch applications. The notification system has yet to be completed, and there's enough people complaining to warrant putting in this much needed change. Perhaps the way GS implements it will be better than what a current dock offers.

Even still, simple point being, GS + Dock is a pretty wicked combo. I dig.