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Reasons Why You Probably Wont Like Gnome 3
By: Qushawn Clark
Expert Author
2011-11-10
If you don't know already, probably because a lot of you are still too busy trying to get used to (or completely avoid) the new Unity desktop interface now packaged with Ubuntu, a new version of Gnome has been released.
The new version of Gnome is radically different from the version that most of us have been using for so many years, similar to that of Unity. It seems to be aimed at being more like Mac OS X or Windows, as it is much more application oriented than the previous version. The central part of the interface is the new Activities menu, which is customizable and holds shortcuts to your favorite applications. Along with the bar is the dashboard-type interface that also appears when you hit the Activities button. It does not bring up specific windows when you click on an app, but instead pulls up the whole application. There are no desktop shortcuts in Gnome 3, which will clearly be an issue for a lot of people. Instead, you use the Activities function and the search bar to get the things that you need. According to their website , "Search is central to GNOME 3. Applications, windows, documents and even settings can all be quickly and easily searched for from one place". It also has a very streamlined system settings setup and a built in messaging client that, admittedly, is very sleek. In fact the messaging client is completely integrated is is simply a little tray that can be pulled up at the bottom of the screen.
All in all, its a new neat, sleek, and yet very confusing interface to use. Linux creator and master, Linus Torvalds, has decided to stop using Gnome completely after trying out the new version of the interface. He has some very strong words about it as well, stating that "In gnome3, the developers have apparently decided that it's "too complicated" to actually do real work on your desktop, and have decided to make it really annoying to do." He goes on in this G+ thread to describe why he doesnt like the desktop environment in detail, and in the end announces that he is moving to the Xfce environment.
Some people, instead of complaining, have actually decided to do something about this, because they realize that people want to be able to use Gnome, just without some of the new features. Linux Mint, who will be releasing the Linux Mint 12 very soon, have decided to send off their new OS with the old version of Gnome, but they have also made it very clear that "the future of Linux Mint is Gnome 3", and that people should keep that in mind. However, to make things easier, they have developed a little add-on called MGSE (Mint Gnome Shell Extensions), which allows users to turn off the features of Gnome 3 that they don't want to use, or as they say, use it the "traditional way." For those of you trying to run away from all of the recent changes to operating systems across the board, you might want to look to Linux Mint for refuge. Check out the announcement about 12 and MGSE here , and read more about the OS itself here at the main site.
About the Author:
Qushawn is a staff writer for the iEntry Network.
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