You may recall my abortive attempt last year to update to a new version of CentOS so I can run current versions of browsers. I just could not get Gnome 3 to work like Gnome 2 I have been using for years.
I found some interesting comments about this situation at http://www.osnews.com/story/27160/What_s_Happening_with_User_Interfaces_ It has an introduction to the situation, mentioning Windows 8 and other things and then says, among other things, GNOME 3 with the GNOME Shell When it was introduced in spring 2011, GNOME 3 abandoned the traditional desktop design of GNOME 2 in favor of the new GNOME Shell. The GNOME shell is superficially somewhat similar to Unity (though the two are diverging over time). Both present a new style of desktop interaction influenced by mobile devices. As with Unity, some liked the new GNOME desktop paradigm, but others didn't and it caused quite a controversy. Linus Torvalds famously criticized it and switched from GNOME 3 and its shell to Xfce. Then, as the product rapidly improved, he went back to GNOME. Tons of extensions and packages like the GNOME Tweak Tool smoothed the way. Computers that couldn't boot GNOME 3's new graphics ran a Fallback mode that was reminiscent of GNOME 2. GNOME 3.8 was announced in May. It includes a new Classic mode "...for those who prefer a more traditional desktop experience." Classic mode replaces Fallback mode. Through Classic mode, the GNOME team addresses those who dislike its new interface. The goal is to continue with the new desktop while keeping users who want a traditional system in the fold. My guess is that most will judge GNOME on the basis of its enhanced version 3 design, which today many like. Those who want a traditional UI have probably already left the GNOME Shell for alternatives. In any case, the GNOME project remains vitally important to the free software movement in its support of many dozen tools and applications. Maybe I should follow the comment, "Those who want a traditional UI have probably already left the GNOME Shell for alternatives." The article also says, Xfce, LXDE, and MATE With the drastic changes in some UIs, interfaces that have remained true to the traditional desktop metaphor have gained in popularity. Xfce, LXDE, and MATE innovate within the context of this long-established paradigm. Xfce is well polished and much faster than when I first tried it with Xubuntu several years ago. Today it really flies on my Mint systems. You can customize it by adding icons to its desktop or quick launch panel as easily as you can in Windows. LXDE features a highly-modular design with independent, plug-and-play components. Together with its fast apps, LXDE has become the lightweight default interface for several distros including Knoppix, Lubuntu, and Raspbian. MATE continues the GNOME 2 heritage and incrementally improves it with new features and themes. Several distros have adopted MATE instead of GNOME 3. Xfce, LXDE, and MATE will run on mature computers. The newer UIs require state-of-the-art graphics hardware. These include current releases of GNOME (with 3.8's elimination of Fallback mode), Ubuntu (with 12.10's dropping of Unity 2D), and Cinnamon (which requires 3D acceleration). So, it sounds like MATE might be a possibility ... Craig _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
