Can You Have Unity AND Gnome 2/3 to Choose at Login, Like With KDE, Xfce, etc?

[OzzyFrank]

Now, I know that Unity is supposed to be built on Gnome 2, but can you have the 2 on the 1 system, which you can alternate between at logon, like I can do with KDE, XFce and a bunch of other desktop environments and window managers? This would I think apply to a system like mine, which is at 10,10 and will eventually have to upgrade.

Since Gnome 3 is set to replace 2 shortly, I would ask could that share space with Unity, either on a new system, or a yet-to-be-upgraded system like mine?

Also, I may as well ask here: is it true you can simply "turn off" Unity and it will just revert to the familiar Gnome interface? If true, would that be possible on a new system, or just one upgraded, so has both Gnome and Unity installed?

Many thanks in advance for helping me sort through this confusion. From all the negative reports I've seen on this forum thus far, I'm tentative about making the plunge. Cheers.

[Hedgehog1]

Yes you can!: Natty Info: Your UI options (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1741293)


The Hedge

:KS

p.s. Did you hear an echo? :D

[ankspo71]

Hi,
Ubuntu 11.04 is using Gnome 2.32 and will come with the traditional Gnome2 desktop (now called Ubuntu Classic) automatically installed, even on a fresh installation. Unity will be the default desktop when Ubuntu is first installed, but you will be able switch between the two desktops when you log out. Switching between them works perfectly for me, and I haven't seen them interfering with each other or with their settings. I have also tried the openbox and xfce4 desktops on the same Ubuntu 11.04 install without problems switching between all of them. There is also a Unity-2D desktop available for installation for the people who want to use Unity but can't use 3D effects.


Since Gnome 3 is set to replace 2 shortly, I would ask could that share space with Unity, either on a new system, or a yet-to-be-upgraded system like mine?

Gnome3 has already been released but I don't think Ubuntu will be moving to Gnome3 until 11.10 or later (just a wild guess).
Hope this helps.