Gnome 2 Support

[danyc05]

I was using Unity but recently switched back to 10.10 but will gnome 2 continue to be supported after the 11.10 release?

[sffvba[e0rt]

10.10 will continue to be supported by Canonical for 18 months after release... so that is April 2012.

[Ric_NYC]

I was using Unity but recently switched back to 10.10 but will gnome 2 continue to be supported after the 11.10 release?


This could help you:


Version 11 of the popular distro sees it opting to use neither Ubuntu’s Unity interface or GNOME’s latest ‘GNOME 3′ or ‘GNOME Shell’ desktops. Instead Linux Mint 11 has decided to retain use of the “classic” GNOME 2.32 desktop that many users have long been accustomed to. (May 26, 2011)


http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/05/linux-mint-11-released-plays-safe-with-gnome-2-desktop-but-adds-some-natty-touches/

[CharlesA]

I don't foresee support for Gnome 2 being dropped any time soon. Probably sometime after 12.04 is released, or beyond.

[danyc05]

Alright thanks for the info, and I've tried Linux Mint but it doesnt run as smooth as 10.10 runs on my laptop.

[Ric_NYC]

Here's a review on Linux Mint using Gnome 2.32

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z_IIq2su2w

[3Miro]

10.10 is supported for 18 months after release, which means April 2012. 10.04 is supported for 3 years, which means you can use it until April 2013.

[danyc05]

I will probably switch back to Unity maybe on the 12.04 release because hopefully by then it will be completely improved and look a bit nicer. For now, I'm just use to having my menus at the top, I'm not a big fan of the new dash.

[Dragonbite]

I've run Gnome 2 in 11.04, so Gnome 2 should be supported at least as long as 11.04 and 10.04 LTS (which is until April 2013).

[yetiman64]

....For now, I'm just use to having my menus at the top, I'm not a big fan of the new dash.

If you are particularly fond of the Applications,Places and System menus (like myself) have a look at the AWN dock. It can be set up to give you that access back in Natty (as well as many more gadgets). When I had Unity installed I had it set up on the top right of the screen with nothing else added to it (just for that one feature).

[walt.smith1960]

I was using Unity but recently switched back to 10.10 but will gnome 2 continue to be supported after the 11.10 release?

In addition to Unity and Unity2D, 11.10 Alphas have a GNOME (Gnome3 desktop), GNOME classic & GNOME classic - no effects. AFAIK, the latter 2 are still Gnome 3 but without the desktop. They still use panels. They have Applications & Places, no System. System items seem to be split between Applications -> other and a System menu under the power menu on the right side. I assume a lot of less-commonly use applets won't work on 11.10 GNOME classic.

[drawkcab]

There's always xfce 4.8 which has greatly improved in the last few years and seems to be positioning itself to catch all the retro grouches (like myself) that don't take to Gnome 3 and Unity.

[Dragonbite]

There's always xfce 4.8 which has greatly improved in the last few years and seems to be positioning itself to catch all the retro grouches (like myself) that don't take to Gnome 3 and Unity.

I installed it recently and am trying it out (again). So far, it's pretty good and has solved various annoyances I saw years ago.

[trollolo]

There's always xfce 4.8 which has greatly improved in the last few years and seems to be positioning itself to catch all the retro grouches (like myself) that don't take to Gnome 3 and Unity.

although i wouldn't consider myself a retro grouch, i'll be putting my support behind XFCE as well.

[danyc05]

yea i was planning on running xubuntu and trying it out... is there any major difference between gnome and xfce besides some applications because ive seen videos on it and it seems good but can you use compiz effects on it?

[hhh]

... xfce... can you use compiz effects on it?
Yes.

[ScionicSpectre]

There are incompatibilities among some of the GNOME elements that would have to be handled delicately by packagers. For the most part, gnome-panel is the significant element of GNOME 2 that has changed in GNOME 3 (that is, a refined applet system to which all previous GNOME applets haven't been ported). The new gnome-panel in GNOME 3 is quite good and worth taking a look at in Fallback Mode. Aside from this, Xfce is quite good, but if you really want the old-fashioned GNOME panel and perhaps some of the older applications, take a look at the MATE desktop environment. It already has quite a few users, and it may be worth paying attention to as an alternative. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a PPA for it soon, since it's being actively used on Arch and has its own repository just for Arch.

However, I'd recommend you look at the new gnome-panel or XFCE first to see if they suit your needs before going through the trouble. It's also quite likely that Linux Mint will port their specific applets to gnome-panel 3 and continue to use it for the foreseeable future with the GNOME 3 platform.

[danyc05]

Gnome 3 doesnt look that bad, but I dislike the activities menu. That menu is basically the unity dash on steroids lol. The customization that is available with Ubuntu releases before 11.04 is what keeps me using 10.10. I like being able to change the look of everything and make it look how I want it to look. Maybe in the future, gnome 3 and unity will have some more customization features, but for now its not really up to par with the gnome 2 customization.

[cariboo]

Gnome 3 doesnt look that bad, but I dislike the activities menu. That menu is basically the unity dash on steroids lol. The customization that is available with Ubuntu releases before 11.04 is what keeps me using 10.10. I like being able to change the look of everything and make it look how I want it to look. Maybe in the future, gnome 3 and unity will have some more customization features, but for now its not really up to par with the gnome 2 customization.

Please get your terminology straight, in Oneiric, Unity runs on top of Gnome 3. What you are referring to is Gnome-shell.

[danyc05]

Yea sorry about that, you are correct though I was referring to gnome-shell.

[ScionicSpectre]

Danyc, while GNOME 3 is already quite customizable (with project Sweet Tooth the extensions framework will become official with a solid API), the customizations that originate will not likely be the same kind that were available for GNOME 2, since users of GNOME 3 are a far different audience. While there are extensions available for almost anything you could do with applets in GNOME 2 already, the Activities menu is a feature that most GNOME users are sticking with 3 love, and endorse fully. It's not going away by any means, although there is an alternative menu similar to the Applications/Places already there.

Of course, you can always use gnome-panel as has been mentioned before. However, I think XFCE or KDE would suit your interest in diverse and flexible customization quite well. There aren't a lot of things you could do in GNOME 2 that you can't do in XFCE.

[Dragonbite]

although i wouldn't consider myself a retro grouch, i'll be putting my support behind XFCE as well.

Sounds like so does Linus!

[danyc05]

I just recently tested out Xubuntu 11.04 and its not that bad. My final choice is to probably stick with Ubuntu 10.10 and wait and see how the new releases ( 11.10 and 12.04) are to see if I'll switch back to unity or not. Because I am interested in all the changes that are going on with gnome and Xubuntu does seem to be a bit outdated.