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rectec794613
August 28th, 2011, 02:15 PM
Hey guys,

Installed Ubuntu 10.10 about a week ago over 11.04/11.10 because of the familiar Gnome 2, of course. However I realize that Gnome 2's being phased out, and support for Maverick will run out eventually. I can only safely run this setup for so long, and I've been planning to upgrade to the infamous (albeit less infamous than Unity) Gnome 3. (I realize 11.10 won't ship with Gnome shell by default, and I must install it.)

Anyways, lets get started.

1) How is Gnome's compatibility with Compiz Fusion and vice versa? Can I use all the old default and extra plugins?

2) When Oneiric is released, can I upgrade straight from 10.10? If I can, what would you recommend: Upgrade or fresh install?

3) Does Gnome 3 come with a dock/launcher at the side? Because I already have a dock and it's customized the way I want it to. I wouldn't need another dock, how could I remove Gnome 3's?

Any other tips/help you can give me about upgrading would be great.


Sorry if it seems like a lot to read, I try my best to make my questions as easy to understand and short as I can.

Yes as I said before, I'll probably wait until 11.10's released, maybe a few days/weeks later.

Any help is greatly appreciated, and I'll be here to answer any questions that you have about my questions. Thanks!

MARP1961
August 28th, 2011, 04:53 PM
A fresh install always seems to cause fewer problems than 'version updates' using Update Manager. If you do choose a version update, you will have to upgrade to 11.10 from 11.04 first. You cannot go directly to 11.10 from 10.10. Back up all your important files and when the time comes (mid October) do a fresh install.

When you have 11.10 installed you will notice that the Unity desktop will be displayed. You can then give this a trial or immediately go to the Software Centre and look to install Gnome 3 Shell. If you do this, you will have a choice of Unity 3D (Ubuntu), Unity 2D or Gnome (Gnome Shell) at the login screen.

I really like Gnome Shell and have it installed on 11.04 (a bit of a temporary fix). Like Unity it does have a side dock which to which you can add and remove icons. You need to try both out for a while to see what you think of them. I would advise people to wait until 11.10 to try it out on Ubuntu. If you want to see it in action either look for a review on YouTube or try out Fedora 15 which is running Gnome 3 already.

cbowman57
August 28th, 2011, 05:18 PM
Gnome shell doesn't have a dock by default, if you have one it's because you're using the dock extension, which can be removed or disabled with gnome-tweak-tool. You can most likely use your current dock with it. I've personally tried it with AWN, docky, cairo-dock & the xfce4-panel.

MARP1961
August 28th, 2011, 07:06 PM
The Overview Screen (accessed by clicking on 'Activities' or pressing the Windows Superkey) does reveal a dock! You can place or remove icons on it. Who needs any more than one dock? Gnome Shell is simple and uncomplicated. You can install extensions to customize it. I bet if you try it for long enough, you'll grow to love it.

cbowman57
August 28th, 2011, 07:38 PM
Not to pick nits, but the "dock' that is exposed in the overview is called the dash. Not being critical but I think it's important to get familiar with the terminology to avoid confusion now & in the future. :)

https://live.gnome.org/GnomeShell/Terminology

Gnome shell does give you the option of adding additional docks though.

And yeah, I'm one of those people that really likes Gnome shell.

3Miro
August 28th, 2011, 09:01 PM
1) Gnome-shell and Compiz are 100% incompatible. They are both Windows Managers and you can run at most one at a time. Unity is Comoiz, Gnome-shell is completely new.

2) You can only update Ubuntu one release number at a time, however, since 11.10 will be moving from Gnome 2 to Gnome 3, a clean install would be preferable (too many new things and upgrades will have a high chance of failing).

3) I think you should be able to run your own dock with Gnome-shell, but I am not 100% sure.

MARP1961
August 28th, 2011, 10:32 PM
All in all, a much more flexible alternative to the default Unity desktop. I particularly like the way Gnome Shell manages workspaces. The search seems smarter and quicker than the Unity equivalent and it all just looks nicer.

Anyone who cannot get used to Unity or Gnome Shell can try the XFCE desktop (similar to the old Gnome 2) or the 'fallback' Gnome 3 Shell (also similar to Gnome 2). It will be interesting to see what Linux Mint does in it's next release (Mint12).

cbowman57
August 28th, 2011, 10:50 PM
I know most articles & blogs show the default gnome shell, which isn't all that user friendly for those of us used to gnome 2, but with a few extensions it becomes gnome 2 on steroids. Frankly I've waited 27 years for a DE like this & didn't even realize it.

Here's an example of a Gnome shell desktop.

http://ubuntuforums.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=195742&d=1308762566

rectec794613
August 29th, 2011, 06:42 AM
Great, thanks guys. I read all of your posts and they help a lot. A few weeks ago I tried to get 11.10 alpha 3 running, and I see they haven't fixed the ridiculous RT2800 module issues in the kernel, which caused me problems back in May. (Please read http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1771947)
Whereas with Gnome 2, after some persistence with restarting the pc and logging in again and again, I could eventually log in and get started, Unity seems to make it even harder, where it will always, always freeze logging in. Any way I can sorta make a custom version of Ubuntu with the modules already removed and blacklisted?

P.S. I did know that it wasn't called a dock, just wanted everyone to know what I was referring to. Thanks.

rectec794613
August 30th, 2011, 01:18 AM
Ok, never mind. If I need any more help with Gnome 3 when I upgrade I'll ask. Later.

xdominex
August 31st, 2011, 03:41 AM
Well, Unity is supposed to get a lot better with the release of 11.10. I've tried both Unity and Gnome Shell and actually think that Unity has a lot more potential. Gnome 3 is definitely more mature right now, though, and I believe it to be, in its current state, a better DE. However, we shall see where the Ubuntu developers take Unity and if they'll make it into an awesomely user-friendly and customizable DE like Gnome 2 is.