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Ubuntu 12.04 – How to Install the MATE Desktop

richardsplanet — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:37:58 +0000

These instructions are for installing the MATE Desktop v.1.2 or v.1.4 on Ubuntu 12.04 running the Unity interface.

Unless otherwise specified, all observations and screenshots are for v.1.2.

Installation instructions may be the same or similar for other versions of Ubuntu or for other Linux distros, but no guarantee is made.

The MATE website provides installation instructions for several different Linux distros (including Ubuntu).

Installing MATE Desktop is very much like going back to the original GNOME 2 desktop that was part of earlier version of Ubuntu.

GNOME 2 is now obsolete and had been replaced by GNOME 3. Not everyone was happy with this (including Canonical). Canonical (the makers of Ubuntu) decided to create a new desktop called Unity.

A developer named Perberos decided to fork GNOME 2 (i.e. create a new independent project based on GNOME 2) and continue development under name MATE.

While this is the “traditional” desktop, it has some issues. Some applications, like System Monitor, don’t work properly under MATE, so a MATE compatible version is provided.

Below is a side-by-side comparison of System Monitor shipped with Ubuntu 12.04 (on left) and the replacement System Monitor included with MATE (on right) (click for larger image):

Unlike other desktops which install alternate applications that function the same as existing applications (e.g. Thunar and Nautilus), MATE installs duplicate applications. This can be seen in the screen shot below:

Note the duplicate entries. One is the version installed with Ubuntu 12.04, the other the replacement installed with MATE. The original versions don’t quite work / look right under MATE.

An article listing alternative desktops for Ubuntu 12.04 can be found here.

If you are changing desktops because you are totally lost / confused by Unity, I suggest reading this tutorial and giving Unity a chance.

Of course, if you really hate Unity, then MATE Desktop is an alternative desktop.

MATE Desktop will install 316MB of files and data to your hard disk.

Some images may be clicked for full sized versions.

What it Looks Like

The basic, straight-out-of-the-box, look of the desktop is:

While installing MATE will give you a true classic GNOME 2 desktop, there are potential problems and incompatibilities. Ubuntu 12.04 is built on top of GNOME 3, but with a customized interface Canonical calls Unity.

There is always the possibility that MATE and GNOME 3 may not coexist happily on the same system. One of the bug fixes to MATE was to change file names to avoid clashes with GNOME.

Note: Linux Mint provides MATE as one of their desktop environments. They claim that MATE and GNOME 3 can happily coexist on the same system.

As well, some applications may not look / function properly under MATE. I have not done exhaustive testing, but aside from the few applications MATE installs to replace the equivalent Ubuntu ones, I have not encountered any problems.

Quick Instructions

Open a terminal and enter the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://packages.mate-desktop.org/repo/ubuntu precise main"
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mate-archive-keyring
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mate-desktop-environment

Restart your system.

Note: it may be sufficient to simply logout and log back in, but I don’t think it hurts to restart.

Detailed Instructions

Opening a Terminal

Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open a terminal.

Pressing Ctrl+Alt+T means “While holding down the Ctrl and Alt keys, press the T key as though you intend to type it”. Do not press or hold down the Shift key. It does not matter if the Caps Lock key is on or off.

You should now have something that looks like this:

Adding Software Sources

MATE Desktop is not part of the regular software sources used by Ubuntu, so you have to add the sources for MATE.

1) Enter the following line exactly in the terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://packages.mate-desktop.org/repo/ubuntu precise main"

You can type it or cut and paste it.

To cut and paste the line into the terminal:

1) Select the line and press Ctrl+C.

2) Right-click on the terminal. This will pop up a menu. Select Paste from the menu:

Note: the traditional keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V will not work in the terminal.

It should look something like this when you are done:

2) Press the Enter key.

3) Enter your password (this is the password you use to log into Ubuntu) and press the Enter key:

Note: when you type your password, nothing will happen in the terminal. It gives no feedback as the password is typed in. This is normal.

When you are done, it will look like this:

Updating the Software Sources

Before MATE can be installed it is necessary to update the software sources so Ubuntu knows where to fetch the required packages from.

1) Enter the following exactly:

sudo apt-get update

2) Press the Enter key.

3) Enter your password and press the Enter key.

Ubuntu will then spend several minutes updating your software sources. The amount of time will depend on the speed of your Internet connection.

When it is done, it should look something like this (ending with an error):

The error occurs because, for security reasons, Ubuntu requires various software sources to be authorized. The next steps add the necessary authorization.

4) Enter the following exactly:

sudo apt-get install mate-archive-keyring

5) Press the Enter key.

You will be warned about trying to install an unauthenticated package. This is normal.

6) Type y and press the Enter key:

When it is done, it should look something like this:

We will need to update the software sources again.

7) Enter the following exactly:

sudo apt-get update

Ubuntu will then spend several minutes updating your software sources. The amount of time will depend on the speed of your Internet connection.

When it is done, it should look something like this (without errors):

Installing the MATE Desktop

1) Enter the following exactly:

sudo apt-get install mate-desktop-environment:

2) Press the Enter key.

Some text will scroll across the screen showing exactly what is going to be installed. You will be prompted to continue with the installation:

3) Press the Enter key to proceed with installation. (You can also type y followed by Enter.) If you don’t want to install it, then press n followed by the Enter key.

Installation time will depend on your Internet connection speed (how quickly you can download the code) and computer speed (how quickly you can compile everything).

Part way through the installation, you will get this screen:

4) Press the Enter key.

5) After installation is finished, click on the System icon in the upper right corner of the desktop and select Shut Down… from the drop down menu:

6) Click on Restart:

Selecting the Desktop

After the system has restarted, it is necessary to select the new desktop from the login screen.

It is only necessary to select the desktop the first time after installation. Ubuntu will remember your your desktop for future logins.

You can even install multiple desktops and switch between them. Although, I am not sure if MATE and GNOME can exist happily together on the same system.

1) Click the icon in the top right of the Login box:

2) Select MATE:

3) Login:

Notice the icon in the upper right hand corner has changed to a blank circle. Some, not all, desktop environments will present an icon there.

If an icon is present, this provides a quick way to see which desktop environment you are logging into.

The post Ubuntu 12.04 – How to Install the MATE Desktop appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

Ubuntu 12.04 – Replacing the Unity Interface

richardsplanet — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Starting with Ubuntu 11.10, Canonical has made the Unity interface / Desktop the default one.

Canonical has done a poor job explaining the Unity interface (I think they should have some sort of script that walks you through the interface on a new install) and this leaves many people bewildered by the new interface.

Unity in Ubuntu 12.04 is more feature rich than the version shipped with Ubuntu 11.10 (it includes the HUD interface) and is much more usable.

I like Unity and now find the standard desktop rather annoying.

I found Unity easy to learn (once I got over being totally bewildered by it) and I would advise you to give it a chance before changing your desktop.

You can find a basic Unity tutorial here

This article lists a number of alternatives for replacing Unity along with a brief description. Installation of each desktop is described on a separate page. I’ve done this because the similar article I wrote for replacing Unity on Ubuntu 11.10 was just too long.

There are a number of replacement desktops available for Ubuntu 12.04.

My main criteria for choosing / recommending the following desktops are:

It should be easy to install.
It should offer a reasonably familiar environment.
It should work with core Ubuntu features – most specifically Ubuntu Software Center.

LXDE

There are two versions of this: LXDE Core and LXDE.

LXDE Core will occupy 19.7MB on your hard disk. It is the lightest installing desktop environment. Installation instructions can be found here.

LXDE will occupy 46.9MB on your hard disk. It installs everything LXDE Core installs as well as some additional applications (like arj, leafpad, lxterminal, lxappearance and some others). Installation instructions can be found here.

The basic, out of the box, LXDE desktop looks like this:

Lubuntu Desktop

There are two versions: (1) just the desktop, and (2) the desktop along with all the applications that are bundled with Lubuntu.

This is the desktop that ships with Lubuntu (an Ubuntu derivative based on the LXDE desktop environment).

Installing the full desktop will occupy 321 MB on your hard disk and installs many applications – many of which are alternates to applications already installed with Ubuntu. For example, it will install abiword (an alternative to LibreOffice Writer), galculator (an alternative to gcalctool), Ace of Penguins (a collection of card games), etc.

Installing only the desktop will occupy 66.3 MB on your hard disk.

The basic, out of the box, Lubuntu Desktop looks like this:

Installation instructions for just the desktop (no additional applications) can be found here.

Installation instructions for the full desktop can be found here.

XFCE

This is another reasonably light weight desktop environment.

It will occupy 67.8MB on your hard disk.

It also installs a number of applications including thunar (a file manager, basically, this duplicates nautilus) and xscreensaver (a screen saver application).

The basic, out of the box, XFCE Desktop looks like this:

Installation instructions can be found here.

Xubuntu Desktop

There are two versions: (1) just the desktop, and (2) the desktop along with all the applications that are bundled with Xubuntu.

This is the desktop that ships with Xubuntu (an Ubuntu derivative based on the XFCE desktop environment).

The full Xubuntu Desktop installation will occupy 283MB on your hard disk and install many applications – many of which are alternates to applications already installed with Ubuntu. For example, abiword (an alternative word processor to LibreOffice Writer), thunar (and alternative file manager to nautilus), bison (a tool used by programmers to generate parsers), etc.

Installing only the Xubuntu Desktop will occupy 111 MB on your hard disk (the only extra application it will install is Thunar (an alterntive file manager to Nautilus).

The basic, out of the box, Xubuntu Desktop looks like this:

Installation instructions for just the desktop (no additional applications) can be found here.

Installation instructions for the full Xubuntu Desktop can be found here.

GNOME

There are at least three versions of this desktop: (1) GNOME Session Fallback, (2) GNOME Shell and (3) GNOME Desktop.

GNOME Session Fallback is the lightest. GNOME Shell is a little heavier weight. GNOME Desktop is the heavyweight contender and installs a number of additional applications.

You get three desktops installed: GNOME 3, GNOME Classic, and GNOME Classic (No effects). Gnome Session Fallback does not include the GNOME 3 desktop.

Canonical based its Ubuntu Desktop on GNOME. When GNOME took a development direction Canonical didn’t agree with, they started working on Unity.

The GNOME desktop will be unfamiliar to the average user – it is the direction GNOME feels the desktop UI should be evolving.

The GNOME Classic desktop (also known as GNOME 2) is reasonably familiar (this was the desktop Ubuntu built theirs on). Though, not quite what you were used to.

The GNOME Classic (No effects) desktop is the same as the Classic desktop – just without fancy effects.

GNOME Session Fallback will occupy 34.8MB on your hard disk.

GNOME Shell will occupy 72.3MB on your hard disk.

GNOME Desktop will occupy 414MB on your hard disk. Like Lubuntu and Xubuntu desktops, it installs many applications – many of which are alternate to applications already installed with Ubuntu. For example, it will install the epiphany browser (alternate to FireFox), many games (gchess, grobots, etc), synaptic package manager (an alternative to Ubuntu Software Center), etc.

The basic, out of the box, GNOME Shell (new desktop) looks like this:

The basic, out of the box, GNOME Classic looks like this:

GNOME Session Fallback installation instructions can be found here.

GNOME Shell installation instructions can be found here.

GNOME Desktop installation instructions can be found here.

Despite being called GNOME Classic, the desktops are still GNOME 3. They are just configured to look like GNOME 2.

MATE Desktop

Of all the replacement desktops, this is the closest to the original or classic desktop before Unity (or GNOME 3 or KDE Plasma).

It will occupy 316MB on your hard disk.

It is a fork of GNOME 2.

A fork means it split off the main GNOME 2 development project. GNOME 2 no longer exists – it is now GNOME 3.

Linux Mint offers a customized version of MATE as one of its desktops. If you were thinking of installing Linux Mint, you can get pretty much the same desktop experience by installing MATE (of course, you will have to customize the desktop yourself to get that Minty look).

Unlike the other desktops mentioned, the process to install this desktop is a little more involved. Though, it is still straightforward.

The basic, out of the box, MATE desktop looks like this:

Installation instructions can be found here.

Cinnamon Desktop

Cinnamon offers a fairly traditional looking desktop with the menubar at the bottom of the screen and a Start menu button (similat to Windows or LXDE).

Cinnamon is one of the desktops offered when you install Linux Mint. If you were thinking of installing Linux Mint, you can get pretty much the same desktop experience by installing Cinnamon.

It will occupy 63MB on your hard disk.

The installation procedure for Cinnamon is simpler than MATE, but still a little more involved than the other desktops mentioned. Nevertheless, it is still straighforward.

The basic, out of the box, Cinnamon Desktop looks like this:

Installation instructions can be found here.

Notably Missing

I do not recommend either KDE or Kubuntu (which is based on KDE) because (1) the Ubuntu Software Center does not work with it and (2) Muon (which is the KDE equivalent to Ubuntu Software Center) doesn’t work either.

Of course, if you are a hardcore geek, you probably don’t care if Ubuntu Software Center or Muon work, since you likely use the command line or synaptic package manager to install and remove software.

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