These instructions are for installing the GNOME Shell in Ubuntu 12.10 running the Unity Desktop.

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

What is it?

GNOME Shell is just the basic GNOME 3 desktop environment. It includes GNOME Session Fallback as part of the installation.

GNOME Shell is not the same as the classic or traditional desktop most users are familiar with. It is a desktop that requires 3D hardware capability (if it is not available, then the system loads the GNOME Fallback Session). GNOME states that most 3D graphics cards manufactured after 2007 (or so) should be suitable.

Who is it for?

GNOME Shell is for those users who want a GNOME 3 desktop without installing extra packages and programs.

GNOME Shell includes GNOME Session Fallback as part of the installation, if you are not interested in the GNOME 3 desktop and want a more traditional/classic desktop environment I recommend installing GNOME Session Fallback because it will save you some disk space.

What it looks like

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

While it might look similar to the traditional/classic desktop, it is not. Clicking on the Action item (or tapping the Windows or Super key) will bring up a Unity style pane with some decorations on the side:

From the Command Line

If you are comfortable with Linux and know how to use the command line and apt-get then the command is:

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

Afterward, you need to restart your system.

From the Ubuntu Software Center

Launching the Ubuntu Software Center

1) Tap the Windows (Super) key to bring up the Dash panel:

2) Type Ubuntu Software Center into the search field:

3) Press the Enter key. This will select and launch the Ubuntu Software Center

4) Type gnome shell into the Ubuntu Software Center search field. This will bring up related entries.

5) Click on the entry GNOME Shell – this will highlight it in orange:

6) Click on Install:

7) Enter your password and click Authenticate:

8) 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:

9) Click on Restart:

Selecting the Desktop

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

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

11) Select GNOME (you also have the option of selecting GNOME Classic which is just the Session Fallback version):

12) Click on OK:

13) Login as normal:

The post Ubuntu 12.10 – Installing GNOME Shell appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

These instructions are for Ubuntu 12.04 running the Unity desktop on which GNOME Shell was installed using either the Ubuntu Software Center or sudo apt-get on the command line.

The instructions may be the same for other versions of Ubuntu, but no guarantee is made.

When GNOME Shell is installed in Ubuntu 12.04, it installs several packages and libraries it requires as well as some optional packages. Not all these packages and libraries are uninstalled when you uninstall GNOME Shell.

Quick Uninstall

1) Open a terminal (instructions can be found here).

2) Enter the following command (it is very long and a single line):

sudo apt-get purge --auto-remove alacarte cups-pk-helper gir1.2-accountsservice-1.0 gir1.2-caribou-1.0  gir1.2-clutter-1.0 gir1.2-cogl-1.0 gir1.2-coglpango-1.0 gir1.2-folks-0.6  gir1.2-gdesktopenums-3.0 gir1.2-gee-1.0 gir1.2-gjsdbus-1.0 gir1.2-gkbd-3.0  gir1.2-json-1.0 gir1.2-mutter-3.0 gir1.2-networkmanager-1.0  gir1.2-panelapplet-4.0 gir1.2-polkit-1.0 gir1.2-telepathyglib-0.12  gir1.2-telepathylogger-0.2 gir1.2-upowerglib-1.0 gir1.2-xkl-1.0 gjs  gnome-applets gnome-applets-data gnome-contacts gnome-icon-theme-full  gnome-panel gnome-panel-data gnome-session-fallback gnome-shell  gnome-shell-common gnome-themes-standard indicator-applet-complete  libcaribou-common libcaribou0 libclutter-1.0-0 libclutter-1.0-common  libcogl-common libcogl-pango0 libcogl9 libgjs0c libmozjs185-1.0 libmutter0  libpanel-applet-4-0 mutter-common python-gmenu

It is easiest to copy the line and paste it into the terminal (right-click on the terminal and select Paste from the popup menu).

Preferred Uninstall

The better way to uninstall it is to follow the directions on this page.

This will show you on how to uninstall only the packages that were installed when GNOME Shell was installed. The instructions are generic and work for any installed package.

It involves:

1. identifying which packages were installed and
2. creating a command to uninstall only those packages

It leaves intact any packages you may have installed or that were installed by other packages instead of blindly assuming that they were installed along with GNOME Shell.

The post Ubuntu 12.04 – How to Completely Uninstall / Remove GNOME Shell appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

These instructions are for installing the GNOME Shell in Ubuntu 12.04 running the Unity Desktop.

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

What it Looks Like

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

From the Command Line

If you are comfortable with Linux and know how to use the command line and apt-get then the command is:

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

Afterwards, you need to restart your system.

From the Ubuntu Software Center

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking the icon on the Launcher:

2) Enter gnome-shell into the search field. This will bring up related entries.

3) Click on the entry GNOME Shell – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click Authenticate:

6) After installation is finished, click on the System icon in the upper right corner of the desktop and select Restart to Complete Updates… from the drop down menu:

7) Click on Restart:

Selecting the Desktop

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

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

9) Select GNOME Classic or GNOME Classic (No effects):

10) Login:

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

This article was updated for Ubuntu 12.04. It can be found here.

A basic Unity tutorial can be found here. NOTE: Unity in Ubuntu 12.04 is more complete and useful than Unity in Ubuntu 11.10 – the main advantage being the HUD interface.

Ubuntu 11.10 comes with the Unity interface. Either the full blown Unity or Unity 2D for systems that don’t support 3D acceleration. If the install / upgrade went well, this is the only interface available to you.

Unfortunately, many people hate the interface. The interface itself is not that bad – it is a new way of doing things and anything new is usually met with a lot of resistance because users are comfortable with the old way of doing things. Unity changes the way we interact with the computer from icons and menus to a browser like interface (called Dash) where the user types in what application they want to run.

A more serious problem with Unity is that it is sluggish. Very sluggish. It takes two seconds from pressing the Window key to getting the Dash interface. It is no faster pressing the Dash icon.

There are alternatives to Unity, but it is not obvious what they might be.

I spent 3 days installing and testing 22 different window managers and desktop environments available via the Ubuntu Software Center.

Setup

Ubuntu 11.10 was installed in a VirtualBox (version 4.1.2r73507) virtual machine. The virtual machine was configured to have 1 cpu, 512Mb memory, 12Mb video memory, 8Gb hard disk.

Ubuntu 11.10 was installed as an upgrade to a fresh Ubuntu 11.04 install.

Guest Additions were not installed.

Each replacement environment was tested on a fresh Ubuntu 11.10. This was to avoid any possible interactions / conflicts / dependencies between installed environments.

Testing

Basically, I tested it for usability:

1. Did it work?
2. Was it easy to navigate?
3. Could I find what I was looking for?

I also (crudely) tested performance:

1. How long it took from login to the desktop? This was tested from a freshly booted machine.
2. How long did it take to launch FireFox? Only the first launch time is recorded since subsequent launches were faster.
3. How long did it take to launch LibreOffice Writer? Only the first launch time is recorded since subsequent launches are faster.

A number of factors can affect launch and startup times, so take them with a generous pinch of salt – especially since I was not terribly rigorous about it. I found that the few seconds difference in time to launch is not that important compared to the responsiveness of the environment.

Notable Absence

KDE, the rival to GNOME, is absent from this list because Ubuntu Software Center fails to run correctly under it – it will launch, but you cannot install or remove any packages using it.

KDE provides its own software center called Muon Software Center, but it doesn’t work either. You can click the Install or Remove button and it will start doing something, but after a few seconds it will pop up the error message: This operation cannot continue since proper authorization was not provided. (this bug was reported on 16-Oct-2011). This happens because Ubuntu requires administrator priviledges (that’s why you’re asked for a password) when installing or removing software. If you are running as root thn this would not be a problem.

You could always use the Synaptic Package Manager or apt-get from the command line, but I think most Ubuntu user’s want to use the easy and familiar way.

Caveat

My comments aren’t full fledged reviews. They reflect my impressions and observations to help guide you in picking a replacement for Unity.

Any one of these environments is a good replacement for the Unity Desktop.

If I said something negative about an environment, well, it was something I noticed and considered negative. It may be something you don’t notice or care about.

GNOME Shell

The Good

If you like the classic Ubuntu interface and want to go back to it, then installing GNOME will give you most of that. But there are differences (listed in The Bad)

The Bad

• You only get two menu entries on the desktop instead of three.
• There is no quick launch icon for FireFox
• The menus are slightly different from the classic interface
• The interface is sluggish, but not as sluggish as Unity.
• There are no options available for configuring the look of the interface (you need to download additional packages Advanced Settings, extra themes for the GNOME desktop, and GNOME Color Chooser. Even then, you don’t have as many configuration options as LXDE or XFCE.

The Timings

• From Login to Desktop: 35-45 seconds
• Launch FireFox: 11-19 seconds
• Launch LibreOffice Writer: 25 seconds

Installing GNOME Shell

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking on the icon:

2) Enter gnome shell into the search field. This will bring up a number of related entries. Click on the entry GNOME Shell – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click on Authenticate:

6) After the install is finished, Logout of Ubuntu.

7) Click on the icon in the top right of the Login box and select one of the first 3 GNOME entries. I saw difference in the behaviour or performance of the different versions of GNOME. If you are worried about performance, select GNOME classic (No effects). I selected GNOME:

8) Enter your password and login.

This is the default desktop:

As you see, the environment looks very similar to the original Ubuntu classic desktop: there is a status and navigation bar at the top (green); menus look familiar (red); and applications look the same (blue):

LXDE

The Good

• The lightest weight desktop
• Many configuration options.
• Snappy and responsive.

The Bad

• While the LXDE logo is pretty cool, I don’t like it as my Start Menu launcher (ok, so that is a small gripe and is probably customizable somewhere).
• I found too many applications were put into the Other menu option (XFCE did a slightly better job at grouping menu items, but XFCE placed some applications in multiple menus, LDXE did not duplicate applications across menus).
• The are two (apparently conflicting) look and feel configuration managers: LXAppearance and Openbox Configuration Manager.

The Timings

• From Login to Desktop: 11 seconds
• Launch FireFox: 3 seconds
• Launch LibreOffice Writer: 19 seconds

Installing LXDE

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking on the icon:

2) Enter lxde into the search field. This will bring up a number of related entries. Click on the entry LXDE (The Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click on Authenticate:

6) After the install is finished, Logout of Ubuntu.

7) Click on the icon in the top right of the Login box and select Lxde. Note: there will also be entries for GNOME / Openbox and Openbox. Selecting GNOME/ Openbox will get you the Unity desktop; selecting Openbox will get you a very barebones environment (just a grey screen) you can right click on the desktop to get a menu):

8) Enter your password and login.

This is the default desktop:

As you see, it is a fairly standard windowing type desktop. You can configure the look and feel through either the LXAppearance application or the Openbox Configuration Manager. Unfortunately, they both overlap and Openbox Configuration Manager seems to override LXAppearance in many cases. I found it a little confusing to have two configuration utilities that do pretty much the same thing (and conflict with one another):

Where Things Are

Ubuntu Software Center, Update Manager, and Ubuntu One can be found in the Preferences menu entry.

XFCE

The Good

• Coolest looking desktop (ok, your preference might be different)
• Many configuration look and feel configurations options available (the most of the three packages).
• Snappy and responsive.
• It is my favourite (again, that is purely subjective)

The Bad

• It’s the largest of the packages (but not a behemoth).
• Multiple applications are used for configuring the look and feel (but unlike LXDE, their functionality does not overlap)
• A lot of applications end up in the Settings menu. There is also some duplication of entries between the Accessories, Settings and System menu (depending on your point of view, this may not be a problem if you feel an application fits in multiple categories).

The Timings

• From Login to Desktop: 20 seconds
• Launch FireFox: 6 seconds
• Launch LibreOffice Writer: 27 seconds

Installing XFCE

1) Launch the Ubuntu Software Center by clicking on the icon:

2) Enter xfce4 into the search field. This will bring up a number of related entries. Click on the entry Meta-package for the Xfce Lightweight Desktop Environment – this will highlight it in orange:

4) Click on Install:

5) Enter your password and click on Authenticate:

6) After the install is finished, Logout of Ubuntu.

7) Click on the icon in the top right of the Login box and select Xfce Session.

8) Enter your password and login.

9) The first time you start XFCE, it will prompt you use the default configuration or to create an empty panel. Select Use default config:

This is the default desktop:

As you see, a fairly standard windowing environment. The Desktop application allows you to change the background The Window Manager application allows you to change the look of the windows. The Windows Manager Tweaks application allows you to configure the behaviour of your windows and desktop:

Conclusion

Aside from being a lot of work to test, this experience has shown me is that Ubuntu has done a fantastic job in packaging and laying out a Linux distribution for the masses.

Unfortunately, in trying to differentiate itself and trying to set a direction, Ubuntu is alienating a lot of users who would normally be drawn to this (formerly) user friendly distro.

Unity is a tablet style interface for Linux. It might be good, but it should be an option for users – not enforced on them.

As well, Unity and, it seems, GNOME 3 (and KDE Plasma) demand a lot of graphics horsepower. Their performance on my system is pretty much unacceptable.

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