GNOME 3.8 Released Featuring New "Classic" Mode 267
Hot on the heels of the Gtk+ 3.8 release comes GNOME 3.8. There are a few general UI improvements, but the highlight for many is the new Classic mode that replaces fallback. Instead of using code based on the old GNOME panel, Classic emulates the feel of GNOME 2 through Shell extensions (just like Linux Mint's Cinnamon interface). From the release notes: "Classic mode is a new feature for those people who prefer a more traditional desktop experience. Built entirely from GNOME 3 technologies, it adds a number of features such as an application menu, a places menu and a window switcher along the bottom of the screen. Each of these features can be used individually or in combination with other GNOME extensions."
So, they heard the complaints... (Score:1, Informative)
...and did something about it that didn't ruin their code base.
Kudos Gnome Team.
I kinda like the KDE they forced me to try with their second-to-latest abortion, but I'll give Gnome 3.8 a try.
Cinnamon (Score:1, Informative)
I tried Cinnamon on Mint 14.1 and found it to be freezing frequently when changes to it were made. Not ready for prime time IMO and back to Ubuntu 12.10. Unity isn't perfect, but it just works.
Re:Too late (Score:5, Informative)
Moved on, XFCE and it's at least replaced all uses for what Gnome was doing for me. Instead of creating a rich unified DE for all to use (with small enhancements and extensions), they flushed down all their good will in re-inventing something that many/most? of their community didn't seem to want.
I wish you well, but this is one ship I simply refuse to sail on (In the same likes as Windows 8 and unity alas).
Re:Cinnamon (Score:5, Informative)
I used Mint 14.1 and I found the alternate but included MATE interface to be far more stable than cinnamon.
2013??? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:idle curiosity (Score:4, Informative)
You can turn min and max back on with tweak-tool. You can also disable dynamic workspaces. Handy!
Two Reviews Worth Reading (Score:3, Informative)
Over at datamation.com they have two reviews worth reading. One general review on GNOME 3.8 [datamation.com] and a separate review on the all new GNOME Classic [datamation.com].
Re:Two Reviews Worth Reading (Score:5, Informative)
"In many fundamental features, GNOME Classic actually fails to match GNOME 2's standards. On closer examination, the panel proves to be unmovable and un-resizable. Nor has GNOME Classic followed Mate's lead and restored the ecosystem of applets, the small utilities that could do so much to customize a GNOME 2 desktop." -- datamation.com
So i'll be sticking with MATE (on fedora) and GNOME2 (gentoo stable) for atleast the next 6 months then :-)
Everything Just Works (Score:4, Informative)
I tried Cinnamon on Mint 14.1 and found it to be freezing frequently
Very little I install on my computer does not just work. I don't mind Unity, and prefer it to Gnome shell but Cinnamon has been an incredible project. I am more than happy to provide you with a working video of my desktop :) I suspect your overstating the position. BTW you can install cinnamon on Ubuntu.
Re:So, they heard the complaints... (Score:5, Informative)
How do you launch something when you don't know its name? Sit a newbie down in front of gnome panel and they'll never find all of the "hidden" programs.
The type to search applications feature searches more than just application names -- it searches a number of fields in the .desktop files, including application descriptions. Thus a search for "spreadsheet" will bring up LibreOffice Calc for example. Type what you want to do, and you'll find what you want ... that's the theory.
Re:So, they heard the complaints... (Score:2, Informative)
Willful ignorance? The point of Coryoth's post is that you don't have to know exactly the right verb to get the thing right... or even a verb at all.
For example, webcam application is named Cheese. Type "cam" or "webcam" because that's what you want to use, and Cheese shows up (or type "cheese" and it shows up). Gnome's implementation seems leagues better than Microsoft's to me, but I only rarely use Win7 so I might be wrong about how MS has done this. And no idea about OSX or other WM's.
But this is a LONG way from having to know to type "ls" to list files or "find" to find files, etc. post