Linux has come a long way from the early, oft-crashing days. GNOME is now one of the primary desktops for the Linux operating system; not only is it highly customisable, but it is amazingly stable. We examine why Linux -- running GNOME -- is a viable desktop alternative.
I was present at the very first unveiling of GNOME at the Linux Expo at Duke University; it was pretty amazing at the time to see a new Linux desktop. This was version .30; as of this writing, GNOME is at 2.18.1. It has come a long way from the early, oft-crashing days. Even though GNOME doesn't have the same look and feel as it did in its early, ground-breaking days, GNOME is now one of the primary desktops for the Linux operating system. If you've never given GNOME a try, I'm confident that you will after reading this article.
Author's note
For the purposes of this article, I'll be
running GNOME from a fresh install of Ubuntu 7.0.4 (Feisty Fawn) with the
following hardware specs:
- AMD 2800+ processor
- 528 MB RAM
- Via Technology integrated VT8378 video
Obviously, this machine is no powerhouse, but GNOME is snappier than any Windows install that has been on the same machine.
What's GNOME?
If you're of the 95 percent
of the world that uses Windows, you know what a GUI is, but because you're
running Windows, you're stuck with only one -- the GUI Microsoft forces you to use.
In the Linux world, you can choose pretty much any GUI for your desktop. GNOME
is one of the most popular desktops available, although you've probably heard
of other ones such as KDE or Enlightenment.
GNOME is the default GUI for most of the major Linux distributions, including Red Hat, SuSE, and Ubuntu. Even if your chosen distribution doesn't natively come with GNOME, you can easily install it. It rides on top of the Linux X Windows services, so almost any product that uses X can run GNOME.
If your distribution uses KDE or another window manager by default, you can switch to GNOME by simply logging off. When the login screen appears, select Session and then GNOME; then, log in as normal. You'll get the default GNOME screen, just like other Linux users.
The Desktop
Take a look at Figure A: this is the default GNOME desktop
(with a few minimised windows). The layout is simple: At the bottom of the
screen, you'll see a GNOME panel configured to serve primarily as a window list
where minimised windows can live. You will also see the Show Desktop button,
the Workspace Switcher, and the Trashcan. At the top of the desktop, you will
see another GNOME panel configured to serve as an application launcher, menu
system, and system tray.
This default desktop is somewhat reminiscent of the Apple desktop, but much more configurable.
Let's take a look at the GNOME panel. I'll show you how it's configured.
GNOME panel
The GNOME panel is, for the most part, a typical
panel application. You can add items to the panel, configure, remove, and even
report problems with the panel. All of these actions are done via a right-mouse
click on the panel. When you right-click the panel, you'll see a new menu open,
as shown in Figure B.
Ensure you click on an empty space in the panel to get this menu.
Let's take a look at the properties of the panel. Select Properties from the Panel configuration menu. The Panel Properties window allows you to configure the look, location, and action of the panel.
Suppose you want to configure your panel to be transparent. You can do this by pressing the Background tab, selecting Solid Color, and then sliding the Style slider all the way to the left. The changes happen in real time, so there's no need to preview or press an OK button. Figure C shows the results of having a transparent panel.
The panel is still there, right-click on it to bring up the configuration menu.
From the General tab within the Panel Properties window, you can also change the arrangement of the panel (Top, Right, Bottom, or Left), change the size of the panel, or change the hiding options.
Now take a look at the bottom panel. You can configure the bottom panel in the same manner you configured the top panel. The only difference between these two panels is the applets added to each. You could, effectively, create an identical panel on the bottom as you have on the top. That is one of the most appealing aspects of GNOME -- its configurability. Granted, the GNOME developers assume their default setup is the most usable setup.
There will be instances when screen real estate might dictate only one panel on your desktop. This is simple:
- Remove the bottom panel by right-clicking the panel and selecting Delete This Panel.
- Right-click the top panel to open up the Add To Panel window.
- Press the WindowList button and drag it to the Panel.
The WindowList applet is now a part of the top panel. Do the same for the Show Desktop button, the Switch Workspace applet, and the Trashcan, and you have all of the default attributes in one panel.
1%
2%
I've been a Suse/KDE user from 9.x on to 10.2
But I recently did a fresh install of 10.3 on my machine (I dual boot XP) and noticed the GNOME was now the first choice in the list of desktops.
I decided to give it a whirl, and I'm duly impressed. I highly recommend setting up the Links2Linux Packman repository and, more importantly, the VideoLan one to get the full experience.