MGSE the new desktop proposed by Linux Mint

Finally Clem (creator of Linux Mint) has shown us what the future of the desktop will be for the next version of the popular distribution.

Clem ha posted on the blog an article where he explains how the future of Linux Mint and how the desktop you want to offer to users will be. They can read it in Spanish here., although I leave them here to make it more comfortable and in the end I leave you my opinion about it 😀

I would like to apologize to the community, the media and journalists who have written to us to find out more about our upcoming release. We have been extremely secretive and 3 weeks after the Ubuntu release it is still unclear to most people exactly what the next Linux Mint will look like. The reason we've been so quiet is because I don't want to promise something that I couldn't guarantee. Today we are finally ready to give you an in-depth preview of Linux Mint 12, codenamed "Lisa." I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Gnome 2 vs new desktops

In Linux Mint 11 the decision was made to keep Gnome 2.32. The traditional Gnome desktop, although not actively developed by the Gnome development team, is still by far the most popular desktop within the Linux community. As other distributions have adopted new desktop systems like Unity and Gnome 3, many users feel ignored and thus have migrated to Linux Mint. There was a 40% increase in a single month and we are now rapidly reaching # 1 for Ubuntu in the Linux desktop market.

As much as we'd like to keep Gnome 2.32 a little longer, we have to look ahead and embrace new technologies. This does not mean that we have to change the way we use desktops, it means that we have to try to do our best to make people feel at home, but on top of a new foundation, a new layer of technology, which is actively supported and can be kept in good shape in the future.

From a technological point of view, Gnome 3 is a fantastic desktop, and it is getting better with each new version. It will take time for Linux Mint to develop a desktop in Gnome 3 similar to what we had with Gnome 2, but over time we will be able to do much more than what was possible with the traditional desktop.

With this in mind, the future of Linux Mint is Gnome 3, the present of Linux Mint is a simple question: “How can we make people like Gnome 3? And what do we offer as an alternative to those who still don't want to change? «.

Gnome 3 and MGSE

Gnome 3 is bright, stylish, and modern. This is a stylish desk, but it comes with a few issues:

• The way you access your computer is changed
• It is application-centric, not task-centric (switching between apps, not windows)
• It doesn't multitask like that (you can't see open windows, systray icons, etc.)

We've been using application menus, window lists, and other traditional desktop features that I can remember. It looked different in KDE, Xfce, or even Windows and Mac OS, but it was similar. Gnome 3 is changing all that and is developing a better way for us to interact with our computer. From our point of view here at Linux Mint, we are not sure that they are right, and we are not sure that they are wrong or not. What we are sure is that people are not given the option of being frustrated and our vision of an operating system is that the computer should work for you and that you feel comfortable. So with this in mind, Gnome 3 on Linux Mint 12 needs to allow you to interact with your computer in two different ways: the traditional way, and the new way, and it's up to you to decide which way you want to use.

To do this we have developed "MGSE" (Linux Mint Gnome Shell Extensions), which is a desktop layer on top of Gnome 3, which makes it possible to use Gnome 3 in a traditional way. You can disable all the components within MGSE to get a pure Gnome 3, or you can leave it to get a Gnome 3 desktop that is similar to what you have been using before. Of course, you can also choose and only allow the components you want to design your own desktop.

The main features of MGSE are the following:

• The bottom panel
• The application menu
• The list of windows
• A desktop-centric workstation (i.e. switch between windows, not applications)
• System tray icons visible

MGSE also includes additional extensions, such as a media player indicator, and various enhancements for Gnome 3.

This is what it looks like (click on the image to enlarge it):

As you can see it is a mix of old and new. It is a completely new desktop, but with the traditional components. We are very excited about the new technology, but it is important that everyone feels at home. So a Linux Mint desktop looks and behaves like a Linux Mint desktop and this feels much like Gnome 3 and the traditional Linux Mint desktops that came before it. You can run apps from the top left, easily switch between apps and workspaces with the list of windows or keyboard shortcuts, keep an eye on your notifications at the top, and access Gnome 3 features like "activities" in the upper left corner.

The reservation mode

Gnome 3 requires video acceleration and that is something that most systems have. In Linux Mint 12 we also made sure that you could run Gnome 3 inside Virtualbox, so if 3D acceleration is enabled on your virtual machine, you should be able to enjoy Gnome 3 and MGSE without any additional drivers.

If you are not lucky, however, you will land in "FallBack mode".

Make no mistake about "FallBack mode", despite its looks, it has nothing to do with Gnome 2! It is a component of Gnome 3 and is fully compatible with technologies such as Bonobo panel applets. It has been appropriately named as the "fallback mode", and is set to fade with time as Gnome 3 will gain more and more hardware compatibility.

MATE

MATE is a fork of Gnome 2.32, it looks and behaves exactly like Gnome 2.

The problem with Gnome 2.32 is that it conflicts with Gnome 3. It creates a lot of problems within the repositories and it would not be possible for users to run both Gnome 2 and 3. MATE on the other hand is supposed to be compatible with she. So you could have both MATE and Gnome 3 installed on your computer and be able to switch between a desktop at the login screen.

In practice, MATE is a completely new project and it conflicts with Gnome 3 in many areas. We are currently working hard in collaboration with the MATE developers to identify and fix these conflicts, so that we can have both Gnome 3 and MATE installed by default on the Linux Mint 12 DVD edition.

Another problem with MATE is that, to be compatible with Gnome (3), it had to rename most of itself, and as a consequence, the applications and themes that were developed for Gnome 2 need to be migrated to MATE to be compatible with it.

Gnome conflicts and application and theme migrations are easy to fix. So if MATE does our LiveDVD, it will most likely come up with some rough edges, but with your feedback we will be able to resolve issues more quickly.

Search engines

In the future, you will not be using a custom search engine. Linux Mint is the fourth most popular desktop operating system in the world, with millions of users, and it will possibly surpass Ubuntu this year. Linux Mint makes its revenue when users view and click ads within search engines, and it is quite significant. As far as income goes it is totally directed towards search engines and browsers. Our goal is to offer users a good search experience while receiving ourselves for the funds we receive a portion of this income. Search engines that don't share user-generated revenue are removed from Linux Mint, and you might get your ads blocked.

In Linux Mint 12 and upcoming releases we hope to provide users with the following commercial search engines: Ask.com, Google, Amazon, eBay, Wikipedia, and non-commercial.

Not only will it be up to the more donations and sponsorships, from your activity on the web, all the search queries you make and the product you buy will help finance our project.

ETA

Traditionally release at the end of November, usually around the 20th. With that said, quality is more important than time frame and so until you are satisfied with what we have, we are not releasing it. We release "when it's ready" and I can't say for sure when it will be. However, I can tell you how prepared we are at this moment.

Our Gnome 3 desktop is fully ready and fully functional. 10 bugs were identified, but all are minor and can be fixed, either before or after RC.

We have compiled and installed MATE alongside Gnome 3 on a test machine running Ubuntu 11.10 and they were successful in managing both desktops. Now we are packing and building MATE, progressing little by little. We are not 100% sure MATE will arrive in time for RC's regret and we hope to remove any rough edges with it if it does.

Negotiations with search engines are ongoing so the RC might be missing a few search engines that could be added later in the stable version.

At the latest we must have the CR by November 11. Again, that is our goal in terms of deadlines, but if quality issues come into play, this date becomes irrelevant.

Comments and reactions

We have been using Gnome 2 since 2006 and considered by many to be the best Gnome desktop available. With Gnome 3, we want to do the same thing again and let people decide on the experience they want to get, if they want a pure desktop Gnome 3, an MGSE if they want to stick with MATE. We are talking about three new technology brands, in many respects we are starting over from scratch. With this message you now have a better idea of ​​Linux Mint 12 will be, so now more than ever, we would love to hear what you think of it, to get your feedback and your reactions.

Thanks for using Linux Mint and I look forward to reading your comments.

My opinion

At the moment I can only define all this with a single word: Awesome. Although it is only an extension to Gnome 3, from what you can see MGSE provides an experience similar to what we have with Gnome 2.

In particular I expected to see some fork of Gnome 2 ported to gtk3 or something like that when we talk about this topic, but what I just saw I really liked. I just hope the consumption is not excessive.

When Gnome 3 is complete in the repositories Debian Testing, I can use this extension without any problem 😀 Bravo for the Mint teamI call that worrying about users.