“In Linux Mint 11, we made the decision to keep Gnome 2.32. The traditional Gnome desktop, although it’s not actively developed by the Gnome development team anymore, is still by far the most popular desktop within the Linux community. As other distributions adopted new desktops such as Unity and Gnome 3, many users felt alienated and consequently migrated to Linux Mint. We recorded a 40 per cent increase in a single month and we’re now quickly catching up with Ubuntu for the number #1 spot within the Linux desktop market,” the Mint developers write in their blog post, with an aim to give you a better idea of what Linux Mint 12 will be like.
Linux Mint 12, code-named "Lisa", is based on the current Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneric Ocelot" release. It is expected to arrive by the end of this month.
The post further adds, “From a technological point of view, Gnome 3 is a fantastic desktop, and it’s getting better with every new release. It will take time for Linux Mint to develop a Gnome 3 desktop that is on-par with what we had with Gnome 2, but eventually we’ll be able to do much more with it than 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 do we make people like Gnome 3? And what do we provide as an alternative to those who still do not want to change?”
In order to provide users with a familiar experience on the Gnome 3 desktop, the developers have announced MGSE (Mint Gnome Shell Extensions), which is a desktop layer on top of Gnome 3 that makes it possible for you to use Gnome 3 in a traditional way. “You can disable all components within MGSE to get a pure Gnome 3 experience, or you can enable all of them to get a Gnome 3 desktop that is similar to what you’ve been using before. Of course you can also pick and only enable the components you like to design your own desktop,” the developers explain.
Gnome 3 is being described by developers as a "a fantastic desktop" that is "shiny, elegant and modern looking". Gnome 3 in Linux Mint 12, the developers add, requires to let you 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. With MGSE, Linux Mint users will be able to use the familiar elements of their previous desktop, but they will also be able to selectively disable those elements "to get a pure Gnome 3 experience". MGSE features the bottom panel, the application menu, the window list, a task-centric desktop (i.e. you switch between windows, not applications), and visible system tray icons. It also includes additional extensions such as a media player indicator, and multiple enhancements to Gnome 3.
Gnome 3 requires video acceleration and that is something most systems have. Linux Mint 12 will let you run Gnome 3 within Virtualbox. By enabling 3D acceleration within your virtual machine, you can enjoy Gnome 3 and MGSE without any additional drivers.
Read at: “The Future Of Linux Mint Is Gnome 3” , Mint Blog
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