gnome classic panel + unity launcher in ubuntu 12.04 precise - YouTube

gnome classic panel + unity launcher in ubuntu 12.04 precise - YouTube

edit: Well so much for that.  Compiz is apparently crashing I can't run the command anymore :(  SO I just moved the Avant bar back to the bottom, not bad, but not Unity either.  Ubuntu really needs to fix these issues including supporting multiple monitors (more than two) with ease if they want to stop the bleeding.  Fortunately, there really isn't a competitor out there (for me at least) that I have found.

Heck yeah!  I'm using GNOME classic (fallback session) because it's the only one that can run my Quad monitors fairly well (Wasn't a huge fan of Kubuntu nor Xubuntu.  I liked them but they seemed to be slow at times and things would crash on me for some reason. I've just always come back to Ubuntu-GNOME classic.)

Anyways, I really liked the Unity launch bar and tried to replace it with Avant, Cairo, and Docky.  Cairo looked nice, but I had issues with windows blocking it and didn't feel like trying to fix it.  Avant worked pretty well but once I filled up the side bar it's scrolling feature sucked.

Finally, found this, duh.  You can launch the Unity 2D shell in GNOME classic!!  The Unity 2D login didn't work for quads either which is why I am not using it if you are wondering.

Run:

sudo apt-get install gnome-session-fallback unity-2d-launcher


if not already installed, then log into GNOME classic, open a terminal, and run:

unity-2d-shell


The thing is I've probably read how you could do this, but I just didn't realize it.  The whole Unity, Unity 2D, GNOME, GNOME classic thing can be quite confusing.

Here is a nice post which goes into quite some detail (scroll down to the comment section as well; the author puts several informative responses there).

http://complete-concrete-concise.com/ubuntu-2/ubuntu-12-04/ubuntu-12-04-how-to-install-the-gnome-desktop

See the thing is this link^^^ says install GNOME desktop which now seems to include the GNOME 3 shell/desktop, the GNOME classic, and the GNOME classic (no effects).  Quite confusing because you can install the GNOME classic with a different command I thought.  It also seems, now that I understand, that GNOME classic simply runs on top of GNOME 3 with the GNOME 2 look alike desktop...?  Whatever, it works so far with me and my quads and I'm happy with the desktop (not Xubuntu, Kubuntu, etc).  I think I'll try to figure this out and break it down in another post some other time.

edit: plus each one runs on different window management systems such as compiz, metacity. etc...sheesh

Ubuntu 11.10 - GNOME classic install

To install the classic GNOME interface use in the terminal the command:

sudo apt-get install gnome-session-fallback

Found here:

http://www.liberiangeek.net/2011/08/return-to-ubuntu-classic-desktop-in-ubuntu-11-10/

http://www.webupd8.org/2011/08/installing-using-classic-gnome-desktop.html

http://ubuntugenius.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/ubuntu-11-10-fix-how-to-add-the-classic-desktop-and-gnome-3-shell-as-login-options/

However this site uses:

sudo apt-get install gnome-panel

I guess both would work. I used the first

http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2011/09/11/install-the-classic-desktop-in-ubuntu-11-10/

Ubuntu 11.04 Fix: Add the Classic Gnome Menu (Applications/System/Wine) to the Unity Panel System Tray « Ubuntu Genius's Blog

Ubuntu 11.04 Fix: Add the Classic Gnome Menu (Applications/System/Wine) to the Unity Panel System Tray « Ubuntu Genius's Blog

Uh, this is pretty sweet! If you would like to add an indicator to the top right of Ubuntu Unity 11.04 which produces a GNOME-like classic menu application then run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:diesch/testing

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install classicmenu-indicator

Once installed, hit Alt+F2 and enter classicmenu-indicator as the command to run.

Or search in the Unity application button by typing classicmenu-indicator.

What is the difference between GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and LXDE? - Renewable PCs

A good article on Linux DEs.

What is the difference between GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and LXDE? - Renewable PCs

How to Install/Unistall GNOME 3 on Ubuntu 11.04

Edit:9-24-11 Apparently GNOME 3 runs pretty well in the latest beta versions of 11.10 which GNOME 3 comes with by default, I believe.  Not sure how this is playing out as I thought Unity was the go to for Ubuntu.  The next release is pretty close Oct. 13th for 11.10 if I am correct.

Ah, I found

Unity is based atop of the latest unstable release of GNOME 3.

Ubuntu 11.10 Beta 2 Released, Reviewed - September 22, 2011 - http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/?p=20709

Ubuntu 11.10 Beta 2 (Oneiric Ocelot) Released - September 23, 2011 - http://www.ubuntugeek.com/ubuntu-11-10-beta-2-oneiric-ocelot-released.html

I'll make a new post about this as well.

---

Edit: 8-23-11

Ok, I really jacked my installation up. I tried to uninstall GNOME 3 and reinstall Ubunt/GNOME 2 with no luck. When I unistalled GNOME and couldn't reinstall it following this:

Follow the below steps to remove gnome 3 and revert to Gnome 2.x.

sudo apt-get remove libgtk-3-common
sudo apt-get install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3
sudo apt-get install gnome-panel

Reboot and you should be back to good old classic gnome. In case you don’t find gnome back again. try this.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

from here -> Ubuntu 11.04 : Uninstall Gnome3 and revert to Gnome 2.x - April 26, 2011 - http://www.ajopaul.com/2011/04/26/ubuntu-11-04-uninstall-gnome3-and-revert-to-gnome-2-x/

Didn't work. Of course not anyone's fault but mine. I was receiving some dependency errors or something like that. My linux knowledge is VERY shallow so this didn't help.

Anyways I found a blog note (which I can't find now!) that had an alternate idea.

Ah here it is: Tutorial: How to remove/uninstall Gnome 3 in Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) - 31 May, 2011 - http://supportlife.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/tutorial-how-to-removeuninstall-gnome-3-in-ubuntu-11-04-natty-narwhal/

Have you installed Gnome 3 from ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3 because you were tired of Unity or just because you wanted to test the new shell and this has broken your login? Are you now on the login screen but no graphic environment will ever work?

Then you have to remove gnome 3 following the steps below:

- Press CTRL+ALT+F1 to access the terminal window and log in. At the prompt type following commands:

- sudo apt-get remove libgtk-3-common

- sudo apt-get install ppa-purge

- sudo ppa-purge ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3

- sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

- sudo apt-get install gnome-panel

- sudo shutdown –r now

The pc will reboot and you should be able to use Unity/Classic login again.

Good luck!

It uninstalled Ubuntu/Unity/Gnome classic and then (tried to) reinstalled it. I got to the last step before restarting "sudo apt-get install gnome-panel" and had some dependency issues again.

Unfortunately, I only had Kubuntu and Xubuntu installed now so when I restarted it asked for a DM login which was either KDM or LXDM. I chose KDM thinking nothing of it. I restarted and the KDM came up fine. I noticed I had to enter my username. No biggie, I thought. I also couldn't select GNOME or Ubuntu since it has been uninstalled at this point. I entered what I thought was my username, but it didn't work. Ok, I tried some other variations of what it could be. Didn't work. Great. So I got my laptop out, as this was all occurring on my desktop, and searched for login problems with forget as a keyword too.

I found where this happened to someone before but in another situation (dammit I forgot this too, I'll try to find these missing pieces).

Ah, I found it too!

Can't Log In to Kubuntu? - 3 weeks ago - http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110805135811AAJ0sTO

I am having problems logging in to Kubuntu. I just switched to Kubuntu from within Ubuntu by typcing into the terminal . Then I selected "kdm" then I ran the line . Then . And this is on a machine that dual boots with windows on the other partition. What I want to know is why Kubuntu forgot my log in information, because I thought it was supposed to transfer all my data over (I backed up my files though). Also, how can I log in, or fix this issue. I was using Ubuntu 11.04. Thanks for the help.

The answer was no help to me either:

re-install ubuntu-desktop, do you know how many libs are shared? half were probably meta packages that pulled out way to much. Whenever you do major stuff like that use aptitude, it won't trash your system like apt-get will.

Ok so I had one last card up my sleeve. I saw here -> [SOLVED] How to remove Gnome 3 from Ubuntu 11.04 - April 11th, 2011 - April 17th, 2011 - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=172675

that someone entered a Live CD or USB and reinstalled Ubuntu over there existing one. They claimed everything was fine and were able to keep files/software/etc. still loaded so they advoid a complete, fresh reinstall or install.

I had the exact same problem, and i managed to fix it pretty easily. I loaded up an Ubuntu 11.04 live cd, and chose the upgrade option. (Even though i was already using 11.04) I let it go through the upgrade process, and when it was done, my computer booted up, i chose Ubuntu classic as my desktop environment (because i am not a fan of unity) and it started it normally with all of my programs and files still there with no sign of gnome 3 in sight. I hope this helps.

So I began to reinstall with a USB stick. I then noticed that the user name Ubuntu gave me then was a version I did not think of at the time. I then tried to go back so I could get out of the upgrade reinstall so I could try the new username idea, but the farthest back I could get was the date setup. I couldn't log out either. So I just restart my computer and pulled the stick. Bad idea!! When I did this I got an error that said

Unable to find a medium containing a live file system

and something about

BusyBox - initramfs

So I looked this up where people had problems with this too, but this error was encounted in some similar and some different situations. I found one solution was to type exit a bunch of times, but this did not work for me past the second when I could type. I couldn't reboot at all without this error or even get an install with the USB LiveCD stick.

The final solution was to get my laptop with the burner out and burn a LiveCD. This worked, but I had to install from start :(.

So moral of the story is...DO NOT INSTALL GNOME 3 unless you know what you are doing and/or you are sure you are going to use it. I would wait anyways until the official release before using GNOME 3 with Ubuntu 11.04 and wait even more for someone to tweak a solution for installing GNOME 3 without harming Unity and/or GNOME classic.

One solution would be to try GNOME 3 on another distro such as Fedora or Open Suse. This is what kind of got me into this mess as I wanted to try to load as many options as I could since I have been jumping back and forth between GNOME classic, Kubuntu, and Xubuntu for quad support.

By the way Xubuntu with XFCE seems to be the best stable-wise so far to use quads (haven't used GNOME classic too much. I like Kubuntu, but it runs slow at times). An alternate might be Lubuntu which runs LXDE and is similar to XFCE but "lighter"

My second mistake came from trying to install too many large package changers at once with the MintMenu install AND GNOME 3. From now on I am going to install large ones like these such as Kubuntu and Xubuntu on at a time between restarts.

Thirdly, I got too greedy with options. I wanted as many distros/options/DEs as possible since I am now forced to look around until Unity supports quads. I wanted to do this like the simple Xubuntu/Kubuntu/Lubuntu options without multi-booting or using a VM. Thus, the MintMenu to get a Mint like DE/distro on Ubuntu and the GNOME 3 fiasco. I looked into multi-booting a bunch of distros, but it looks way too complicated. I think I will stick to running them in VMs.

Finally, my last mistake was not ever backing up my system so that I could recover my setup easily. You'll see this all the time, people warning you to backup your setup and this looks/sounds especially easy in Linux/Ubuntu. So from now on, I am going to do that. That way I couldn't have easily recovered my settings without having to do a fresh install :(, :(, :(!!!!

---

Edit 8-22-11

Well, apparently GNOME 3 is not officially out yet...so this may be why is still seems unstable/buggy.

GNOME be trollin’ – 3.0 delayed (again) to September 2011 - April 1, 2011 - http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/04/gnome-3-0-delayed-again-to-september-2011/

The new GNOME 3 website goes live - January 19, 2011 - http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/01/gnome-3-website-goes-live/

GNOME 3 delayed until March 2011 - July 28, 2010 - http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/07/gnome-3-delayed-until-march-2011/

Also one of the things when installing GNOME 3 is that the font changes in all DEs (I think not 100% sure). Also, my login screen changed a bit, but I am not sure if that is from the GNOME 3 install, the MintMenu install, or just a regular update? For example the session login bar has been moved to the area where you login instead of on a bar at the bottom of the screen. Going to check to see if Unity is ok after GNOME 3 install and unistall. Cross fingers! Oh and my Ubuntu Classic choice is missing from the session drop down menu, but I am sure that can easily be fixed. I hope I didn't mess things up too badly!!

Ok, so it seems Unity works ok. I couldn't test fully cause I had the Quads going. It may look like that I need to reinstall some icons or the such, but like I said I couldn't test it fully since Unity does not work properly with four monitors.

Also if read this:

Reboot and you should be back to good old classic gnome. In case you don’t find gnome back again. try this.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

This is from Ubuntu 11.04 : Uninstall Gnome3 and revert to Gnome 2.x - April 26, 2011 - http://www.ajopaul.com/2011/04/26/ubuntu-11-04-uninstall-gnome3-and-revert-to-gnome-2-x/

I thought I saw an alternate command other than

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

with gnome instead of ubuntu in the command. I'll try to refind it.

Some GNOME 3 uninstall sites/articles:

[SOLVED] How to remove Gnome 3 from Ubuntu 11.04 - April 11th, 2011 - April 17th, 2011 - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1726755

Intersting comment:

I had the exact same problem, and i managed to fix it pretty easily. I loaded up an Ubuntu 11.04 live cd, and chose the upgrade option. (Even though i was already using 11.04) I let it go through the upgrade process, and when it was done, my computer booted up, i chose Ubuntu classic as my desktop environment (because i am not a fan of unity) and it started it normally with all of my programs and files still there with no sign of gnome 3 in sight. I hope this helps.

Another GNOME 3 install site:

How do I install the latest version of GNOME 3? - Jan 23 at 21:16 - May 19 at 21:56 - http://askubuntu.com/questions/22946/how-do-i-install-the-latest-version-of-gnome-3

Interesting quote explaining some more about the install and other things such as warnings:

Note: GNOME3 is provided as a tech preview for 11.04, it is not officially supported by the Ubuntu team. Here's another warning before you try this.

Using GNOME3 on 11.04 will upgrade major parts of the desktop infrastructure, if you are not familiar with how to do package management then we recommend you try this on a virtualized installation or a non-production system, reverting back to vanilla 11.04 is not trivial.

Specifically GNOME3 will migrate your application settings to gsettings, so if you want to try to rollback you'll get your old settings from before you upgraded.

As with all major desktop upgrades we recommend backing up your important data before getting started.

Some articles on installing GNOME 3 on Ubuntu 11.04. The past few days I have been experimenting with other DEs such as Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Lubuntu based on KDE, XFCE, and LXDE respectfully. So far I like Kubuntu the best since it is BLUE (I know), I run a lot of KDE apps already (Kopete, Kile, etc.), and the interface is pretty snazzy. However, it may just be me, but Kubuntu runs rather slowly at times. I am running these other DEs since Quad monitors are not "officially" supported in Unity (at least I haven't found a way to run 4 in Unity). I could also throw the Ubuntu Classic or GNOME 2 in there, but I haven't used it much.

Anyways, some info on installing and un-installing GNOME 3. Caveat: apparently GNOME 3 might break Unity so be careful and do your research. For example here is a warning from a commenter on Ubuntu Geek:

Ed says:
July 29, 2011 at 8:12 am

WARNING: gnome3 breaks unity. Even when doing the “ppa-purge” thing … unity might be unable to save any settings afterwards.

Only install gnome3 when you are absolutely sure that you dont need unity any more. Or when you are willing to do a fresh install afterwards.

People have installed it with no problems. GNOME 3 is already the DE for Open Suse and Fedora 15.

Edit: 8-22-11

For me GNOME 3 did not work. The desktop started to show (purplish background and the activity bar), but I couldn't do anything. Luckily I could CTL + ATL + DEL to log out. I think I am going to uninstall it. Plus you can't use GNOME 2/Ubuntu Classic anymore. I think I'll wait until GNOME 3 is more developed to work with other DE installations and when someone has found a way to keep GNOME 2. There may already be a way, I just haven't found it yet.

How to Install Gnome 3 In Ubuntu - August 1, 2011 - http://maketecheasier.com/install-gnome-3-in-ubuntu/2011/08/01

How To Install Gnome 3 on Ubuntu 11.04 -May 4, 2011 - http://techhamlet.com/2011/05/how-to-install-gnome-3-on-ubuntu-11-04/

How to install Gnome3 on ubuntu 11.04 (Natty)/Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick - April 11, 2011 - http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-install-gnome3-on-ubuntu-11-04-nattyubuntu-10-10-maverick.html

How to Install GNOME 3 on Ubuntu 11.04 - April 9th, 2011 - Softpedia - http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Install-GNOME-3-on-Ubuntu-11-04-194085.shtml

GNOME 3 released; to be available for Ubuntu 11.04 via PPA - April 6, 2011 - http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/04/gnome-3-released-to-be-available-for-ubuntu-11-04-via-ppa/

GNOME sites and some more articles on GNOME 3:

http://www.gnome.org/

http://www.gnome.org/gnome-3/

Ubuntu Unity vs. GNOME 3: Which is Better? - April 12, 2011 - http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3930571/Ubuntu-Unity-vs-GNOME-3-Which-is-Better.htm

GNOME 3: Seven Pros and Cons -April 26, 2011 - http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3931801/GNOME-3-Seven-Pros-and-Cons.htm

Screenshots: Unity and Gnome 3 in Oneiric - http://www.ubuntuvibes.com/2011/05/screenshots-unity-and-gnome-3-in.html

Quad Monitors in Linux

Well, I couldn't get it to work in Unity yet. I do have a work around for my setup which works for Ubuntu GNOME classic and KDE. This is what I posted in the Ubuntu Forums so far.

Ubuntu 11.04 + Gnome Classic + 4 LCD Monitors - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1743715&page=2


July 7th, 2011:
Ugh, can't get 4 to work at all. I have NO problems with a dual setup. I want 1x4.

Running 8800GTS for ASUS 22" both DVI, Twinview works fine.

Other card is an 8400 GS, two Acer 19", one DVI, one VGA. I see everything fine in in nvidia x server settings, but the two Acer screens have a red tint to them when I enable them.

I've also had both Acer's working with the 8800. I wanted to add two more displays for multi-tasking so I got the ASUS screens and the 8400 (no particular reason except the ASUS's were cheap open box on newegg and the card was just something that seemed like it would work fine for what i wanted).

Running Ubuntu 11.04 Unity, I have also had the same issue in both KDE and XFCE desktops. Not sure if I've had dumb luck with duals and Ubuntu because I haven't had any issues, knock on wood.

Sorry, nothing to really add. Just wanted to log my setup and issue. Still a noob to Linux/Ubuntu (been using about a year), but I'm not looking back, I love it so far!!

Oh, and I am pretty sure I am not running any of the fancy Compiz stuff (3D, etc.). I don't want/need it.

Today/Yesterday: Sunday, August 14, 2011

Update: Still no working solution.

So I did get quad monitors to "work" but ran into the issues others have posted about (not sure if it was here or not). It was weird. I had live screens on all four monitors, but the far two "duals" on the right had the tool bar one the left of the two screens. So monitor 3 of 4 had the tool bar as if the screens had shifted from what I thought I had setup to be 1-4 starting from the far left. However, I had to click on the left two "duals" in blank space (I had a desktop background just no windows or the tool bar) which showed up on the right duals. So in order to restart or change the configurations back, I had to blindly click in monitor 1 of 4 to execute what I saw in monitor 3 of 4. Or it may have been the other way around. I forget, it has been probably a month since I did it. Sorry, should have posted when it was fresh, but I was so DAMN frustrated!! I want to say I enabled Xinerama to get the four monitors to "work" or at least display something on the screens with two TwinViews(???) since I have two monitors on one card each.

Anyways, still chugging along fine with dual monitors TwinView, except, I get black blocks every now and then on windows where I had to shrink or move the window to get everything to show again. I also noticed that Ubuntu Unity 11.04 allows the window snap feature of the half screen to work in the middle of the TwinView for both screens. I don't think that was working before, but maybe I missed it too. Thought that was pretty sweet. So if they are fixing stuff like that, then I think 11.10 and 12.04 are going to be so much better (well I am not sure if it was an Ubuntu update or nVidia or both since I did update my driver to 280.13, but I still think the next Ubuntu releases will be a big fix). Try to hang in there guys with Unity. I like it. At first I was ehh, but I got used to it. Of course everyone has their personal preferences for their needs, and I am definitely not going to "force" someone to use it or say that it is better than blah, blah, blah.

Anyways, hopefully next post will have a fix!

edit: Now that I think about, I remember I had the left two screens stretched as one screen at one point. Not sure if this was with the other two screens "working" or not. Maybe I'll try GNOME classic or KDE, but I relly like Unity now that I am used to it, .

edit2: ok, so a work around! GNOME classic and KDE allow quad monitors for my setup. However, I have "two" stretch "screens" for the left and right pair of monitors, but I can move windows to all four monitors. You have to have Xinerama enabled. Even if the pairs are treated like separate X screens then the monitors are still stretched. Also in the "separate" mode there is no bar across the right pair of screens nor can I move windows between pairs. This might be the best solution for now. At least I can use the real estate now. I can even use snap windows in KDE so I don't have to manually resize too much which I thought might be a problem with the stretched screens!! I am guessing XFCE might work in this way too. Sticking with KDE for now since a) I love blue, and b) I use Kile and Kopete anyways.

I'm new to KDE so I don't know all of its tricks. I am liking it so far.

Screenshots:

edit3: Ok, so KDE was running slow. Not sure if it had to do with the screens or not. Quads do work in XFCE and Xubuntu. I am going with Xubuntu for now.

Next steps: 1) see if I can get separate screen for each monitor and be able to move windows amongst them all and 2) get this to work in Unity!!

Gnome 3 Released ~ Ubuntu Vibes

For those interested, a small article on the Gnome 3 desktop environment. It looks like Unity and Gnome 3 were/are shooting for similar DE ideas.

Gnome 3 Released ~ Ubuntu Vibes

Ubuntu Unity - some additional thoughts, some alternatives including Unity 2D and Lubuntu

Here are a couple of links to the Ubuntu forums on some discussion about Unity.

I am dating the articles so that myself and readers can see some chronology. Some of these posts on Unity were on some alpha/beta versions of 11.04 before the official release.

Post began May 1st, 2011 Improving Unity - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1746352

Post began March 20th, 2011 Have you changed your mind about Unity? - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1711109

Some info on the latest of the next Ubuntu release, Oneiric Ocelot Ubuntu 11.10.

Run Ocelot, Run! (Unity Report for 13 July) - http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/?p=17599

Some more Unity story/article links.

Ahhh, the ultimate guide on Unity with a butt load of links posted by a Ubuntu Community Team, Canonical Ltd. developer, Jorge Castro. I've seen him on the Ask Ubuntu site too!

Apr 22, 2011 The Power User's Guide to Unity - http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2011-04-22-011-41-NW-AP


This ^ links to here -> The Power User’s Guide to Unity -http://castrojo.tumblr.com/post/4795149014/the-power-users-guide-to-unity

May 10, 2011 How Ubuntu's Unity Can Be Improved - http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2011051000439OSDVUB

This ^ links to here -> May 9, 2011 How Ubuntu's Unity Can Be Improved - http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3932966/

May 18, 2011 Other Linux Distros' View of Ubuntu's Unity: It Ain't Pretty - http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2011051800141OSDT

This ^ links to here -> May 17, 2011 Other Linux Distros' View of Ubuntu's Unity: It Ain't Pretty - http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3933716/Other-Linux-Distros-View-of-Ubuntus-Unity-It-Aint-Pretty.htm

Apr 25, 2011 Ubuntu's Unity in 11.04 - Not All That Bad - http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2011-04-25-007-41-OP-GN

This ^ links to here -> April 18, 2011 Ubuntu's Unity in 11.04 - Not All That Bad - http://all-things-linux.blogspot.com/2011/04/ubuntus-unity-in-1104-not-all-that-bad.html

May 20, 2011 Top 4 Lightweight, Official Ubuntu Based Alternatives for Ubuntu 11.04's Unity - http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2011052000139OSHLUB

This ^ links to here -> May 18, 2011 Top 4 Lightweight, Official Ubuntu Based Alternatives for Ubuntu 11.04's Unity 3D - http://www.techdrivein.com/2011/05/top-4-lightweight-official-ubuntu-based.html

This ^ article also talks about Lubuntu and Unity 2D as well as Kubuntu and Xubuntu.

Lubuntu is Ubuntu running the LXDE or the lightweight version of the X11 Desktop Manager similar to how Kubuntu and Xubuntu run Ubuntu in alternate desktop managers, KDE and XFCE. Apparently, Lubuntu or the LXDE system is even lighter than the already light XFCE, that is it uses less resources such as memory and hdd space and/or other low-spec hardware. Lubuntu might also be a great alternative for tablet PCs and/or netbooks.

Links to information on Lubuntu and LXDE.

Lubuntu - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lubuntu

LXDE - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LXDE

Install LXDE on Ubuntu 10.04 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbObK2_YQls

June 29, 2008 - LXDE - Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment for Ubuntu - http://www.ubuntugeek.com/lxde-lightweight-x11-desktop-environment-for-ubuntu.html

Lubuntu - https://launchpad.net/~lubuntu-desktop

LXDE - https://launchpad.net/~lxde

Lubuntu - http://lubuntu.net/

LXDE - http://lxde.org/

An article on using a GNOME like menu interface with Unity using Cardapio.

May 17, 2011 Get the Best of Both Worlds,Your Own Alternative to the Default Unity Main Menu - http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2011051700739NWSWUB

This ^ links to here -> May 15, 2011 Get the Best of Both Worlds,Your Own Alternative to the Default Unity Main Menu - http://www.ubuntuvibes.com/2011/05/get-best-of-both-worldsyour-own.html

Edit: 8-22-11

Here is another article on Cardapio.

Use A Classic Menu In Unity (ClassicMenu Indicator Or Cardapio) - 04 Jun
2011 - http://www.webupd8.org/2011/06/use-classic-menu-in-unity-classicmenu.html

Some articles on using GNOME 2 in Ubuntu 11.04 also known as Ubuntu Classic.

How To Switch Back to the Old Gnome Interface in Ubuntu 11.04 - May 3, 2011 - http://techhamlet.com/2011/05/how-to-switch-back-to-the-old-gnome-interface-in-ubuntu-11-04/

Ubuntu 11.04 Change From Unity To Classic Gnome - March 5th, 2011 - http://scottlinux.com/2011/03/05/ubuntu-11-04-change-from-unity-to-classic-gnome/

Ubuntu 11.04 : Uninstall Gnome3 and revert to Gnome 2.x - April 26, 2011 - http://www.ajopaul.com/2011/04/26/ubuntu-11-04-uninstall-gnome3-and-revert-to-gnome-2-x/

Installing Kubuntu and Xubuntu (KDE and XFCE desktops) in Ubuntu

Just upgraded to Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal distro, and many changes have occurred. One, which I think I understand, is that Ubuntu has switched from the GNOME classic desktop to Ubuntu Unity desktop (which is still GNOME?). Apparently in the next release, the GNOME classic will not be available but GNOME version 3.0 will be the default (as Unity?). Anyways, the Unity desktop is a pretty big change from 10.10, and it has taken me a few days to get use to it. Some features I love, some are a little awkward, but like I said I am slowly getting use to it.

Basically the differences between Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and Xubuntu are the desktop interfaces and installation packages that come with each version. For example, Ubuntu uses the GNOME desktop, Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop, and Xubuntu uses the XFCE desktop which I just read is a more lightweight desktop than the others. Ubuntu now uses the Unity desktop, but you can still use GNOME if you don't like Unity. I am posting this because Unity has scared off some users so some people might want to check out other desktops. I personally like Unity and think it just takes some getting use to.

A link on how to install Kubuntu

How to install KDE on Ubuntu

The simple terminal command is:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

and Xubuntu

Installing Xfce on Ubuntu

The simple terminal command is:

sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop

From the same website, http://www.psychocats.net, a post on going from Unity to GNOME

How to return to classic Gnome in Ubuntu

and a post on the difference between GNOME and KDE

KDE and Gnome Comparison

This site, http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu, also has several other post concerning Ubuntu so you might want to check it out!

Some additional links from howtogeek - http://www.howtogeek.com/:

Install KDE (Kubuntu) on Ubuntu - http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/install-kde-kubuntu-on-ubuntu/

Install Xfce (Xubuntu) on Ubuntu Linux - http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/install-xfce-xubuntu-on-ubuntu-linux/

A good, but short, post on the different desktops in Ubuntu 11.04 from http://scottlinux.com/:

Ubuntu 11.04 Change From Unity To Classic Gnome - http://scottlinux.com/2011/03/05/ubuntu-11-04-change-from-unity-to-classic-gnome/

http://www.xubuntu.org/

Xubuntu is a community developed operating system that is well-suited for laptops and desktops. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Xubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools.

Xubuntu is and always will be free of charge. You do not pay any licensing fees. You can download, use and share Xubuntu with your friends, family, school or business for absolutely nothing.

We issue a new Xubuntu release every six months. That means you'll always have the latest and greatest applications that the open source world has to offer.

Xubuntu is designed with security in mind. You get free security updates for at least 18 months and with the Long Term Support (LTS) version you get three years support. There is no extra fee for the LTS version, we make our very best work available to everyone on the same free terms. Upgrades to new versions of Xubuntu are and always will be free of charge.

Everything you need comes on one CD, providing a complete working environment. Additional software is available online.

The graphical installer enables you to get up and running quickly and easily. A standard installation should take less than 25 minutes.

Once installed your system is immediately ready-to-use. We provide you with a desktop offering that includes a full set of productivity, internet, drawing and graphics applications, and games.

http://www.xfce.org/

http://www.kubuntu.org/

Kubuntu is a community developed and supported project. Since its launch in October 2004, Kubuntu has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions with millions of users around the world.

Kubuntu will always be free to download, free to use and free to distribute to others. With these goals in mind, Kubuntu aims to be the most widely used Linux system, and is the centre of a global open source software ecosystem.

http://www.kde.org/

Plasma Desktop

http://www.gnome.org/

GNOME Ubuntu Classic