[HowTo] Install Gnome Shell on Ubuntu Linux

The GNOME Shell redefines user interactions with the GNOME desktop. In particular, it offers new paradigms for launching applications, accessing documents, and organizing open windows in GNOME. Later, it will introduce a new applets eco-system and offer new solutions for other desktop features, such as notifications and contacts management. The GNOME Shell is intended to replace functions handled by the GNOME Panel and by the window manager in previous versions of GNOME. The GNOME Shell has rich visual effects enabled by new graphical technologies.

The project is still in early stages of development. The plan is to have it be an optional feature in GNOME 2.28, and to replace the existing components for GNOME 3.0. It is currently possible to try it out by building and running it yourself.

From a technology point of view, the shell acts as a compositing manager for the desktop, and displays both application windows and other objects in a Clutter scene graph. Much of the code of the shell is written in Javascript and Clutter and GNOME platform libraries via GObject Introspection and JavaScript bindings for GNOME. For window management and compositing, the shell builds off of code from Metacity. Currently the shell runs as a plugin for Mutter, which is a branch of Metacity adding Clutter-based compositing, though the expectation is that at some point the Metacity code will be forked and made specific to the shell. See Owen Taylor's blog post for the explanation of the technology choices that were made for the GNOME Shell.

Installation Notes:

Karmic Only:
sudo apt-get build-dep gnome-shell
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell
gnome-shell --replace

For Jaunty and below:

sudo apt-get install jhbuild
wget http://git.gnome.org/cgit/gnome-shell/plain/tools/build/gnome-shell-build-set...
bash gnome-shell-build-setup.sh
jhbuild build

Note: Editing required to "bash gnome-shell-build-setup.sh" follow the tutorial

Running: ~/gnome-shell/source/gnome-shell/src/gnome-shell --replace

Update: ~/bin/jhbuild build force clean

Link 1: http://maketecheasier.com/gnome-shell-your-next-desktop-environment/2009/09/09

Link 2: http://d0od.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-install-gnome-shell-intrepid-jaunty.html

Wallpaper Link: http://depositfiles.com/en/files/uw1f6kv24

Category:

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• compiz

[xXhighwolfXx]

nice background where did you get it

[Tru3m0sl3m]

google and then modified it to suit this theme

[demoflare]

The application menu remins me of vista (cringes horribly), however it looks pretty cool. Compiz seems to lag up my desktop, so i may try this out soon...

btw any chance of a link to the wallpaper? :D

[Tru3m0sl3m]

i'll post the link in the description box ASAP

[Tru3m0sl3m]

@demoflare check the descriptionbox

[Jarige2]

I like gnome-shell, but I miss Wobbly Windows sooo much and I don't really know why. It just seems empty and boring when dragging a window without it being wobbly.

Is there, or will there be any way of having Wobbly Windows on and having gnome-shell?

[arranmc182]

I find that i dont miss compiz at all when running gnome shell if you would like gnome shell to run at login just create a launcher for gnome-shell --replace and out it in your start up apps

[Asaloy]

How can I get all the icons at the bottom like you have?

[fortysixfish]

Your screen has these annoying blue flashing bars. I don't want that :/

[abm89]

@SHITONASTICK1100 Check your graphics drivers and install updates?

[SHITONASTICK1100]

hi, ive tried following the steps to download but it deletes my whole desktop and i can't do anything at all, is this because its not compatible with 10.10. thanks!

[vengiss]

Hi, whats the name of the dock you got there?

[Sciesch]

Nice, thanks for sharing :)