I Use "Default" GNOME. Will You?

[@Omonarc]

I couldn't agree more on the whole "different is better" aspect about GNOME. For years I had been trying to get into Linux via Mint or Ubuntu, but it felt limiting because I kept trying to do things the Windows way. Going Fedora + Vanilla GNOME forced me out of my Windows habits and to learn how to use Linux properly, now it's my OS of choice and I'm far more productive than I ever was on Windows. It hurts to go back to Windows because of how often it wants to get in the way of what I'm doing, and who knows what the heck MacOS is even doing.

[@ZettabyteGamer]

Exactly how my journey went, switched to Zorin, mint, and a few others before trying fedora falling in love with default gnome.

[@moussaadem7933]

It's not "different is better", it's "this different is better than that different"

[@jethrot100]

I wholeheartedly agree, it was Gnome that got me out of my comfort zone and into linux, because I did not want a windows (or Mac) lookalike. I always dual boot Windows and distro hop for the other Gnome-Linux variant. Come to think of it Gnome does bear some similarity to Mac OS though.

[@owdoogames]

@@jethrot100I think the similarity to macOS is superficial, at least in the latest version of GNOME. Being able to access Search, Workspaces, and the ‘Dock’, from a tap of the Windows/Super key is very powerful and efficient. These are all 3 separate things with their own ways of accessing them on macOS, and going back to my MacBook after using GNOME on Fedora feels clunky.

[@octopusonfire100]

Once you get used to the Gnome workflow, going back to any other DE feels like walking on crutches and constantly tripping over them.

[@gryg666]

Until you start using dynamic tiling managers, like hyprland. The switch was a huge improvement for me.

[@octopusonfire100]

@@gryg666 While I enjoy using forge in Gnome and I think it's a perfect complement for the workflow, I'm not sure if I would be able to go all-in on a tiling manager. Maybe I'll give it a try sometime.

[@sachinchaudhary1310]

@@gryg666 manual are better

[@cokesucker9520]

@@sachinchaudhary1310 wrong

[@themroc8231]

No. Manual is only if you want your desktop to look fancy. Dynamic is the way you make it efficient.

[@ordinaryhuman5645]

I want to like vanilla Gnome, but I have an extension to display a different background image every few hours. It's pointing at a folder of dark-theme-friendly monochrome anime girl images, which is pretty pretty essential for a desktop computer IMO.

[@falajose3080]

"dark-theme-friendly monochrome anime girl images", If they are safe for work, please share with the world

[@ordinaryhuman5645]

@@falajose3080 It's a mix, depending on your workplace. On my work PC, I have everything as default/vanilla as possible. I'm pretty sure I got them all from wallpaperflare, but it looks like they're having an SSL cert issue right now. They have a bunch of images with a black background and mostly monochrome girl, maybe with some light accent coloring, on the right 1/3rd of the screen.

[@Trafotin]

There might be a gsetting thing to change your wallpaper and you could have a user chronjob or systemd job run that command. Not to familiar with gsettings though.

[@ordinaryhuman5645]

@@Trafotin Dang, wallpaper flare is still down and my earlier linkless reply to jose got nuked. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a way to do it with a job like that, but the extension has been great, so I can't complain.

[@ManuaL46]

Have you checked out damask

[@Your_Degenerate]

I believe you can also double click the top bar of a window to maximize it as well. I'm not sure if it's a part of an extension but you can de-maximize it back to it's previous window through the topbar by click and drag.

[@10leej]

Nope thats totally a default action you can do in gnome, no extension necessary.

[@PaulG.x]

I have been using Gnome since Ubuntu adopted it and I never knew this about the double click. I knew the drag minimise. It appears to be a native function and not enabled by an extension

[@mutcholokoW]

The part about being different from Windows and MacOS couldn't be more true. Every time I see a youtuber recommending a certain distro or a certain DE because it "feels like home" to certain groups of Windows users, I always think that's a bad idea. This will just make them "come back home" after all.

[@Mzansi74]

GNOME is HOME. 🙂

[@agrisimfarming]

As someone who has primarily used windows for most of my computer life my preferred desktop environments are ones that are nothing like windows, like gnome, but also xfce’s default config (minus the bottom panel, it has no reason to be there)

[@ominoussage]

I'm a GNOME user because it's been a breath of fresh air for using my computer. It's very unique. It really changed how I operate my computer and it's very sleek. I keep GNOME as default as possible, with only a couple of extensions.

[@nikkehtine]

GNOME is great and I love the workflow, style and polish that they went for. People hate it so much not because it's genuinely bad, but because it's not Windows/macOS. It's like adding chocolate to a meat dish, getting diarrhea and then complaining that chocolate sucks, while people that eat chocolate for dessert laugh at you.

[@p0358]

I feel like it’s because it’s too simplistic by design. It works good if you have say you to 5 windows on up to like max 5 workspaces. Doesn’t really scale beyond that. On Windows I can have few hundred and not even notice it and I think it’s a good thing. So people still end up installing something like Dash to Panel or even at least Dash to Dock to switch between windows and even know more-less which ones they have opened. And I’m not sure if most people ever use workspaces…

[@nikkehtine]

@@p0358 If you use it in a too simplistic way, it's going to feel like a too simplistic design, which it isn't

[@tostadorafuriosa69]

​@@p0358 does windows have virtual desktops? i found that on windows i needed 2-3 monitors for multitasking

[@catto-from-heaven]

@@p0358 Why wouldn't it scale beyond 5 workspaces? Also, if you have hundreds of workspaces/windows open, you should reconsider what you're trying to achieve with your computer

[@antiwokehuman]

Out of the box, it lacks basic functionality that you expect out of a DE in 2024. It’s too bare bones to my liking. I actually like the work flow.

[@emisunflowers]

I love the gnome workflow, but I find the lack of variable refresh rate and proper fractional scaling support to be a dealbreaker, so I am 'stuck' with KDE

[@bobbyfried7478]

i had no issues with fractional scaling on gnome i clicked a box and it let me set it from 100 to 125. i'm using it on LM.

[@narwhal4304]

VRR is the one reason why I will suffer with KDE for the foreseeable future

[@emisunflowers]

@@narwhal4304 it works on gnome now if you enable the experimental flag

[@kuhluhOG]

@@bobbyfried7478 GTK applications don't support fractional scaling, so in the backend Gnome let's them draw on e.g. 5 times the size and then downscales them to a quarter of that (so you and up at 1,25 the original size). This can be a BIG performance problem on a lot of systems (and on mobile devices like a notebook a waste of energy in all cases).

[@chrisxdeboy]

Luckily, you can replicate the GNOME experience in KDE.

[@oaksaint4458]

As a former Gnome hater, I too have seen the light. Plus Gnome + Wayland just works so much better than KDE + Wayland for me, and it feels more polished and seamless in general.

[@computercatgaming02]

Valid reason, for me it's been the complete opposite. 😅 Gnome + Wayland has been an unstable mess with certain application where the entire shell and session crashes. But for me KDE (Plasma 6) with wayland has been rock solid and the same applications which would crash under Wayland on Gnome (runs well on x11) runs very well without interupting my work on KDE. Aside from said stability issues (and the issues I got with having to use extensions) with Gnome I like many things with it but now after learning how to use KDE I feel that's more suitable for my needs anyway :)

[@OrcsBR]

What's that tiling button on Gnome's control center @7:01 ??? I don´t have that

[@Trafotin]

Forge from the GNOME Extensions website.

[@jakobw135]

You raise a good point: if you want a Windows or a Mac look - just use the ORIGINAL! Why be satisfied with - IMITATIONS!?

[@lpslpslpslpslpslps]

@@jakobw135 I dunno, I vastly prefer both kde and cinnamon to Windows. They both do that model much better than windows does.

[@jakobw135]

@@lpslpslpslpslpslps You're right. 🖐️👍

[@DonutKop]

Because windows and macOS don't respect user privacy. What kind of objection is that? People move away from windows and mac not because they are incompetent operating systems. Now I use gnome everyday, but That doesn't mean I agree with the devs and their occasionally ass-backwards design decisions. I'm just glad they allow extensions so users can do their job for them and make their so-so desktop actually functional for the common user

[@jakobw135]

@DonutKop Speaking of making the Gnome desktop functional and attractive - is there a way to do the following: Hide the UPPER TASKBAR where you have an icon of a disc drive on the left side? Change the BACKGROUND WALLPAPER of each workspace so that they are DIFFERENT? Change the WALLPAPER of the background showing the various APPLICATIONS in three or more rows - scrolling horizontally? Hiding the DOCK at the bottom of the screen, and scrolling horizontally to look like the one in Mac OS?

[@lpslpslpslpslpslps]

@jakobw135 I haven't used gnome in a while but surely that last item is possible with a third party dock

[@xard64]

I've been a Gnome user on Linux since Gnome 2 days and while I like a lot of things about the current Gnome I have mixed feelings about this philosophy of hiding everything: it works for smaller screens sure, but when you have screen real estate of two 40" 4k screens the approach starts to fall apart. I prefer to have as much data visible at once without any disconnected back and forth switches as they disrupt my workflow. This is why I usually tend to work with temporary documents on desktop actively and search the placement later on like on real life with desktop and papers. In Gnome 2 you could just store your icons and change virtual desktop if you had too many windows covering the desktop. Also you could simply launch nautilus from a static location on screen without disrupting anything else on the screen. Working with files in Gnome 3 requires: 1. a full wipe of the current view to bring up the activities 2. either type file manager and press enter or search the icon where ever it current is (might require additional clicks to get the right page of icons) 3. open the location of the files with file manager This turns a 2 second task of clicking an icon in desktop to a 24 second intensive operation requiring concentration.

[@Trafotin]

You can search files without clicking using the search menu I showed, you just type what file you want and it opens. I can't speak from experience since my newest monitor is from 2014, but I've heard scaling on GNOME isn't as good as KDE. I've also noticed on Nvidia at least, GNOME gets variable refresh rate, but KDE does not and is locked to your lowest refresh rate. On Intel and AMD, variable refresh rate works everywhere on Wayland.

[@folksurvival]

Just use MATE.

[@kuhluhOG]

@@Trafotin KDE has general VRR and per monitor VRR (and in general per monitor refresh rate for quite a long time), including for NVidia well, on Wayland at least; if we talk X11, you are right, but the same goes for Gnome there

[@HideoV]

"windows gets in the way" also "wanting desktop icons is morally wrong"

[@shaunpatrick8345]

If you use your computer, the windows will be in the way of the icons! Gnome puts icons in a layer on top of your windows, instead of making you clear your desk to reach what you need.

[@HideoV]

@@shaunpatrick8345 right, I must find icons on my desktop useful cause I never use my computer

[@dswngz]

Ok, how do you even use a DE that doesnt have a system tray icons for background apps (unless you install an extension)?

[@xmurisfurderx]

You don't, you switch to a more sensible window manager

[@cokesucker9520]

What does the system tray do for you?

[@yeezet4592]

I have never used tray icons in my life. They don't have any real functionality

[@dswngz]

@@yeezet4592 have you ever used Discord, Telegram, Bitwarden, Slack or other apps that keep working in a background all the time?

[@TH-lu9du]

I actually don't mind all the great ideas GNOME has and how they do things differently. I just want a taskbar (Windows jargon) or dock (Mac jargon) so that I can point and click to switch between apps. Something simple like that, to me, trumps all the other great workflows the GNOME team could think of.

[@PaulG.x]

dash to dock

[@andril]

Use it, recommend it and can't get enough

[@AnalyticMinded]

I am one of those people that, over 3 years ago, found Linux appealing because of the Gnome desktop. It wasn't Windows or Mac, and the novelty appealed to me. I also took to Gnome's tiling-window-manager and keyboard-centric aspects quite quickly, and it eventually made me transition to a proper WM. If one day I were to leave my WM ways and return to a DE, it would definitely be Gnome. There's no other choice for me. It looks slick, modern, uniform... It's just the bloat that keeps me from going back! (Well that and a few other things.) lol

[@catto-from-heaven]

What bloat?

[@anieziisandezzlas]

The only thing I found bad about standard gnome's workflow is the multi workspace alt-tab being the only option. I prefer putting it as Super+Tab while using Alt+Tab as "switch between windows"

[@jesse7631]

While I do use some extensions, I love so many features in GNOME compared to any other desktop environment.

[@wolfisraging]

my thing is that default gnome supports extensions :)

[@halcyon321]

Thanks for explaining. I was very resistant to the way GNOME did things but with an explanation it makes sense and makes it easier to adjust and accept. Hell, some of the changes are really good ideas.

[@MrAlanCristhian]

This is a good video with a nice premise. Good job.

[@j0ey97eth]

Been using gnome since moved out from windows, first time try gnome on Ubuntu , feels weird at the first time ... but after using it for a quite some time, i do feel more comfortable using gnome rather than other's DE.. at this moment no matter what distro i'll use , I will use gnome for sure.. except for kali linux which is it's really look good with xfce ..

[@bobbyfried7478]

it's just a theme on kali and it's simple enough to make any Xfce look like Kali's. Xfce has the same plugins and such on any distro that uses it or has it in their respective repos.

[@pako4555]

You missed one thing. The Drag n Drop is so easy on gnome by dragging any files by holding and moving to top left corner which will open the activities with windows of other application which you want to drag to.

[@xmurisfurderx]

Congratulations, you've just discovered basic functionality from 1991

[@pako4555]

​@@xmurisfurderx Are you a Noob Bro, I meant in vanilla GNOME where you don't use any third-party extensions. I just use the clipboard and the legacy GTK3 theme switcher as GNOME extensions. Nowadays, people use Dash to Panel or Dash to Dock extensions, which are unnecessary because you can drag to the hot corner and drop in the windows or use the GNOME default dock in the overview. However, you cannot do this unless you have gestures enabled, which are only available in Wayland. In X11, you have to install a third-party package with an extension to enable it. So, what are you talking about functionality from 1991, noob? Have you been using GNOME at all or not? It's about the philosophy, I mean. Don't teach your father how it's done

[@ASilverNMeep886]

I'm a KDE "fan", but I want to try get GNOME an honest try for at least a month. Especially since I have friends and family that could potentially click with GNOME, I want to be able to help them navigate. There are some behaviors that I will prefer from KDE that could be solved through extensions, but I'd prefer to stick as close to vanilla GNOME as much as possible in the name of stability. Great video!

[@jasongeorge7987]

I've been a Windows user for years, but I've also been a die-hard KDE fan since I first tried Linux back in 2006. As the years go on though, I've noticed that more and more of the larger distros are shipping GNOME by default. So, I've went back and forth with Plasma and GNOME. And to be honest, I'm getting to a point where I enjoy GNOME's simplicity more than I do the mountain of menus that is Plasma. I used to like tinkering with my OS, my desktop and all that. But nowadays, I just want to get things done. So, whenever I go back to Linux, I'll be using GNOME. There is also something to be said for Plasma's history of bugs and random glitches. Especially when using a rolling distro. And the more I think about it, the more I agree with Trafotin. Maybe GNOME is the better experience to introduce new users to LInux. It looks good (compared to older DE's like XFCE), tends to be more stable than Plasma, and once you learn how to navigate the launcher, GNOME is dead simple to use.

[@Chertograad]

This was a great video! Although Ubuntu does some work to customize Gnome to include stuff like the Minimize button, I was intrigued to listen how people make use of the "traditional" (unmodified) Gnome desktop with the lack of a minimize button that many people rely so heavily on. I've never used virtual desktops that much myself but Gnome really seems like it's built in a way that promotes using them. Not saying that's a bad thing, but it's totally a different mindset, coming from someone who has access to multiple virtual desktops on Windows and macOS but never touches them.

[@nathansmith8883]

Personally I like the look and feel of a nicely configured kde desktop and a lot of my friends do as well though the workflow in gnome makes me want to use vanilla gnome. In kde I can't stand a lot of the default settings. The first thing I do is do away with the windows style task bar and replace it with a small bar at the top and unpin all the icons. I also rebind the keys for using virtual desktops because the defaults flat out hurt my hands. Some other things I do is change the application dashboard to the fullscreen version and add the macos style global menu to the thin bar I have at the top. When helping someone decide KDE or gnome it really depends on there needs. From what I have seen with people switching to linux what desktop environment they will like more has nothing to do with if there are a power user or not. What really makes the different is how much someone will compare linux to windows. I have a friend that is a gamer that likes kde a lot. They configured it to feel like windows but with all the things they didn't like about windows changed but they didn't like the mint desktop. I have also known people who liked gnome most likely because it is just flat out better then the windows or macos desktop out of box.

[@setscet]

I agree, whenever I install a ton of extensions, I go back and turn them off and the default is usually better. Only extensions I have now are the always awake and the more compact top bar.

[@pepavasata6790]

I have Gnome on my laptop, so when reinstalling my desktop to Linux, I wanted to give KDE a try. I am definitely switching away from it at some point. Either to Gnome or maybe Sway, but I am quite sure I'm ready for a tiling WM.

[@Trafotin]

As long as you find what works for you.

[@WolfiiDog13]

I love the default gnome experience, but I actually use dash to dock (ubuntu). Having a dock for quick mouse access to my most used apps is good, and I don't feel like it takes away from the gnome experience.

[@Trafotin]

I use Dash to Dock too, but just to have a panel on a second monitor, so I can pretend I look at the time when I watch a TV show or something. Probably wouldn't be using otherwise, but I admit that it's far from the default usecase.

[@flipflopski2951]

I thought having an "experience" was what Gnome was dead set against?.. Desktop icons are the fastest way to open a program and gnome is a non starter for me because of that.

[@ny_hai]

@@flipflopski2951 The fastest is a keyboard shortcut. For a mouse, dock or desktop icon.

[@thefearlessgeek]

I agree that different is better. I just gave Gnome another chance and while I definitely feel it's improved since the last time I used it. But I'm still having issues with it. So I'm back to my Mate/i3 combo on X11 and then Hyprland on Wayland. (There are certain things I still need X11 for) I'm paying attention to the development of the new Cosmic desktop, too. I definitely want to give that a try when it comes out.

[@endaksi_channel]

I love Gnome, but I hate inconsistency around menus. Some apps have menu in top bar, some have hamburger menu, some have menu on icon, some have menu on deck... Need to sort it somehow.

[@nephatrine]

I don't think GNOME is bad or anything, but I like KDE better. Part of that is just because I'm used to it, but also I prefer the KDE-centric suite of software and other Qt applications so it just seems like a natural choice to use KDE itself.

[@zizkovhoodmoments1590]

i installed debian 12 GNOME and its great. Does what it should, no bullshit. only some functions missing still in gnome 43 which ships with debian, like bluetooth quick connect in the taskbar and accent colors but theres still extensions for that. also Dash to Dock is a must, i dont know why it isnt part of the stock gnome experience

[@gtPacheko]

I add dash to dock, OpenWeather and that's it. Not the default, but I loooove the workspaces and other GNOME stuff. Specially libadwaita and how consistent everything is.

[@DadsWk]

I want to thank you, I'm new to using Gnome Linux, you have explained a lot which helps me understand Linux. Being a mac and windows user for so many years I have been used to one way of completing task. I'm one of those people who you would consider as an old dog who its hard to teach new tricks. Thank you

[@Trafotin]

I will assume you meant GNOME on Linux, not GNOME OS. If you are daily driving GNOME OS, please don't. It is meant for beta testing and not for daily usage.

[@orlovskyconsulting]

But why no desktop icons on desktop allowed in Gnome ? I dont get it

[@tostadorafuriosa69]

because they are on the overview like he said. Idk about you but not even on windows or kde i used desktop icons at all

[@orlovskyconsulting]

@@tostadorafuriosa69 ok, i too use terminal more and more ;)

[@flipflopski2951]

I don't get it either that's why I don't use gnome.

[@orlovskyconsulting]

@@flipflopski2951 well, you now those very simplistic WindowMaker, i like , but wheel in terms of Enterprise Gnome is king, KDE sure at home, but really i look for consistency and stable uis, i dont like when somebody innovate to much in that area

[@freaked25]

I don't need them. Even in Windows the only desktop icon I have is the Recycle Bin.

[@tmendoza6]

Great video Gnome has always taken care of my needs

[@celltest7645]

Thanks. This is the most informative video on gnome I've seen so far. Please keep the series going! I've subscribed to not miss the next part.

[@coerce1]

Just finished watching.

[@2Kaleb]

Can GNOME launch certain apps *always* in a specified workspace number?

[@Trafotin]

No, it is manual only. However, if you accustom yourself to the Alt+Tab and Alt+~ menus, it becomes second nature and it doesn't matter.

[@lunchbox1341]

Only thing gnome misses is hot edge (instead of the unwieldy hot corner) and an actually working (not just flatpaks) background apps feature

[@jhecohe]

Gnome is the DE that almost cover all my necessities, but i miss save the position of the windows, and it would be nice to have a window title smaller

[@Trafotin]

This might be a Wayland thing, because Wayland doesn't have a portal for saving window positions yet. It's in the works, but even on X11, it's hit or miss.

[@aidan8583]

I installed Ubuntu on my laptop as my first GNOME experience, and the first thing i did was remove the ubuntu dock, and install the hot edge extension.

[@gravityshark580]

when i got more and more used to linux window manager workflow i started thinking what would be my perfect desktop environment/workflow, and i just realized i have thought of the same as gnome's design time to switch to gnome now

[@Trafotin]

If you like what you are doing, please don't switch. Unless you aren't using Wayland, then give it some consideration. Sway is a great choice.

[@gravityshark580]

​@@Trafotin before my laptop's death i was using awesomewm on x11 because nvidia stuff didnt work with most wayland (, and i havent tried gnome back then cause it took a hefty time to compile on gentoo.) currently im temporarily borrowing someone else's laptop while using windows/linux mint, because i need to stay productive to do real life stuff; so unfortunately i can't really try any new stuff right now ill definitely give gnome and other wayland compositors another shot when i get a new laptop. thanks for the consideration

[@gravityshark580]

@@Trafotin I'm back, and I'm using Gnome because that was the mostly default option in the selection if NixOS graphical installation. I thought that since NixOS allows you to declare everything from like config. I can freely just install Gnome and whenver I want to change I can just freely change the config to remove Gnome. But now I'm just using Gnome, my new laptop can handle using it pretty smoothly. Although its not purely default, I do use 5 extensions max: Pop shell, Run or Raise, AppIndicator (i still dont know why default gnome doesnt have this), Dash to dock and Light style. First time running Wayland smoothly and it's very nice. Although alt-tab workflow did not fit me, I did find a really interesting alternative, Run or Raise press a key bind, if that application isn't, open run it, if it is, then focus on it. I am currently trying out and I am still getting used to using the correct keybindings so I can be more efficient (got into a bad habit of just using super page up and page down, it's on an ergo keyboard though so it still feels nice). The thing I really like is (you did mention it in the video IIRC, i didnt rewatch it) that before I was hard set on a "Keyboard only" workflow, now I have a keyboard only AND mouse only workflow. I can do everything my system can do with just a mouse or keyboard or both, im now a hot corner addict. I don't have to worry about leaving my comfort zone and trying new things because NixOS is amazing and I can just roll back when I need to. I might try to find a different window manager/desktop environment in the future (just for the giggles and remove some of da gnome bloat™(i inserted that trade mark with gnome-characters btw)). But there really are some stuff I have no idea how I will implement outside of Gnome (like the entirety of Gnome activities overview I really like) so I'm gonna stick for a while until I get bored or something. Also apologies for the big reply, I just like hearing myself talk.

[@falajose3080]

I personally stated using gnome because I think that it's beautifull and different

[@falajose3080]

When I used KDE I changed so much and in the end I had something that was so similar to gnome that it made no sense

[@fossface]

What extension are you using for tiling? I've had issues with forge.

[@thefearlessgeek]

Actually I may need to try a different tiling extension, myself. I was using Forge in my latest attempt to use Gnome.

[@Trafotin]

it is Forge. Try it on up to date GNOME.

[@fossface]

@@Trafotin Ah, I used on on f39 with 3 monitors, and it literally made the desktop crash. The typical keys used to swap windows stopped working too.

[@vanyasmirn]

Hey there, thanks for the video Pop_OS! user here (half a year), had Debian+XFCE before. A lot of my frustrations with Pop (and hopes for Cosmic) had to do with their custom GNOME version, caused a lot of frustration, and since I couldn't "fix" the functionality to be more "feature-complete" (as I understood those things) I just waited for a new, better DE from scratch. I thought this was the issue of GNOME, not Pop_OS! GNOME (since naturally if they had to customize it that meant that vanilla was even less complete, right?.. Right???) But after your video I saw how GNOME is actually *supposed* to look and function, and I am sold, will try to find a way to use it sometime later on a new install. Thanks!

[@B121AN1]

Just switched to GNOME thanks to this video. I'm trying to keep it as stock as possible with almost no extensions with almost every extension I use being cosmetic changes.

[@Trafotin]

Nothing wrong with extensions, but congrats on the move.

[@thestreamreader]

I hated there was no right click and get executable name in case you needed to write a script and didnt know where the installed app was run from and it was not easy to create your own launchable apps. In kde I can make me own executable that shows up in the kde menu.

[@GKahla]

great overview; and your emphasis on its own unique workflow is refreshing. thanks -

[@oyinbra]

I actually gave Gnome a try and went back to KDE only for me to be missing how easy it was for me to open apps and not have to remember which Desktop a particular app is. I finally made the switch and I'm much happier. 🥰 The extension that shows the name of the app you're currently using, what is it called? I need that to complete my switch. Thanks for an amazing video.

[@Trafotin]

It's not an extension, it was previously part of GNOME, but they've been trying remove top level icons from their design language. There is an extension to add a border over your focused window.

[@nBp4tB12]

You can actually use the Desktop directory as a Desktop.

[@benjy288]

I've tried to use gnome but found it too limiting, they've dumbed it down too much, I'm also not a fan of tiling window managers, once you get more than a few windows open then they start to get too small, I also don't get the benefit of multiple workspaces, moving an app to another workspace is not really any different from minimizing an app to the panel, plus when you minimize an app to the panel then you can easily see how many apps you have open just by looking at the panel, the only reason I can see why gnome has multiple workspaces is because they removed the ability to minimized apps to the panel, they also don't want you to place app shortcuts on the panel for some strange reason, I really can't understand their design decisions.

[@georgioscharalambous7707]

Are you using a tilling manager extension on gnome? It seems that everything automatically tiles up

[@homeshake555]

Forge extension

[@CrazyMineCuber]

I still think gnome should implement left workspaces as well. Why not up and down workspaces as well? Much easier to remember, Ah that window is on my left! Rather that oh was is two or three workspaces to the right?

[@pantarei.]

I don't like "Gnome workflow". It's just not for me. I like to see everything at once - one panel to rule them all. And that's it.

[@NgTi27]

totally agree!

[@fedorchib]

It's pity for me that tablets (especially developed for "desktop" OSes, not for android and others) are not widespread. GNOME suits touchscreen really good. When I come to linux, I used it on ASUS transformer laptop/tablet until its' touchscreen broke. Still miss this experience.

[@wolfenstein6676]

I'm a new Linux Mint user, so if a program isn't already contained in the 'Software Manager' I can't install it. For example, I want to install Gimp 2.8 (an older version) and I've downloaded the flatpak for it to my downloads folder, but I've got no idea how to install it. How do we install flatpaks that we've already downloaded?

[@Trafotin]

You should learn the terminal way to manage Flatpaks. I have a series of videos about it, but there's also the issue of Mint moves very slowly. If you use Fedora or openSUSE, it's easier to install, not just GNOME, but more updated packages. They both also have more fine-tuned security controls than Mint or Ubuntu.

[@wolfenstein6676]

@@Trafotin Thanks, but I'll stay with Linux Mint because it's very similar to 'Windows' operating systems and that's what I need right now. I'll take a look at your videos.

[@p0358]

What AI are you using for the subtitles? Cause it actually seems really good.

[@Trafotin]

Whisper.cpp's small.en models. It's not perfect and flawed with multiple voices, music, or poetry, but when it's just me, it works great. It does put a space in front of every line, and as with every AI tool, proofreading is important.

[@Chapolin242]

After watching this, hyperland doesn't make sense, I mean, what's the point of it? Gnome is complete! Note that, I still see plasma as more complete out of the box than gnome. But, for the tiling window, gnome makes more sense.

[@desvendandoornasaude4127]

I prefer XFCE. It is simple, fast and effective

[@Emancipatriot]

Hey back off! I just recently warmed up to the idea of liking gnome over KDE. And it’s thanks to extensions. I use hyprland most of the time I only fall back to gnome when I run vms

[@paultapping9510]

the only thing I change on vanilla gnome are keyboard shortcuts and a wallpaper changer. Other than that I really enjoy the gnome ux.

[@BigBeesNase]

What Tiling app/extension are you using?

[@Trafotin]

Forge from GNOME Extensions. It's a hold out until they support their planned window tiling.

[@antiwokehuman]

I used gnome. The workflow is nice, but it needs too many extensions to have the functionality that I expect out of the box from a DE. I switched to KDE6 and it’s been amazing. A few things could be better but atleast I don’t have to hunt for extensions for some basic functionality. Gnome developers have a really good product, but for some reason, they are hell bent on making it worse🤦‍♂️

[@skaifer1715]

I'm thinking to switch to Gnome from KDE, just because how hot corner works. It's quick and snappy, and you can drag and drop windows between desktops very easily. And hot-corner click brings up application dashboard. And I miss it, even after KDE overview update, it's still not the same. Years have passed, which caused me to forget why I switched from Gnome to KDE. Back then, it felt like the best choice ever. Knowing that, I have a strong feeling I'll regret this decision, and it will end up to be a waste of time 😀

[@davidwayne9982]

I installed VANILLA yesterday and it's slower than smoke off POO-- but I followed all the guides slowly and closely..I have 4 other distros on here too (separate drivers etc.) and they are all blazing fast-- so its' NOT my computer.. ??? ideas? The software store thing goes to black boxes and the spin thing goes half a turn and hangs-- and I have to restart the system. NONE of my other distros have any issues.. ASKING HELP here - NOT being critical.

[@Trafotin]

I don't use Vanilla, but they change a lot outside of the base Debian. This seems more specific to Vanilla.

[@Emancipatriot]

I hated gnome for the longest time I only used KDE. I ended up using gnome for a short time along my twm as a session I can log into, but wish I used gnome more often than I used KDE . Regardless,now that I use a TWM with keybinds for everything I don’t want to go back to anything else. Every time I use a DE now, I instantly miss closing apps with super & q, for example. Out of habit I will press these in a DE 😂

[@hoodio]

thank you for so normally talking about accessibility

[@SeagSeag-z7o]

I keep coming back to gnome the more I become keyboard centric. I try and have used i3, Sway Awesome but It works , and without mouse. You can use one but dont have to. The shortcuts are extremely easy to create. It is a full desktop you dont have to flesh out like all the window manager styles.

[@sonixczek2553]

are you on wayland or x11? and do you use fractional scaling?

[@Trafotin]

I use Wayland only with XWayland where I need to. I don't use fractional scaling, but history shows genetically once I start getting into my late 40s, my eyesight will get worse and I will need it then. I personally think KDE does it the best.

[@pip5528]

I believe I forgot to comment here back in the day but I've been more of an Xfce/KDE/i3/Cinnamon kind of person. I have given GNOME an honest shot on occasion but I don't usually stick with it for long. Knowing the philosophy behind it does give me a better appreciation of it however. I do also put things on other workspaces in tiling WMs. One thing I don't like about GNOME however is just the RAM usage.

[@Trafotin]

You want high RAM usage. That means your system is caching it and it is properly being used.

[@kevingary7018]

The vanilla gnome desktop is nice - installing gnome extensions and tweeks make it better. I like Forge, Arc, and others to make my workflow easier & more productive. After becoming familiar with the GNU/Linux open source environment, you will realize that customization is part of that experience - proprietary operating systems simply do not offer this level of customization on such a scale as Linux.

[@MrLittleW]

Put another way, Minimize fixes the symptom - but not the problem - of lackluster window management. Gnome fixes this problem with dynamic virtual workspaces. Windows and Mac band-aided it.

[@KevinNitro]

Hi Is that tiling option is available by default of gnome? I'm using Ubuntu 22.04 and I don't have it 🥲 I'm from Windows with komorebi (tiling WM) and I want it so much.. Also is it posible to move to the workspace quickly by pressing some key shortcut like super 1, 2, 3..? And quick focus to other window in same workspace like super arow (hjkl vim binding or sth)? Thank you❤

[@marcosolivsilv]

It's a gnome extension called Forge. And yes, you can setup customize shortcuts in configurations.

[@tsilb]

Noob here, why does nVidia force you onto Gnome? Seems to run Plasma just fine on my machine.

[@Trafotin]

This is an old video. Namely, Nvidia, Wayland, and KDE. At least testing a week ago, it works way better now. I just personally don't like the fact there are no monitor independent workspaces, so much I still use GNOME.

[@razorbladesky]

GNOME + Forge is why I will probably never use any other DE.

[@Trafotin]

Forge is now unmaintained. I've given up on tiling for now and am waiting for the official GNOME tiling.

[@pubdigitalix]

17 minutes of video and never say how to install the "Default" Gnome experience. How you install it in last Fedora distro? Need to compile it from the source? Thanks anyone in advance.

[@Trafotin]

Either use Workstation or install it yourself with dnf.

[@MyurrDurr]

Yep! You get it :D

[@martinMZ72]

Interesting video. Sad thats its not possible to change the main color of the desktop. I mean the brown tone. Ba the way I also have an Nvidia card and it works perfectly fine under Wayland KDE.

[@Trafotin]

You can use the extension Gradience. Gradience uses the new XDG standard for accent colors and is fully integrated in libadwaita. Right now, it's on hold for GNOME because of localization concerns and picking the right names for colors.

[@martinMZ72]

Thank you! @@Trafotin

[@davidwayne9982]

I hated gnome for years- but since KDE screwed up my tiling-- I'm switching-a nd starting to like it-- thanks to YOUR videos.. great job.

[@richardaltamirano312]

good video! Gnome is used without minimize buttons and without a start menu, but to be more productive I use two extensions, AutoMove to give each application always the same desktop and Dash to Panel copying the original design of the top panel but with the advantage of having open applications in view and be able to use the mouse wheel to switch applications

[@davemeech]

This was an awesome watch and exactly what I was looking for as a windows user of close to 35 years struggling to adapt to other workflows and wanting to understand the way gnome was meant to be used. I think I'm going to fire up a vm with debian and gnome and take it for a test drive this weekend

[@Trafotin]

Would recommend Fedora or SUSE Tumbleweed instead. It's a more pure experience. Debian makes a small number of changes and you are running an outdated GNOME, where with SUSE and Fedora you get a fully updated experience.

[@myria2834]

I hate desktop icons with a passion, but it is literally one button click or hotkey to "show desktop" on any other desktop environment. Even with a thousand open windows. I also routinely minimize my browser when downloading files to keep it out of my way. There is not any excuses to justify these two design choices. Same with not including maximize. You have the title bar, it is using space anyway, put the buttons that are expected to be there.

[@lunchbox1341]

Well why not just throw the browser in a separate workspace instead? And you add those buttons back anyways.

[@icollided]

I say it like Genome. Like in DNA stuff.

[@WereCatStudio]

IMO: Default GNOME on a laptop with a touchpad - one of the best experiences. On a PC with a mouse - ... needs some major tweaks to get usable.

[@inout3394]

Thx

[@OveRaDaMaNt]

>I use default gnome >actually uses gnome with a tiling extension What did he mean by this?

[@Trafotin]

The default workflow. I may use extensions, but I still adhere to the "standard" GNOME workflow. It's explained in the video.

[@xdweed5495]

Uncustomizablity is always bad thing. Customizing should not be 3rd feature.

[@Trafotin]

Not relevant to discussion of video.

[@themadoneplays7842]

Meh, the default Gnome sucks. No HiDPI support No FSR support You need to remember so many key combinations to make it work right. Can't select or change fonts or anything without installing tweaks. Only two themes, such as dark theme with blue highlights or light theme with blue highlights. The UI in general is more fitting for a smartphone than a desktop. I mean that's why many distros tweak it because gnome is shit.

[@Trafotin]

Then use something else.

[@s9209122222]

Still waiting HDR and VRR support for Gnome.....😮‍💨 By the way, Gnome should improve the design of their dock with mouse, it is stupid to move your cursor to top left corner to see the dock.

[@tombgo123]

When I work at my desk, I organize my pens and supplies in cases and drawers, and I store my documents in folders as well. I don’t leave everything scattered on the desk, nor do I switch desks when I need to perform a different task. The Gnome approach is terribly counterintuitive and the reason why Linux has fallen so far behind other operating systems in adoption. Stubbornness is not a virtue.

[@Trafotin]

That's not the real reason adoption for Linux is failing and you know it. GNOME is the standard for enterprise desktops.

Why would you store your windows in 2D space of your desktop, when you can store them in 1D workspace row... You will lose 1 dimension but you wil gain... ? Wait, what will I gain? Dont get me wrong, I am Gnome user, but I do not like this. I guess Apple puts more money in UX research than Gnome and they decided to keep desktop icons, I believe for good reason.

[@Sam-n6v1s]

This was a great video.

[@italiatroller4793]

default gnome: not hard for me xfce: yes it's easier kde: yup, it's based on qt and have beautiful themes while remaining easy openbox: session of adding things, with compositors

[@ankur-dhama]

Gnome: Do one thing and do it well. Gnome shell overview: This is where you - search, see workspaces and all windows, access dash, see all applications. The problem with things like "Gnome philosophy" is that they are defined using words that are vague and open to different interpretations and this allow you to justify any decision. You start with the philosophy, do some word play around it and outcomes the justification for a design/feature decision.

[@shaunpatrick8345]

The overview is where you switch context. That's just one thing, but there is more than one context. If each context had its own access and UI, that would be awful! In fact, it's what Pop did with their first iteration of Cosmic.

[@ankur-dhama]

@@shaunpatrick8345 How would having different ui for each context would be problem? If my intention is to search something then a ui that is specifically designed and optimised for search and that is triggered by a specific keyboard shortcut sounds more intuitive to me.

[@shaunpatrick8345]

@@ankur-dhama you can set that up for yourself if you want. For example, the overview lets you search for files just by their name, but the Files app has an advanced search feature where you can add file size, date and other criteria. So assign a shortcut to the Files app and remove the app from the overview search. You can do this for every application which hooks into the overview's search feature, and then it will only search for apps. Then you will have super+A to open the apps grid, and you'll have to use individual apps for context-specific searches. The only dual function would be that when you open the overview to see running apps, you have the ability to search for new ones to open. That might be something you can live with.

[@Grunfeld]

Nice idea for the video but you're whizzing your cursor around and flicking between cuts so, for me anyway, I felt pretty clueless about what you were trying to show. Maybe a halo for your cursor and slow down to a gallop? But thanks anyway.