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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Who uses pure GNOME (no extensions) (lemdro.id)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I really like gnome and how it looks. However every time I try it I find myself in need of more functionality and so I install a bunch of extensions. For example I can't live without a dock and some sort of system tray that shows which apps are running in background.

Sometimes the extensions have small UI inconsistencies or use more memory than usual. That's why I totally ditched gnome and switch to KDE.

Also I tend to think it's been designed for people who are more comfortable using a keyboard. I'm mostly a mouse person.

Do any of you run pure gnome with no extensions? How do you cope with the lack of a dock and system tray?

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Especially desktop icons are difficult to get right

This doesn't just affect desktop icons, icons in general suck under Linux. Things have strange behaviors when selected, long names don't work properly etc.

But most importantly: GNOME doesn’t want to be a traditional (Windows-like) desktop, so why would they implement features that don’t align with their ideas for a desktop experience?

Because GNOME is the only DE with some potential and by not having 2 or 3 simple optional features aren't getting more traction. I bet half of the KDE users would be glad to use GNOME only if it had desktop icons. Using other DE doesn't make much sense as you'll inevitable run in GTK and parts of GNOME and having to mix and match to get a working desktop experience.

Again, GNOME had icons, v3.28 discontinued them for no other purpose than trying to re-inveting something that worked for a ton of people.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Because GNOME is the only DE with some potential and by not having 2 or 3 simple optional features aren’t getting more traction.

But everyone has different requirements and my "2 or 3 simple optional features" that are missing are completely different than what you think is missing. I couldn't care less about desktop icons or system trays. I even prefer not having a system tray, as this functionality should be provided via notifications and regular application shortcuts in my opinion.

But in the end, a software project only has a limited amount of resources available and developers have to decide where they want to focus on. GNOME chose not to focus on desktop icons:

GNOME had icons, v3.28 discontinued them

Because the code was "old and unmaintained" and probably no one was willing to modernise and maintain it. Desktop icons were already disabled by default before 3.28, so they didn't "re-invent" this feature with the removal of the code in Nautilus.

Using other DE doesn’t make much sense as you’ll inevitable run in GTK and parts of GNOME and having to mix and match to get a working desktop experience.

I use GNOME and KDE and use the same applications (as Flatpaks) on both desktops: I use GNOME Calculator on KDE, because I dislike both KDE calculators, and I use Ark on GNOME with a Nautilus script, as File Roller doesn't allow me to set the compression ratio (I need to create zip files with 0 compression for modding games). So for me it has become the norm to mix applications created with different toolkits. Thanks to Flatpak I still have a "clean" base system though.

Btw. I am getting tired of these re-occurring complaints that GNOME works differently than other desktops. I am not constantly complaining about what features KDE is, in my opinion, missing all the time either (e. g. dynamic workspaces, same wallpaper and desktop configuration across all existing and new monitors, online account integration, command line config tool, etc.), instead I accept that this is how it is at the moment and either use KDE the way it is (like I do on my desktop PC) or use something that better suits my needs (like I do on all my laptops).