Earlier this month fans of the good old GNOME 2 desktop environment got some exciting news when it became clear that a version of Ubuntu Linux featuring the classic desktop was in the works.
There’s now what looks like an official Web page for this new GNOME Ubuntu–called GNOMEbuntu in its URL–and a Muktware report on Thursday uncovered numerous details about the forthcoming release. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the highlights.
1. The Name
While initially it sounded like GNOMEbuntu would be the name of this new Linux flavor, developer Jeremy Bicha has apparently said that the GNOME Foundation Board won’t permit it, according to Muktware.
In a recent Quantal Quetzal-focused thread on the Ubuntu forums, both GNObuntu and Gnubuntu were being discussed. No final word yet, as far as I can tell.
2. The Apps
Along with Compiz, the new GNOME Ubuntu will reportedly use the Rhythmbox music player as well as the Epiphany browser, Evolution for e-mail and workgroup functions, the Abiword word processor, and the Gnumeric spreadsheet package. Neither Firefox nor LibreOffice will be preinstalled, according to the report.
As part of its goal of offering a “pure GNOME” experience, this new Ubuntu flavor will of course not include the mobile-inspired and controversial Unity desktop interface. According to the Muktware report, it also won’t include cloud service Ubuntu One.
Perhaps even more intriguing, it sounds like there will be customized Ubuntu settings that let users make their GNOME experience in the operating system even more pure.
4. Still Up in the Air
Besides the name of this new Ubuntu flavor, a number of other features are reportedly still under discussion as well, including both the file manager and the display manager that will be used.
After all the controversy that has been generated by both Unity and GNOME 3, I’m so excited to see this classically flavored Ubuntu becoming a reality. The emergence of like-minded efforts such as MATE and SolusOS shows there’s a real need.
An alpha version of the new GNOME Ubuntu will reportedly arrive soon. I’m betting there will be quite a crowd waiting to check it out.