GNOME 3

Much of GNOME 3's user interface changes were based-on attempts at simplification and rethinking of traditional desktop computing workflows. Eschewing the beige colors present in GNOME 2 in favor of a modern black and gray, a new look and feel was implemented, which became known as Adwaita.

Possibly the single-most significant feature change that GNOME 3 introduced was the replacement of the GNOME Panel with the larger-scoped GNOME Shell. With it, came the removal of the desktop metaphor as seen in previous versions in favor of a simple image-based background that distinctly lacks desktop icons. Dropping the Metacity window manager in favor of Mutter, users saw window titlebar decorations do away with maximize and minimize icon buttons.{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.com/2011/04/11/gnome_3_review |title=GNOME 3: Shocking changes for Linux lovers |first=Scott |last=Gilbertson |publisher=The Register |date=April 11, 2011 |access-date=August 29, 2022}}

With the release of GNOME 3.2, shell extensions as a feature, similar to the "applet" of GNOME 2, was added. Such extensions allow developers the ability to add modular, separately-versioned customizations to the desktop environment, without having to integrate code directly into the mainline GNOME codebase.

On September 25, 2013, GNOME 3.10 was released, which introduced support for the Wayland display protocol, as the Mutter window manager added experimental compositing.{{cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/gnome-3-10-arrives-with-experimental-wayland-support/ |title=GNOME 3.10 arrives with experimental Wayland support |first=Chris |last=Duckett |publisher=ZDNet |date=September 25, 2013 |access-date=August 9, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://www.eweek.com/development/gnome-3.10-updates-the-open-source-linux-desktop |title=GNOME 3.10 Updates the Open-Source Linux Desktop |first=Sean Michael |last=Kerner |publisher=eWeek |date=September 27, 2013 |access-date=August 9, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://help.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/3.10 |title=GNOME 3.10 Release Notes |publisher=GNOME Foundation |access-date=August 9, 2022}} As the most-used graphical environment for Linux, this set-up a significant change for distributions to eventually be able to switch from the aging X Window System as a default.

GNOME Core Applications took on a unified naming scheme, by utilizing simple, descriptive names such as "Files" instead of "Nautilus" or "Videos" instead of "Totem". Added to the set of core applications in version 3.10 was GNOME Software, which in concert with AppStream metadata, and the PackageKit daemon, serves as a complete app store and system update utility. GNOME 3.18 added integration with the Linux Vendor Firmware Service for hardware vendors to provide firmware updates directly through GNOME Software. GNOME 3.22 integrated GNOME Software with Flatpak. GConf, the system used for storing configuration-related settings in the desktop and applications, was deprecated in GNOME 3, and replaced by GSettings and dconf.

By late 2004, two years into the release of GNOME 2, discussion of the next major release had started occurring. A wiki was posted on the GNOME website that detailed loose brainstorming of compatibility-breaking ideas from project co-founder Federico Mena and several other GNOME contributors.{{cite web |url=http://live.gnome.org/ThreePointZero |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041208055500/http://live.gnome.org/ThreePointZero |title=ThreePointZero |archive-date=December 8, 2004 |access-date=August 16, 2022}}

The community developed the nickname "Project Topaz" for the development effort, as a reference to an acronym of the version phrase "three point zero".

A greater public-facing GNOME 3 discussion began in late May 2005 when Canonical engineer and former GNOME Foundation board director, Jeff Waugh gave a presentation at the sixth annual GUADEC, regarding "Project Topaz".{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/Guadec2005/page/n19/mode/2up |title=6th Annual GNOME Users and Developers European Conference Programme |publisher=GNOME Foundation |date=May 29, 2005 |access-date=August 10, 2022}}{{cite web |url=http://browserbookapp.sourceforge.net/topaz |title=Project Topaz Storyboard|first=Jeff |last=Waugh |date=May 30, 2005 |access-date=August 10, 2022}}{{cite web |last=Waugh |first=Jeff |date=March 15, 2011 |title=Timeline: The Greatest Show on Earth |url=https://bethesignal.org/blog/2011/03/15/timeline-gnome-user-experience-hackfest-2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823004406/http://bethesignal.org/blog/2011/03/15/timeline-gnome-user-experience-hackfest-2008/ |archive-date=2011-08-23 |access-date=August 10, 2022}} In this presentation, Waugh demonstrated mockups that had been compiled from numerous community ideas, and a brainstorming session occurred thereafter.

Having previously focused on steady incremental growth throughout the desktop environment's development, showcasing dramatic and innovative workflows not currently used in the desktop environment was a controversial subject. In late 2006, GNOME released an official statement that there were no plans for GNOME 3.

In June 2008, Andy Wingo, a GNOME contributor, published an influential article on his personal blog, decrying a stagnating direction of GNOME.{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2011/04/ars-reviews-gnome-30-a-shiny-new-ornament-for-your-linux-lawn/ |title=A shiny new ornament for your Linux lawn: Ars reviews GNOME 3.0 |first=Ryan |last=Paul |publisher=Ars Technica |date=April 6, 2011 |access-date=August 16, 2022}}{{cite web |url=http://wingolog.org/archives/2008/06/07/gnome-in-the-age-of-decadence |title=GNOME In The Age of Decadence |first=Andy |last=Wingo |date=June 7, 2008 |access-date=August 16, 2022}}

GNOME 3 was officially announced at the 2008 edition of GUADEC.{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2008/07/gnome-3-0-officially-announced-and-explained |title=GNOME 3.0 officially announced… and explained |first=Ryan |last=Paul |publisher=Ars Technica |date=July 14, 2008 |access-date=August 9, 2022}}

From October 6-10, 2008, GNOME held a hackathon focused on user experience in Boston. Vincent Untz, part of the release team, noted that designers and developers "tried to forget the current GNOME and see what [they] thought would make sense."{{cite web |url=https://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/gnome-3-0-the-complete-guide-959427 |title=Gnome 3.0: the complete guide |first=Mayank |last=Sharma |publisher=TechRadar |date=June 5, 2011 |access-date=August 29, 2022}} As a result of the event, initial mockups were created, and Red Hat agreed to contribute development to the effort.

GNOME 3 pre-releases used a 2.91.x versioning scheme.{{cite web |url=https://wiki.gnome.org/TwoPointNinetyone |title=GNOME 2.91.x Development Series |publisher=GNOME Project |access-date=August 9, 2022}} The first beta version of GNOME 3 was debuted on February 23, 2011.{{cite web |url=https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-announce-list/2011-February/msg00062.html |title=GNOME 3 Beta 1 (2.91.90) released! |first=Lucas |last=Rocha |publisher=GNOME Foundation |date=February 23, 2011 |access-date=August 9, 2022}}

Having shipped GNOME as its default graphical environment on Ubuntu since its debut, Canonical initially collaborated on development, but eventually became disillusioned, and halted their efforts.{{cite web |url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2513664/canonical-ubuntu-splits-from-gnome-over-design-issues.html |title=Canonical Ubuntu splits from GNOME over design issues |first=Joab |last=Jackson |publisher=Computerworld |date=October 25, 2010 |access-date=August 29, 2022}} This became the catalyst for development of their Unity shell to be used in place of the standard GNOME Shell. Canonical eventually began using a customized version of the GNOME Shell in 2017, when it released Ubuntu 17.10.

Originally scheduled to be released in March 2010, GNOME's release team delayed version 3.0 several times before finally releasing it on April 6, 2011.

GNOME 3 received mixed reception.{{cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/linus-torvalds-would-like-to-see-a-gnome-fork/ |title=Linus Torvalds would like to see a GNOME fork |first=Steven |last=Vaughan-Nichols |publisher=ZDNet |date=August 3, 2011 |access-date=August 29, 2022}} Its succession as the ongoing focus of The GNOME Project was the impetus for the fork of GNOME 2 known as the MATE desktop environment as well as the creation of the Cinnamon desktop environment, which follows more traditional desktop metaphor conventions. The first adoption of GNOME 3 in a major Linux distribution was version 15 of Fedora Linux.{{cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/fedora-15s-five-best-features/ |title=Fedora 15's five best features |first=Steven |last=Vaughan-Nichols |publisher=ZDNet |date=May 24, 2011 |access-date=August 29, 2022}} Canonical, who had stopped contributing to the GNOME 3 codebase, chose to break from bundling a GNOME Shell for Ubuntu, and instead released its Unity shell. Canonical eventually began using a customized version of the GNOME Shell in 2017, when it released Ubuntu 17.10. openSUSE included it in version 12.1.

Scott Gilbertson of The Register noted that GNOME 3 represented "shocking changes", but was "cleaner" and "simpler". Ars Technica called the new GNOME Shell a "good starting point for building something even better", and predicted "backlash from users" who would be upset about missing features. Steven Vaughan-Nichols of ZDNet said that it "made GNOME less usable", and that it was a "step backward". However, he later expressed that GNOME 3.4 was a "return to a useful Linux desktop".{{cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/fedora-17-gnome-3-4-return-to-a-useful-linux-desktop-review/ |title=Fedora 17 & GNOME 3.4: Return to a useful Linux desktop (Review) |first=Steven |last=Vaughan-Nichols |publisher=ZDNet |date=May 14, 2012 |access-date=August 29, 2022}} Lifehacker{{'}}s Whitson Gordon preferred the stock GNOME 3 desktop environment over Canonical's Unity and other alternatives.{{cite web |url=https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/10/linux-desktop-faceoff-gnome-3-vs-ubuntu-unity |title=Linux Desktop Faceoff: GNOME 3 Vs Ubuntu Unity |first=Whitson |last=Gordon |publisher=Lifehacker Australia |date=October 26, 2011 |access-date=August 29, 2022}}

Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel, publicly expressed his dislike of GNOME 3, and called the version 3.4 release a "total user experience design failure."{{cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/linus-torvalds-finds-gnome-3-4-to-be-a-total-user-experience-design-failure/ |title=Linus Torvalds finds GNOME 3.4 to be a "total user experience design failure" |first=Steven |last=Vaughan-Nichols |website=ZDNet |date=June 4, 2012 |access-date=August 29, 2022}} He also described it as "one step forward, one step back". Torvalds initially switched from using GNOME to Xfce, but then switched back in 2013, citing the use of GNOME Shell Extensions as a fix for shortcomings, and called it "more pleasant".{{cite web |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/linus-torvalds-switches-back-to-gnome-3-x-desktop/ |title=Linus Torvalds switches back to Gnome 3.x desktop |first=Nick |last=Heath |publisher=ZDNet |date=March 4, 2013 |access-date=August 29, 2022}}

File:GNOME_3.4_on_Fedora_17.png|GNOME 3.4 on Fedora 17

• Adwaita (design language) – design language introduced with GNOME 3
• GNOME Shell – the graphical user interface of GNOME 3 and later

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Category:Free desktop environments

Category:2011 software