Linux Desktop Growth Renews Focus on GNOME's Evolution and Design Debates

The report recalls that in 1999, then-SUSE CTO Dirk Hohndel predicted a 'year of Linux desktop,' a phrase that became a long-running meme as market share stayed below 5 percent. It says next year is unlikely to be that year, but now is the best time to try Linux desktop, because installation of systems and drivers is easier than in the past and the software ecosystem has become less barren. New users still face two main challenges: the command line and distribution fragmentation.

Whichever distribution a user chooses, the default desktop is likely KDE or GNOME. KDE fits Windows habits, while GNOME challenges those habits. GNOME stands for GNU Network Object Method Environment, but the full name no longer has meaning. Network Object Method was replaced by the lighter D-Bus due to complexity and performance problems. GNOME was founded in 1997 with a GNU prefix to create a desktop based entirely on free software, amid controversy over KDE's reliance on the non-free Qt license. In 2021, GNOME split from the GNU Project after long-standing dissatisfaction with Richard Stallman's behavior and leadership. GNOME is now an independent brand under a nonprofit, not an abbreviation. Official videos still pronounce it guh-NOME, but the report says calling it NOME is also reasonable.

The report divides GNOME's development into several stages. GNOME 1, from 1999 to 2002, did not rush to create a new workflow paradigm; it resembled Windows 95, with desktop icons, window controls, a bottom taskbar, and workspaces. Its window manager Sawfish allowed deep customization with Lisp scripts. GNOME 2, from 2002 to 2011, introduced a dual-panel layout, with components that could be freely placed. It was intuitive and efficient, became the default desktop for many mainstream distributions, and surpassed KDE in market share as Ubuntu rose. Its success later inspired MATE, and GNOME still includes a Classic Session that simulates the GNOME 2 layout.

GNOME 3, from 2011 to 2021, began with conceptual exploration in 2005 and initial design at a five-day GNOME UX Hackfest in October 2008. Developers wanted a unified interface layer, later called GNOME Shell, to replace GNOME 2's collection of separate panels and menus. They aimed to solve problems such as excessive panel configuration freedom, difficulty finding windows when many applications were open, inefficient hierarchical menus for launching apps, and inconvenient workspaces. The result was the Activities Overview, which combines a streamlined top panel, full workspace previews, an Applications view similar to macOS Launchpad, a dash for pinned and running apps, a search bar, and vertically stacked workspaces. GNOME 3 made workspaces dynamic by default and removed the taskbar and desktop icons. The desktop and Activities Overview are switched with the Super key. GNOME 3 was released on April 6, 2011. Lead designer Jon McCann said he wanted users to feel more focused, sharp, productive, capable, respected, delighted, and comfortable. The report says that hope was not realized. GNOME 3 was not an incremental improvement over GNOME 2, and early GNOME Shell crashes were disastrous, causing a large loss of users. The backlash led to new desktop environments: MATE based on GNOME 2, and Cinnamon returning to a traditional desktop paradigm on a GNOME 3 base. GNOME denied ignoring feedback and user needs and promised no such radical change for a long time. It then pursued incremental evolution.

From GNOME 40 onward, starting in 2021, GNOME changed its version numbering and introduced a new Activities Overview design. This time it conducted usability research before the design. Workspaces changed from vertical to horizontal, offering better spatial metaphor and consistency with touch gestures. The team also created Libadwaita for GTK 4. Previously, GNOME's Adwaita theme was bundled with GTK; Libadwaita decoupled GNOME's visual style from GTK, giving GTK better generality and platform independence, and allowing developers to write applications that follow GNOME's human interface guidelines.

The report describes the current GNOME desktop environment as mainly GNOME Shell plus core applications. GNOME Shell remains a combination of an ordinary desktop and Activities Overview, with little structural change since GNOME 3's release. On the desktop, a workspace indicator changes with workspace switches; clicking the date and time opens a menu with calendar, weather, and notifications; installed GNOME Shell extensions appear; and a system menu offers shortcuts and shutdown or lock screen. Users can lock the screen with Super+L. In the window area, Super+Tab or Super+` switches between windows or windows of the same application, and three-finger swipes on a touchpad or Ctrl+Alt+arrow keys switch workspaces. By default, GTK applications under GNOME show only a close button on the right. Activities Overview can be entered by pressing Super, moving the mouse to the top-left hot corner, or swiping up with three fingers on a touchpad. It includes a search bar for applications, files, and settings, and users can exclude certain items from results in GNOME's settings.