Troubleshooting the new Ubuntu Gnome release

Unity has divided Ubuntu users into two camps: believers and unbelievers. The controversial Unity desktop, which has been the default option in the past few Ubuntu releases, has caused much disturbance in the ranks of veteran users. And, Canonical's threatened introduction of the Mir display server to the Kubuntu project has caused a whole new round of uncertainty (see the "Kubuntu and Mir" box).

In the long run, the only users who are universally accepting of Unity and its Unity Next successor will be the beginners, including converters from Windows, and especially the Mac world, because Unity has the basic look and feel of Mac OS X. Sharp tongues claim that many Windows converts opt for Ubuntu because it's hard for them to deal with "real Linux."

Ubuntu users who can't deal with the Unity desktop have several options. You could always turn to an official Ubuntu spin-off with an alternative desktop, such as Lubuntu, Xubuntu, or Kubuntu. Other spinoff distros, such as Linux Mint, have also been gaining popularity. You could also install an alternative desktop manually through the package manager after your system is already up and running. The Ubuntu community, however, has finally bowed to popular sentiment and approved a more seamless solution for the Gnome faithful. Since its "Raring Ringtail" release, Ubuntu Gnome [1] has offered an official Ubuntu version with a Gnome desktop. If you're interested in trying out Ubuntu Gnome, the fastest way to download it is through Canonical's image server [2].

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