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Gnome 2.0 on Ximian Installations?
DavonZ asks: "Like many Linux users, I have installed Ximian's Gnome desktop. The biggest issue is that Ximian is still based on Gnome 1.4. With the release of Gnome 2.0, many users have looked into upgrading Ximian to Gnome 2.0, but there are different approaches to this. One, the 2.0 Developement Snapshot available in RedCarpet. Another, the Ximian RPM's that are available via the Gnome.org web pages. Has anyone used either approach? Which is the most stable? Which will allow RedCarpet to upgrade to Ximian's Gnome 2.0, when it becomes available?"
when instead you can spend 3 days compiling Gnome 2.0 by hand?
;>
Kids these days - no work ethic.
Why don't you just be patient, and wait for Ximian to do their own thing in their own time. Unlike the Gnome Foundation who offers their software 'as is', Ximian tests all of the software, to make sure that it runs as stated, and they also make sure that it is easy to install. This means they ship it with all required libraries, pre-compiled for your flavor of *nix.
If you are so impatient to try it out, why not try Garnome? Garnome is a relatively easy way to install the stock Gnome 2 distribution from the source files. Unfortunately, you do have to find some obscure libraries (sp? sgml-data? DocBook?) before it will install, and it will take several hours to compile.
If you want Ximian's version of Gnome, you are just going to have to be patient and wait for them to put their unique finishing touches on it. If 1.4 was any indication, we could be waiting a month or more. And if 1.2-->1.4 upgrade path was any indication, you will have to install fresh as red carpet will not be able to handle an upgrade of this sort.
I haven't lost my mind!
It is backed up on disk...somewhere...
I seem to remember a bit on the mailing list about Ximian releasing their stuff using Gnome2.0 "when it was ready", which isn't now. The 'unstable' Gnome2 channel is survivable, but I find stuff regularly doesn't work, at least when I was mucking with it around the initial 2.0 release.
You can also try Garnome (auto builds from sources) - which seems to be quite stable. It is actually quite easy to build, as it has only a few dependancies that it doesn't automagically resolve and download.
Or, you could wait for 2.0 to stabalize a bit (I don't use it on production machines). This is probably your best bet, as there are not many apps ported to the new APIs. Gnome2 is cool - but wait until the paint dries to put it into production ;-)
BTW - kudos to the Gnome2 team(s)!
mx
I have a friend who installed the snapshots without too much trouble. He says it runs great.
With RH 7.4 in beta now, ximian needs to get in gear.
=================
Unix is very user friendly, it's just picky about who its friends are.
Seriously, If you have the Ximian desktop, then wait. The whole point of that desktop is that it's integrated to 'their' standard, which rests upon the 'standard' of Gnome2. If you're running Ximian, then I'd advise a wait. Contact them to get an idea of timeframe for it's release.
Otherwise, I'd recommend checking out the Garnome project. It's bleeding edge, but it does allow you to compile Gnome for yourself. If you consider yourself more than a newbie (or an aspiring l33t linuxer), then you can have Gnome2 running at the best speeds for *your* machine.
I suppose the thing to remember is that Ximian Desktop is NOT Gnome2, so if Ximian is what you're aiming for, then wait.
Robert Anton Wilson
There are actually pretty good Debian packages already (they work well on my system, at least).
:)
Red Carpet is a distro band-aid
With RH 7.4 in beta now, ximian needs to get in gear.
:)
Ximian should NOT release Gnome just to beat RH7.4 to the finish line. They should release when the product is ready. Initial reports show that Gnome2.0 is almost ready, but still has a few issues to work out.
Plus, I run Ximian Gnome on Solaris, which means that I'll probably get it a month after all you RedHat Weenies^H^H^H^H^H^H^Husers , so I need to be EXTRA patient
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
and install it from ports, simple enough eh?
It'll even magically find all of those evil lib dependancies for you..
I'm currently running the Ximian GNOME2 snaps, and they are working fine and dandy. (Except for official Galeon2 support, but it'll come) But as far as I believe, the GNOME2 Ximian RPM's on the GNOME project homepage are the exact same as the ones through Red Carpet.
Still though, it's working fine, it's nice and snappy, and there's a lot less bugs than there were when I used Garnome for the GNOME 2.0 final, oddly enough.
I've been testing out RedHat's new beta name "Limbo." It comes with Gnome 2.0 (which I must say looks wonderful). However, most of the Gnome apps are still based on 1.4, which means you get some really horribly looking GUI's as the two versions mingle. In some cases, they just don't work (Evolution in Gnome 2.0 can be buggy, at least that's my experience).
:)
Now perhaps a lot of what I'm experiencing is just from the beta aspect of RedHat Limbo, but I would suggest (as other posters have) waiting until Ximian comes out with a full Gnome 2.0 based Desktop, especially if this will be on your production workstation/desktop. I know waiting is difficult when you've got wonderful new versions out there, but unless you plan on joining the party and testing/debugging/coding, I would wait a bit.
On that same line of thought though, if you want to see a final product sooner, then try upgrading to Gnome 2.0 on something other than your production machine and help out with any bug fixes. That's the way these projects work, right?
Who said Freedom was Fair?
What's your distribution? I can see the channel in RH 7.2 and RH 7.3.
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