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Make more videos please it's been too long.

Excellent Video, re-watching it after a year or so. still on gnome, debian 12. I did have to add minimise maximixe and close buttons. added shortcut to close apps is windows+space

Its so funny that Linux users will bad mouth Apple for saying you are using it wrong then install Gnome LMAO. Never seen apple updates break extensions that I had to install to get back basic functionality in the OS. I noticed he has "tweaks" installed. Again, a third party app just have have the ability to change fonts and center new windows...lol The mental gymnastics required to justify this shit is hilarious! The only way Gnome is even usable to most people is installing tweaks and 8-10 extensions. If your DE lacks basic functionality and If you have to explain how to use the interface, then something is wrong.

In the real world most people do have all of those things on their desks though. No one comes in and dictates that they always have to have a perfectly spotless desktop. There is a LOT of basic functionality missing in Gnome that has to be "fixed" with extensions and third party apps such as gnome tweaks just to make it usable. People still use system tray icons. and come on, how fuckin hard is it to have a built in clipboard manager? Why must I install tweaks just to center new windows and change system fonts? This is very very basic functionality that every DE in recent history has had by default. Gnome can be made to be nice after a few hours of tweaking, 8-10 extensions and a few third party apps. With MacOS you can have it as minimal or as cluttered as you like. You aren't forced to use the dock. You can launch everything with spotlight CMD+SPACE if you like just like with the super key in gnome. Think activities overview in gnome only 10 times more powerful. At least Apple understands that software/apps makers still use system tray icons. I don't mind using the keyboard but I should also be able to do everything with a mouse and never touch the keyboard if I choose. Also, its pronounced Nome not G-Nome, I can link to the dictionary definition if you like.

I tried Gnome once and couldn't figure it out. Thanks for this information. I like the concept of it now that you've explained how it works. There's much to like.

If you're good with memorizing, it gives a great experience

Install Ulauncher, set Super + num to switch between workspaces and other keybinds to send apps to certain workspacs, use one workspace per app + window tiling extension... and that's how I use Gnome.

It is beyond dumb that GNOME asks the users to move the mouse all the way to the top-left corner, just to open common application icons at the bottom of the screen. Even worse, the "all applications" icon is closer to the bottom-right of the screen--effectively asking the user to move the mouse to one corner of the screen, click, then move it almost to the other corner of the screen to access less-used applications. Is GNOME *trying* to give its users carpal tunnel syndrome?!? And that "all applications" menu? Clearly the GNOME project has not learned from Microsoft's mistakes with Windows 8's use of a full-screen, big button application launcher on a desktop, and I don't even know how it's supposed to be organized. In fact, it seems to be organized differently on every distribution, and some distros have multiple screens worth of giant screen-wasting application icons. Hell, sometimes I don't even think *all* of the installed applications are even listed, the application screens often look pretty bare!

This video made gnome click for me

GNOME is GNOME - what a great statement!

Thanks for explaining this, makes a lot of sense now how the layout works

I personally like the gnome workflow, more than any windows type workflow but it's a shame that they don't have more customization by default or new features like kde

2:00 in and i already want to install kde

I tried to love gnome, but it wasn't happening. I eventually found KDE plasma and now I'm a KDE fan. It can be set to have the main benefits of gnome while still retaining the benefits of a traditional desktop environment. The biggest problem I've come across with KDE isn't with KDE itself, rather that some distros, even popular ones with large teams behind them, implement KDE improperly into their distro, essentially breaking it. KDE needs to figure out why this happens so much and change whatever needs changed in the implementation process of KDE in order to make it dummy proof in that regard.

I came to see what was "better" about Ubuntu before I install Linux on a new laptop I am picking up tomorrow and this video has convinced me to stay with Mint on the new laptop, And it only took about have the video to figure that out. Thank You! for helping me make this decision because I am always peaking over the fence to check out the grass on the side. In this case, my lawn works better for me.

I'm trying to picture how Gnome Desktop could fit my workflow, which consists in constantly answering e-mails and IMs, copying and pasting information between Word and web browsers and having a notepad and a tracker spreadsheet always open. Maybe I would have to separate the things between workstations and get used to it. Too much minimalism can be scary. Does it even have a centralized notification bar or equivalent?

Thanks for the good explanation! But GNOME really isn’t very well designed for mouse usage, it ignores fundamental design principals like Fitts‘ Law. For example: it would make more sense to put the status bar on the bottom so that menus, tabs and the close button is on the edge of the screen. Also: App drawer doesn’t show the full names of the apps despite there being enough screen real estate and also a productivity nightmare: search results are centered, leading to the most relevant search result not being displayed always at the same position, so user constantly has to „search“ the screen, leading to eye fatigue.

I love that DDTERM gnome extension; you just press F12 and there you go terminal window. Then you just use ALT + # for the different terminal tabs. I like to have BTOP running in 1 tab, then have another tab for shell terminal stuff. Another text editor instead of NANO is Micro text editor, quite nice and not complicated like VIM or EMACS.

Does anyone know how to have unique background wallpapers per workspace? I am using Gnome 47 with Ubuntu; sort of bugs me it doesn't do this by default.

Problem with gnome is that you have to remember what desktop has what. Counter productive for me. I have tried it but still can not use it. It is like Apple with stage managar, fix for a problem that never existed

Nice job. Using mostly Gnome since Fedora 15, have been using some distro and D.E since, started as many others with Ubuntu. Debian 12 here now with Gnome, using also Kubuntu on multimedia computer, great for gaming - i exclusively use GNU/ Linux at home and for work. Even if i appreciate using Gnome, i "don't agree" with this idea that people should use one workspace with one opened app' , just because this is not the case.People often need to interact between opened software. As a teacher i often need this, like for instance Scribus or LibreOffice, and images witch are located in Files. So drag and drop these pictures between these. Drag on drop in Gnome is now ... Impossible. However, this is a very "classic gesture" in the computing world. Along these app' i will often need Firefox. Having these software in different workspaces is kind of strange. From my needs, this "Gnome paradigm" works if you separate activities, not necessary opened software, especially if you need different software to make one work done - as cours in my case. I work a lot also with KDE Plasma, and i feel like idon't need to open much windows and software than needed to make what i need to do. And it is easy to drag and drop stuff from one to anther opened software. Faster than going through a "Menu". But i love Gnome too. Thanks

Good video, hopefully the gnome haters can get it and learn to, if not like, at least understand the whole idea behind the DE. Just a couple of quick notes though, I think some might get the impression from this video that gnome *wants* you to only use a single program window per workspace which isn't the case. You can have as many windows open on a workspace as you want, it's just that workspaces allow you to abstract and separate your work by any arbitrary criteria you like, which should help you mentally keep track of your tasks in the most effortless and comfortable _for you_ way. In fact, I'd presume most people really only use a handful of workspaces, I for one usually get by with only 3 the vast majority of the time. You really hit the nail when you mentioned that 'the default' view, or the starting point when you boot into gnome, is the activities overview, and it should give a hint as to how the DE works. I think the easiest (correct?) way to think about gnome is starting from the traditional desktop metaphor and abstracting it away into a sort of a virtualized meta-desktop. Essentially, you still have a desk, and its top surface, however it's more like a virtualized (or hell, call it even a magical) one, which allows you to instantly rearrange everything with the snap of your fingers. For example, in one instance you have some novel/work of fiction that you are reading, next to it a music player connected to your bluetooth speaker, something like an ipod or a walkman, and along with these a chess board - all of these you can call 'recreational activities'. Then you snap your fingers and now on the desk you have some schematic diagrams, a maths textbook, a notebook, the sort of stuff you might call 'work/school activities'. And you can always switch between these desk tops or, if necessary, invoke brand new ones for a different sort of work you may need to do, effortlessly, with just the snap of your fingers. This is also why you don't really need a minimize button. At the end of the day, the gnome's concept of the desktop is just _the space_ where a certain set of tasks are running, and not everything else a desk comes up with (no drawers, cabinets etc.). And you can always easily switch between these spaces or spawn more of them, however the space itself is completely irrelevant to the actual workflow beyond the very basic physical/spacial constraints it imposes (ie. how many windows can you juggle on a single workspace before it becomes impossible to navigate). And, very importantly, like every DE - or any piece of software in general, to get the most out of gnome, you should spend some time tweaking the default settings so that you can have a quick and intuitive workflow using _both_ keyboard and mouse. However, the one reason gnome is so popular and widely adopted by practically all commercial Linux systems - or _pushed_ as some like to think about it - is because it's really accessibility friendly and can be used exclusively with either mouse (touchscreen) or keyboard Also, out of curiosity, I just checked and I have 15 modified/added shortcuts, 3 installed extensions (clipboard history, weather o'clock and hot edge) and 2 modifications in tweaks (close button on left, layout switching with Alt+Tab). And there's a couple of other gnome settings I've modified, like app switching restricted only to apps from the current workspace, and scrolling settings. I can recreate all of these on a fresh vanilla install of gnome within half an hour, which is why this is my DE of choice. Because, even though I can work with all the other DEs (or OS shells), getting them to a comfortable configuration is always so tedious in my experience.

I love this. I get overwhelmed very often by my Windows taskbar not only from me wanting to hide the labels for space and design, but I can get confused and click the wrong icon too often trying to back and forth with minimizing windows! This new ui that allows me to keep all my apps open and just scroll to the different workspaces is so much nicer than what Windows has! Plus I hate the new taskbar on Windows 11 and how it is literally IMMOVABLE. I will be learning to install Linux on my laptop so I can have this

I' m not interested in substantially different workflows that I didnt customize myself. Substantially different workflows break existing, tried and efficient workflows 10/10 times, becoming a time and productivity sink for their user base, in exchange for a vague promise of future gains which hardly ever materialize. If you want to improve my UX then let me customize your DE as I please. I probably know a lot better what I need to best do my work than some random team of designers I have never met pitching ideas for some imaginary average user. Until then, stay out of my workflows.

The various WORKSPACES above the icon list - can you customize the backgrounds to different images or colors or etc?

But isn't Windows like that where you're not distracted by the taskbar or other icons ? When your screen is open to the full text document, to you only see the taskbar with its icons when you when you move your mouse over it and it pops up.

Wow, musescore, I respect that!

A lot of hate towards some hypothetical "MacOS users" who are using their computer wrong all the time. I'm on Mac right now, my dock has 5 apps pinned, and it is always hidden unless I bring my mouse down. "Activities" in Gnome is just "Mission control" in MacOS, it looks exactly the same, the only difference here is that I only go there to rearrange my windows, to access them or switch between them I can just use the dock, where Gnome needs a separate action for it. MacOS also lets me minimize or hide windows I don't need currently, which Gnome also eliminated. And it also has the Stage Manager, that allows me to focus on one task and switch between windows with a single click every time. I was using Linux for the longest time, moved from gnome 2 to Unity to gnome shell and it distracted me constantly, I never got used to it. Switching from unity to windows to macos was absolutely effortless. Having an idea for organizing windows in a consistent, novel way doesn't automatically mean that it's a good idea. Gnome's idea isn't good.

The only thing that bothers me is when I'm shutting down. I'm used to pressing win/meta/super key and hitting the shutdown button. Also I'm used to opening home folder or folder using super key + e. Any tips?

Thanks for this overview. I'm switching over to Bazzite with Gnome right now and am excited to have a simplified and elegant desktop experience

It looks like reinventing of the wheel to me, very unintuitive. This is for niche users not for the larger audience.

I first thought about this and had it click while playing classic fallout. I went to go see some lets plays and realized that I had missed out on some stuff because I didn't know I could interact with it. I would have known on a more modern game, but something about the audio/visual language of the 90s didn't click on me. I didn't have the right cultural context.

My problem with gnome in general is that it "wants". I don't need my computer to want, or feel, I need it to do what I tell it to do. The fact that their most popular add on: dash2dock isn't included with the DE as an optional toggle because gnome FEELS like you shouldn't want it really rubs the wrong way and makes me feel like the DE wasn't designed by people trying to make my life easier, but my some pretentious aholes with something to prove. KDE doesn't want to do anything other than what I want it to. I can make it look and feel just like gnome or windows and everything in between, it's my choice because it's my computer. KDE is everything I love about Linux, while gnome feels like everything I hate about mac and ios.

Is there a video on various desktop environments. People mention what they have and like, but where do you get to see them and know them before deciding on purchas? Thanks for this video!

Never used gnome, but now I understand why it's hated, and I also think gnome would be productive for me.

Guys can someone tell me how do I save multiple workspaces. Like for work it should save certain application in certian layout, for entertainment different application in different layout?? Are there any extension for this

Perfect video for clearing the point on gnome, personally i think is the best environment, definitely better than win and macos

well i switched from endeavour os and I'm think there is no so much difference. You don't have to do a lot of homework on endeavour btw and still have a great and fast packet manager

This seems like a good idea, but... There are people who do just one thing at a time?

THAT "theory" of gnomes about an empty desktop is NON- distracting is STUPID--- moving to each "tasK separately is STUPID.. the whole thing is IDIOTIC....NO ONE with a desk has everything hidden away so they have to open a da.... drawer to FIND a stapler or a pen- or ruller- or... they just don't.. the whole thing is STUPID.

nuh uh + ur wrong + u look like bootleg ben shapiro

I know it's too late to comment on this, but I got this video recommendation now well saying that, I have been using the gnome environment as my daily driver on various different distributions for the past 2 years.The good part is they have a great Work centric philosophy. The bad part is, well it's my opinion. They use browsers as their pool to comment on extension. Well till now I personally have not found any issues.. Apart from that the ease of use is the go to .....

Thanks for this smart, clever and necessary video. Wel done. Il linked to my Cross-Platform Keyboard Shortcuts repo/howto

why does every theme look like macos

i just wish it were more aesthetic. it's very flat, and grey. i could get used to the workflow, but i need to theme it and customise it to make it feel elegant, but as soon as that process starts, the whole environment quickly starts showing glitches and rough edges, particularly when transparency gets involved, rounded corners, etc. I'm not saying everybody has the same concerns, but it would be great if it would be more robust and accommodating as far as system theming goes, and/or offer some more controls and alternative and modern aesthetic choices that are polished and well implemented.

thank you, this was the video that catalyzed my shift to linux

Mind you, Super key plus the program name's first few letters works super well in Windows, too.

I appreciate the quality of this video and explanation, however I almost completely disagree with the premise that Gnome has somehow made improvements to a typical user's workflow. We've all been trained for many years by Apple and Microsoft (mostly) to see a computer screen as a visual representation of a desktop, and for most people that includes juggling multiple projects and tools ("pens, pencils and paper clips") in quick succession. For someone like myself, who needs to continually and quickly refer to and transfer information between a browser and spreadsheet, vanilla Gnome is a usability disaster that has to be functionally transformed to be useful. Change for change's sake is usually not a great idea.

Thank you for the video, as a new GNOME user this was really helpful. It does not have to be this complicated, though. I get having the dock hidden and having bigger real estate on your monitor, but not having minimize button is just weird to me. I want to clean up my desktop once I'm done working on something, but I want the apps loaded in RAM and ready when I need them again later. Minimizing a window is just way easier than moving it to another workspace.

papervm is a pretty cool extension that transforms your desktops to a scroll based tiling manager, i can be laggy sometimes but it adds so much to the gnome expreience, it's like having desktops within your desktops, y'all should give it a try