why gnome is not included in 10.2

why is that? I almost cant get any of the software that i use installed, they all require extra packages, in slackware 10.1 I didn't have such a problem.....? i though with every new release the OS should be more flexible and reliable and easy to manage....? if this is the case i would rather stay with 10.1, any comments about why gnome is not included might help me understand what's going on? thanks.

From the Slackware 10.2 ChangLog.txt:

gnome/*: Removed from -current, and turned over to community support and
       distribution. I'm not going to rehash all the reasons behind this, but it's
       been under consideration for more than four years. There are already good
       projects in place to provide Slackware GNOME for those who want it, and
       these are more complete than what Slackware has shipped in the past. So, if
       you're looking for GNOME for Slackware -current, I would recommend looking at
       these two projects for well-built packages that follow a policy of minimal
       interference with the base Slackware system:

       http://gsb.sf.net
       http://gware.sf.net

       There is also Dropline, of course, which is quite popular. However, due to
       their policy of adding PAM and replacing large system packages (like the
       entire X11 system) with their own versions, I can't give quite the same sort
       of nod to Dropline. Nevertheless, it remains another choice, and it's _your_
       system, so I will also mention their project:

       http://www.dropline.net/gnome/

       Please do not incorrectly interpret any of this as a slight against GNOME
       itself, which (although it does usually need to be fixed and polished beyond
       the way it ships from upstream more so than, say, KDE or XFce) is a decent
       desktop choice. So are a lot of others, but Slackware does not need to ship
       every choice. GNOME is and always has been a moving target (even the
       "stable" releases usually aren't quite ready yet) that really does demand a
       team to keep up on all the changes (many of which are not always well
       documented). I fully expect that this move will improve the quality of both
       Slackware itself, and the quality (and quantity) of the GNOME options
       available for it.

       Folks, this is how open source is supposed to work. Enjoy. :-)

This is also repeated in the releasenotes, and all over the web. If you need gnome, I suggest Freerock Gnome (http://gsb.sf.net/). It shines.

Eric

I personally think mr. Volkerding should also kick out the huge kde. It could also be maintained by the community No need to favor one of the big environments over the other. The basic setup would then provide you with xfce, fluxbox and such and gnome and kde would be maintained separately.

It would be desirable to have one sort of official or at least semi-official gnome available for slackware. Now there are three different gnome distributions that I know of (Gware, Freerock and Dropline). Not good...

Freerock is a good choice, it's quick and easy to install and provides a fine version of GNOME for Slackware 10.2. The only downside I experienced was when I returned to KDE, the main menu had been changed so some of my usual applications were no longer where they "should be."

Five minutes with the KDE Menu editor solved that.

I think the key quote from Patrick is "Folks, this is how open source is supposed to work. Enjoy. :-)"

It's your system, so you can add GNOME, remove KDE or use something else entirely.

Regards

dkpw

Originally posted by amer_58 why is that? I almost cant get any of the software that i use installed, they all require extra packages, in slackware 10.1 I didn't have such a problem.....? i though with every new release the OS should be more flexible and reliable and easy to manage....? if this is the case i would rather stay with 10.1, any comments about why gnome is not included might help me understand what's going on? thanks.

Maybe the answer -- primarily Patrick's changelog comments regarding Gnome -- should be posted in a sticky. Otherwise this topic resurfaces every week or so.

Great idea. I think mouse wheels and mounting a cd as user should be stickies as well.

That or make just one sticky with the subject of "Use the search function before you post!!!"

Don't intend to sound mean about it, just sayin'.... It would be a good idea to make some stickies...

Originally posted by alienDog I personally think mr. Volkerding should also kick out the huge kde. It could also be maintained by the community No need to favor one of the big environments over the other.

You've completely missed the point. Pat really wanted to be able to still include Gnome. The fact is that he can't. Building Gnome is just too labour intensive an exercise for a one man distribution. He can run a script to automate the build of KDE, leave it going and come back to a set of packages a few hours later. By comparison, I think I read somewhere that the Gnome included in 10.1 took upwards of a week to package completely...

An alternative would be to add the information to the LQ.org wiki (there's already a Slackware FAQ page there) and put a sticky to that, with a big notice to tell people to read there first.

That or make just one sticky with the subject of "Use the search function before you post!!!"

Or we could add "A Google a day keeps problems away!"

amer_58: why is that? I almost cant get any of the software that i use installed, they all require extra packages, in slackware 10.1 I didn't have such a problem.....? i though with every new release the OS should be more flexible and reliable and easy to manage....? if this is the case i would rather stay with 10.1, any comments about why gnome is not included might help me understand what's going on? thanks.

You should better stay with Slackware Linux 10.1. I was also very disappointed with GNOME removal when I tried Slackware Linux 10.2 as most of my favorite applications (obviously not included in Slackware Linux) needs some GNOME softwares. Honestly, Slackware Linux 10.2 don't have anything really new: I will definitively wait for 11.0.

--
LiNuCe

LiNuCe are you going to release gnome 2.12.0 or newer?

Thanks Jack

I'd be interested to know that as well. I agree with your gnome more than any other out there. It stays true to Slackware by being more vanilla but is better built than what Pat cranked out...

I'm still using your 2.8.3 on Slack 10.2....

I still get by with Pat's Gnome 2.6 files in 10.2. Using Fluxbox as a WM I get it to start the gnome-settings-daemon so I have some control over the appearance of gtk2 apps and only use naultilus and gedit occasionally. Its stable and looks great, what more could you want?

Considering there's enough room on the second installation cd I can't see why Pat doesn't include a stable updated version of Freerock or LiNuCe's (hello!) Gnome. Is he some sort of perfectionist or is it just an ego thing?

Well, only Pat can answer that one. I know that he personally prefers KDE and seeing as how Gnome takes so long to build, especially with each new Gnome version becoming more and more "disected", I'm guessing he just said 'screw it'... That's being pretty presumptious, but thats my impression anyway.

He's going to have to do a complete recompile for 11.0... Hell, that takes "too long" as well to build. On that same token, why bother with a new Slackware release... It is a shame really that gnome was removed. I'm sure there might be other distro's out there that only come with one major WM, but I don't know of any off hand besides Slackware. Well, I think Linspire only comes with KDE, but hey... That's Linspire...

It's fine if he "doesn't have time" to do gnome anymore, but he should really get some one's gnome back on the 2nd CD.... Alot of people are still using dial-up and even paying by the hour for it. Using any 3rd party gnome just isn't an option unless it comes with the cd that you bought. And if your like me, you've been using gnome for years and refuse to switch.... Not too many options left then.... Thats why I cancled my subscription for Slack. If I have to spend a week building my own gnome, I really can't justify forking out money for an incomplete distro.

But hey... That's how open source is supposed to work...

I agree; GNOME shoulda been included on the extras CD. That said, maybe this is the ultimate opportunity to be more fabulous and learn blackbox? It sure sounds more awesomely mysterious than boring old GNOME...



Anyway.



-zsejk

Originally posted by jong357 He's going to have to do a complete recompile for 11.0... Hell, that takes "too long" as well to build. On that same token, why bother with a new Slackware release...

Of course, you do realise that not everything is rebuilt with each release?

Originally posted by jong357 It's fine if he "doesn't have time" to do gnome anymore, but he should really get some one's gnome back on the 2nd CD.... Alot of people are still using dial-up and even paying by the hour for it. Using any 3rd party gnome just isn't an option unless it comes with the cd that you bought.

Sorry, I can't follow your logic here. Your argument seems to be based upon emotion. Pat's reasoning for dropping Gnome was sound, but the decision is not one he made lightly. In fact, it took him more than four years to pull the plug.

Originally posted by jong357 And if your like me, you've been using gnome for years and refuse to switch....

I guess I'm not like you. Try something new. You just might like it...