With the release of GNOME 3.0 and its abandonment of the traditional desktop metaphor, considerable controversy was stirred among both Linux users and developers about its usability.
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Among those critical of the new version is Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux and a routine user of GNOME before abandoning it at the release of GNOME 3.0. Torvalds criticized GNOME 3.0 by stating, "The developers have apparently decided that it's 'too complicated' to actually do real work on your desktop, and have decided to make it really annoying to do." Torvalds cited specific usability problems he pointedly summarized as "crazy crap," and the "'head up the arse' behavior" of Gnome 3.0. Torvalds stated that his objections were universally held by the varied Linux developers he knew.[1]
Other Linux users and developers have added to Torvald's criticism of GNOME 3.0. Stephen Ewen, lead developer for UberStudent, a Linux distribution for higher education and secondary students and schools, has cited examples demonstrating that GNOME 3.0 is a "hindrance" to student academic computing productivity.[2] He further argued that the usability issues of GNOME 3.0 compared to its prior version placed much of the Linux desktop world into what he described as a "crisis." He stated that this was brought on because GNOME's developers had "become personally enthralled with Apple Macs." Ewen added that the enthrallment "has led to a major shift in overall Linux strategy, one that chooses to take on Apple and its encroachment into Microsoft dominance rather than Microsoft dominance itself." He concluded by urging a refocus away from Apple and back toward Microsoft, and by expressing his hope that the issue would self-correct over time due to Linux's free and open source nature.[3]
Responding to some of these criticisms, GNOME designer William Jon McCann said in an interview that "people are not making it up and it may indeed not be what they like", stating that "there are a lot of different products out there that may fit their way of working better." However, he also reminded them that "this isn't the first time we have encountered such reactions", adding that "many of the same people who are now claiming that GNOME2 was such a great thing for them were some of the most vocal opponents of the things we did in GNOME2." He also commented that some "feedback is certainly valid and we are going to use that to make informed decisions in the GNOME3 cycle", stressing that GNOME 3 is still early in development and that it took "eight, nine years to get to where GNOME2 ended up and we've had like four months of GNOME3."[4]
Reactions to GNOME Shell have also not been universally negative. Scott Gilbertson of The Register commented in his review of Fedora 15, one of the first distributions to ship GNOME 3, that while there is "no question that GNOME 3 will be something of a shock for those accustomed to working with the GNOME 2.x line", that the new interface in the end "really does feel like a vast improvement over GNOME 2." Supporting his argument, he commented that one of the Shell's greatest strengths is "that it doesn't look like a cheap knock-off of Windows". Gilbertson concludes that the "result is a cleaner interface, to be sure, but one that's also very different from most OS designs."[5]
GNOME 3 also features a more traditional GNOME Panel interface available as a "Fallback Mode" in situations where the GNOME Shell cannot launch due to a computer not meeting its higher hardware demands such as compositing and further desktop effects, although it can also be toggled to be activated by the user.[6] The Fallback mode has most of the same features as the old GNOME Panel, including the placement of applets and the ability to move them around panels, although the mechanism for doing this has been slightly altered. GNOME developer Vincent Untz has stated that, while he prefers the default interface, users who do not appreciate the Shell may be more at home in the Fallback mode.[7] Both the GNOME Shell and the Fallback mode can also be further customized through the use of the "Gnome Tweak Tool", allowing users to regain a traditional desktop, change themes and fonts, and change various settings that are normally unavailable.[8]
As the result of the controversy the MATÉ desktop environment project was created as a fork of GNOME 2.[9] On November 26, 2011, Linux Mint 12 Lisa was released, providing both MATE and "Mint Gnome Shell Extensions" supposed to bring a user experience of GNOME 2 to GNOME 3.[10][11]
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