Must Read: Mint 15: Today's best Linux desktop (Review)

Topic: Linux

Linux Mint developers work on GNOME file manager fork

Summary: GNOME is continuing to lose supporters as now part of the Linux Mint programming team start working on a fork of the GNOME file manger, Nautilus.

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

By for Linux and Open Source |

GNOME 3.4
GNOME loses even more supporters as Mint forks its file manager.

Once upon a time, the GNOME Linux/Unix desktop team could do no wrong. That was a long time ago. More recently, GNOME has lost many of their Linux desktop supporters. Now the GNOME developers'  proposed changes to Nautilus, the GNOME file manager, is losing them more fans.  The Linux Mint developers have started work on their own fork of Nautilus: Nemo.

Clement “Clem” Lefebvre Linux Mint's lead developer told me, that the Mint, or more properly the Cinnamon desktop, itself a fork of the GNOME 3.x desktop, programmers reacted “to the upcoming regressions in Nautilus 3.6 (loss of the compact view, loss of some desktop icons, changes in paths hierarchy..etc,) by creating a fork in github called 'nemo.'”

From where he, and a lot of other GNOME users sat, the GNOME 3.6 changes to Nautilus made the file manager far less useful than it has been before. These changes included: getting rid of the compact view for files, dumping the tree model for file directories for a list model, remove extra panes that enabled you to view two files at the same time, and removing the text besides icons from the icon view.

GNOME 3.4 Gallery

Still Lefebvre isn't ready to give up on Nautilus...  yet. He said “no decision was made as to whether 'nemo' was to replace 'nautilus' yet. We'll see how nemo evolves and we'll use the best solution at the time of releasing Cinnamon 1.6.”

However, Lefebvre concluded, “Long term, it's also important for Cinnamon to better integrate with file browsing and desktop management, so whether or not nemo is ready for 1.6, it's likely to become a part of Cinnamon in the future”

A walk through Mint Linux's new/old Cinnamon desktop (Gallery)

In the meantime, if neither GNOME 3.6 or Cinnamon sounds attractive to you, there's always, MATE, a GNOME 2 clone, Ubuntu Unity, or even the brand new KDE 4.9 Linux desktop with its Dolphin file manager.

Related Stories:

Is GNOME “Staring into the abyss?

Fedora 17 & GNOME 3.4: Return to a useful Linux desktop (Review)

Linus Torvalds finds GNOME 3.4 to be a "total user experience design failure"

2012's Best Linux desktop: Linux Mint 13

Mint's Cinnamon: The Future of the Linux Desktop? (Review)

Topics: Linux, Open Source, Operating Systems, PCs

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

16 comments
Log in or register to join the discussion

  • Linux Mint developers work on GNOME file manager fork

    Great Job Clem and Team.
    RickLively
    Reply 9 Votes

  • Or the Xfce desktop environment (with it's Thunar file manager)

    From the article:
    "In the meantime, if neither GNOME 3.6 or Cinnamon sounds attractive to you, there's always, MATE, a GNOME 2 clone, Ubuntu Unity, or even the brand new KDE 4.9 Linux desktop with its Dolphin file manager.
    Rabid Howler Monkey
    Reply 6 Votes

  • Nautilus has some flops on desktop!

    First thing first, icons should be separated and should NOT be able to collapse on each other! i also prefer for a way to organize my icons, for instance in a separate glassy layer on top of my desktop background(like KDE but without that shortcut system, i want to put real files on it) clem is a clever guy but when i was talking to him on IRC he said that he likes mint desktop as it is and didn't like my ideas that much ^^
    i hope he changes his mind or someone else does something about it (maybe i should make a fork myself ^^)
    L3thargic
    Reply 3 Votes

  • Why remove treeview and dual pane?

    Is is possible that the Gnome project is understaffed and they remove features to avoid to have to maintain a bigger code? Why would they remove the treeview and the dual pane view?

    Either Gnome team is too much in advance of their time (they must have anticipated that humans will have much less neurons in the future). Or, more realistically, there is a mole in Gnome team whose job is to undermine the progression of that project.
    RelaxWalk
    Reply 8 Votes

  • Next time I try Linux again, I'm probably gonna go KDE.

    Next time I try Linux again, I'm probably gonna go KDE. Latest pictures of KDE look a lot more promising than Gnome.

    Gnome honestly looks like a train wreck in progress. Nobody's liking any of the latest changes.
    CobraA1
    Reply 3 Votes

  • Dophin Best File Manager By Far

    Want to see a file manager done properly ? Then look no further than Dolphin, it's quick, powerful and slick. Just can't beat KDE at the moment for flexibility and with all the instability of the 4.0 release a distant memory.

    Disclosure : I've always hated Gnome and still do.
    Alan Smithie
    Reply 2 Votes

  • They've been that way before

    Gnome has had a tendency to be user-hostile for a while now. It just hasn't been so glaringly obvious in the past. Remember them barging headlong into the "spatial view" for Nautilus? It took a great deal of objection on the community's part to go back to the "browser view" people preferred. Getting rid of tree-view? From what I've seen, Gnome seems to have LONG been hostile to tree-view, finding every opportunity to break it back in the 2.x days; not surprised to see them once again trying to kill it.

    Anyone remember the "GonMe" fork from around 2005? It was an attempt to fix all the stupid decisions from the Gnome designers back then. Some of the complaints got addressed, some never did (Mate should go back & see if they can implement any of those fixes GonMe tried to do).

    Seems to me the Gnome folks are star students in the Pidgin School of User Hostility. Heck, they're on the verge of surpassing their teachers (but Pidgin still has them beat on the arrogance factor).
    jelabarre
    Reply 3 Votes

  • Linux Mint developers work on GNOME file manager fork

    As to be expected because the linux community just can't agree on anything. Someone always thinks they can do it better. Duplicate all that work, linux. Waste more time and effort. Absolutely hilarious.
    Loverock Davidson-
    Reply 3 Votes

    • I'm embarrased

      I'm embarrassed to admit, that LD has finally said something I can wholeheartedly agree with :(
      wally_333
      Reply 1 Vote

    • FORK EVERYTHIG...

      this is so true.... Specialy with mint guys, they just love forking everything i they acctualy end up makinh it whrous... it makes no sence.
      cowboycamilo
      Reply Vote

    • Freedom of choice is good

      I agree with Linux Mint's decision to fork Nautilus and develop another file manager. I don't know if I will like it better than Nautilus, but hopefully I can choose to use one or the other. Unfortunately the gnome developers seem to think that users should have less choice - WRONG!

      One of the strengths of linux is the choices available - probably linux greatest weakness is lack of marketing due to lack of corporate self interest. Ultimately though, choice is good as we will hopefully all end up with something that is right for us.

      It would be interesting to see what happened if a PC manufacturer decided to actively market linux against windows. Unfortunately they all seem to conservative, which may be their downfall.
      andrewsaus
      Reply 1 Vote

  • Another KDE convert

    After playing with KDE a bit over the last year, I just installed Linux Mint 13 KDE and really like it.
    Matt Jordan
    Reply 1 Vote

  • Linux Mint developers work on GNOME file manager fork

    Kudos to the Mint Team.
    daikon
    Reply 1 Vote

  • Leave well enough alone

    Different is not better! I didn't seen anything in the last versions of Gnome 2 that needed major changes. It worked fine.

    Stability does have serious value!
    wally_333
    Reply 2 Votes

  • Clem Brings Sanity to the Mess that is Gnome 3

    Clem does a great job packaging a Distro using common sense. Gnome 3 became usable with the fork of shell that is Cinnamon. Now the completely arrogant decision of the Gnome 3 Dev's to strip down Nautilus Clem does what needs to be done. What is going on with the Gnome Dev's? They seem set on killing the Gnome project.
    Stoic Nietzschean
    Reply 1 Vote

  • To each their own.

    I've been using Linux for a long time. I for one have always hated KDE (I'm a minimalist guy, hate flashy stuff) and I love GNOME 3 so much. I'm running all major OS's in my house, and Ubuntu with GNOME is my absolute favorite. I'm most productive on that system.
    sammysamcore
    Reply Vote
CNET Join | Log In | Privacy | Cookies Close