Set Keyboard Shortcuts in Gnome 3.*

After a lot of use of Awesome WM, I tried Gnome 3.4 for the first time since a much earlier version of Gnome. I noticed many improvements, especially extensions. However, coming from Awesome I wanted to make it fully usable from the keyboard. Going into the gnome control center did not work, and neither did modifying them from ccsm and using compiz as the window manager. After a bit of searching, I found the answer.

Why it doesn't work:
It turns out that Unity no longer uses the same method of keyboard shortcut definitions that Gnome does. That means that Gnome Control Center sets the shortcuts for Unity, but no longer for Gnome

How to make them work:

Use a program called "Dconf-Editor". Then, go to org > gnome > desktop> wm > keybindings. This is where you can edit the keybindings. The keybindings go inside of the [' s and end with a ']. For instance, closing a window with alt+f4 would look like this: ['<Alt>F4']. Notice that the F is capitalized here. If you use an F1-F12 command, the F is capitalized. More about the semantics in the next section.

Semantics
F1-F12: Capital 'F' followed by number.
Special keys: <Key>, like <Alt> and <Control>. <Control> is spelled out. <Ctrl> will not work.
shift keys: If you use shift in the key combination, the letter with it should be capital.
The Super (Windows logo) button on keyboards is called <Mod4>

Extra
I was worried that binding <Mod4> to anything would invoke the sea of windows. It does not as long as you do not use it by itself. However, whenever all of the windows on a workspace are closed the sea will activate itself.

Sabayon GNU/Linux

Gentoo, one of the most powerful Linux distributions around, has a reputation for being extremely hard to install and use. Sabayon makes it easy, coming with graphics by default and the Anaconda installer. Sabayon retains the functionality of Gentoo and portage, but also introduces some new features, the most noticeable being the Entropy package manager. Note that all the below information pertains to Sabayon 7

Entropy
Entropy is the binary package manager for Sabayon. It installs binary packages that the sabayon build server compiles from the portage tree, much like yum or apt could. Gentoo is a source-only distro, so this is a vast improvement if you have little knowledge of compiling packages. To invoke Entropy use the command equo. Equo has a beautiful command lines displays which are fully colorized for quick interpretation. Equo automatically handles dependencies, so installing a package is as easy as invoking equo.

Sulfur is the graphical interface to equo. It is not install by default, so you must use equo install sulfur as root to install it first. Then, you can use the sulfur command to start the package manager or use the "Entropy Store" link on your desktop. I would highly recommend the advanced mode that sulfur comes with as the non-advanced is a bit simplistic.

Remember, Sabayon is based on Gentoo, so you can still use portage. Just use the emerge command. Be warned, however, as mixing Entropy and Portage can severely damage your system. Pick one to carry out activities.

There is one thing to note, however, and that is that equo update updates the repositories, not the system. To update the system use equo upgrade. Updating the system will scan configuration files and replace them when it does and you allow it, so upgrading may fix breakage.

Graphics
Sabayon comes with a range of desktop environments (you can choose which .iso to download), but they are all installable via Entropy.  Gnome 3 is the desktop environment that I chose, and I noticed something right away; sane defaults!

Gnome 3 comes with an icon-less desktop and only a close button, but in Sabayon it comes configured the way a normal person would use their windows. Gnome-tweak-tool is also installed by default, so if you prefer to use GNOME a different way you are free to. I have also tried e17 and rather enjoyed it, but a graphics problem disallowed me to continue using it. Whether or not it was a problem with the e17 package or my computer I never found out.

Aesthetics
This is one of the most noticeable things in Sabayon. The GRUB splash screen is both readable and pretty, as well as the boot. The boot process has probably the best display out of any Linux distribution I have used thus far. It shows a progress bar, text readout, and explains how to enter verbose mode. Even in verbose mode, the output is contained within the splash.

The terminal is even prettified. The default color scheme in the terminal has a great default color scheme: black background, green prompt, white text.

Stance on Freedom
Sabayon is not as freedom-heavy as other distros, but instead includes nonfree software from the get-go and has the nonfree repositories enabled by default. This means there is a great option of having driver support right out of the box, and if not, having it easily installable.

Preinstalled Software
You may have heard of The Arch Way, the arch linux philosophy on computing. Their ideal operating system is a bare-bones system where the user determines how it will be structured. Sabayon is exactly the opposite. Sabayon's goal is to create a distribution that includes all of the software you will need in their default installation. Personally, I loved the software that was installed (Chromium, GIMP, Libreoffice) but others feel that it adds unnecessary "bloat" to the system. On modern computers, a few extra hundred megabytes of information isn't too bad of a thing; and if it is, you can uninstall it with Equo.

Overall
Sabayon has quickly becoming my primary operating system. I choose Sabayon because package availability is great, it is based on Gentoo and has portage capabilities, the aesthetics are great, and the original installation will be enough for most users in terms of preincluded software. In all of my previous distributions I have had to put up with some minor error, and I usually end up breaking everything trying to fix it. In Sabayon, I have come across a few errors, but nothing that an update won't fix. Sabayon is also a bleeding edge, rolling distro, so I may never have to reinstall it. I would highly recommend it to a distro-hopper or someone looking to try something different and useful.
                              My Sabayon Linux (names crossed out)

Comparison of Desktop environments

This article is ever-so-slightly deprecated. Please see: http://profectium.blogspot.com/2012/08/comparison-of-window-managers-and.html
As you saw in my post below I do not use Unity. I use the currently unstable version of Gnome 3 on my Ubuntu operating system. Today's post is about comparing some popular desktop environments for Linux. XFCE / tiling fans, I'm sorry, but I am not included you in this debate. I do not have any experience with XFCE or many tiling window managers and I wouldn't be able to give a fair report on them.


What desktop environment you choose is a matter of preferences. From the four I have used they all did the same thing in a different, sometimes prettier way.


Unity

The Ubuntu development team dropped Gnome as their default desktop environment on their release of version 11.04 - Natty Narwhal. They swapped it out with a more modern looking desktop environment called Unity. The key features of Unity are a taskbar (With a very intelligent window-dodge system) and header-window integration. For instance, when you open Libreoffice the options file, edit, view, all go to the top panel. As with most Linux desktop environments they can be customized heavily through themes. Unity suffers from a lack of customizability. No matter what color scheme you use or what desktop effects you want you will still always have the taskbar and integration panel hanging around. It is also hard to use for beginners. Icons from the launcher can't be removed and placed on the desktop as you might think. You need to make a whole new launcher to get desktop icons.

Some good points to make about this desktop environment is the familiarity Windows 7 users will have with be able to keep launchers for their favorite apps. This is something that old Gnome versions couldn't do prettily. It also reduces the amount of distraction and increases the screen size for maximum viewing convenience.

Gnome 3

I have used Gnome 3 longer than any other desktop environment. It retained it's ability to be highly customized but also had a very appealing user interface. It can be confusing to start off with because of the lack of minimize and maximize buttons, a dock, or the lack of a file-managing desktop. (All of which can be changed with software like gnome-tweak-tool and docky). The most powerful part of Gnome 3 is something that I called the Sea of Windows (Shown to the left in the picture). It is activated by moving your mouse cursor to the top left corner of the screen (Similar to how the Unity launcher is summoned). There will be a ripple effect and it will show all of your open windows and processes(like Dropbox or Screenlets). This is also where the favorites bar is kept and where Launchers can be stored. Everything in the Sea of Windows is customizable through gtk 3.x themes and gnome-shell themes. (Gnome shell themes being the one that changes this part of the DE).

This paragraph used to be about the instability of gnome when trying to install it on Ubuntu 11.04, and yes, that is a very bad idea if you do not want to kill Unity. It may even make both desktop environments flawed if something goes terribly wrong. However, Ubuntu 11.10 is out and it has fixed the compatibility issues of having Gnome and Unity installed at the same time. In addition to fixing the problem, Gnome 3 has been added to the Ubuntu repositories, so installing it is as simple as using the software center.

Enlightenment 17

 I will admit right off the bat that I have little good to say about E17. It's selling point is the lightweight beauty that it has. It is true that for someone willing to make their DE a hobby that E17 is the best out their for only 4 Megabytes. Some things I noticed was the bottom bar was confusing to use at times and was terrible at hiding itself. It would always overlap any window that entered it's territory. Maximizing and minimizing buttons were included but completely broken. Right click doesn't work on the desktop because left-click takes it's place. It comes with no detection of previously edited global shortcuts, which I didn't really expect it too.

  The only good parts about E17 is that is has the potential to be great AND it is incredibly lightweight (4MB). It comes as sort of a template. But for people not willing to spend days tuning it to their liking it is just not for them.
    Kde 4.6 - Plasma Workspace

I haven't used KDE for quite some time (since about 4.6) the reason being after about two weeks of using it on Ubuntu 11.04 it decided to not boot for me anymore. Also, at every boot I would need to sudo remove kde-window manager, sudo install kde-winder-manager just to get it working.

The release of KDE 4  attempted to change the style of the DE into a prettified masterpiece. One of the first things I discovered was the built-in desktop settings manager. Straight out of the box I was able to activate my wobbly windows, change my color schemes around, and add widgets without having to leave my desktop. Windows users would find it easy to use as well because of the K menu, which resembles the start globe from Windows Vista and Windows 7. There are little things thrown into this desktop environment that make it what it is. Things so small most of the time they go unnoticed. For instance, when a window closes it doesn't abruptly shut down. It sinks into a center point and fades away. Or when a popup from the side of the screen comes out it will glide back to where it came from.

KDE's desktop effects can be turned off with the command alt+shift+f12 if you have a bad/old graphics card. Upon installation it checks to see if your settings allow you to run the Plasma workspace, so it may already be off by default.

The only bad things to say about this desktop environment are that it is not lightweight and that Gnome applications (If you install it over Gnome) keep themes. The download of Kubuntu(Ubuntu with KDE instead of Unity by default) is around 140MB if you already have the kernel and Libreoffice(It tries to install the Libreoffice suite on installation).

Kubuntu will also install KDE-related software if you don't deselect it. (Don't unless you know what you are doing. The Window manager is NOT enough to run KDE). This could lead to jumbled app lists like a System Settings Clone or Kate and Gedit. Two programs that do the same thing but each designed for another DE. Any program from Gnome works on KDE and vice versa, though. Like I mentioned earlier only KDE applications retain themes in KDE.

Extra: KDE can be installed on Windows and Mac too.
KDE also features a Sea of Windows, but it needs work.


The Verdict
  Originally this paragraph hailed KDE as the winner of my competition, but now I feel that Gnome 3.2 has blown it out of the water. This is just opinion, since all of them are very usable desktop. There are the occasional crashes with Gnome, but it's simple, efficient when you start learning the ins and outs of the system (like wikipedia querys from the application search bar), and customizable through CSS. The height of the interference to the user is the occasional popup of the process dock and the always-present activities bar.


To download Gnome 3 your distribution probably has it in the repositories. If not and you would like to try it, there are other versions of Linux that were built with Gnome 3 in mind, like Fedora 16.