The GNOME Flashback Desktop Environment offers a lightweight, classic GNOME experience, ideal for users seeking a traditional desktop feel. Its efficient design and simplicity enhance your system’s overall usability and performance.
Key Features:
- Classic GNOME Interface: A familiar layout for users preferring a traditional desktop environment.
- Lightweight and Fast: Uses fewer system resources, resulting in a smoother and faster user experience.
- Customizable Panels: Users can add, remove, and configure panels to suit their workflow.
- Efficient Workspaces: Supports multiple workspaces, making organizing and managing open applications easier.
- Integrated Applications: Comes with a suite of GNOME applications that seamlessly integrate with the desktop.
- Accessibility Options: Includes features to assist disabled users, ensuring an inclusive computing environment.
- Legacy Support: Ideal for running on older hardware, breathing new life into legacy systems.
Let’s dive into the steps to get your GNOME Flashback environment up and running efficiently.
Prerequisites for Installing GNOME Flashback
To successfully install GNOME Flashback on Ubuntu, ensure you meet the following requirements:
System Requirements and Supported Ubuntu Versions
| Component | Minimum Requirement |
|---|---|
| Processor | 2 GHz or faster dual-core processor |
| RAM | 4 GB or more |
| Disk Space | 25 GB of free space |
| Network | High-speed internet connection |
| Supported Versions | Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble), Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy), Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal) |
Additional Requirements
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Internet Connection | Necessary for downloading GNOME Flashback and applying updates. |
| Terminal Conventions | All terminal commands should be executed as a regular user with sudo privileges. |
| CLI Commands | Utilize the Command Line Interface (CLI) for installation and setup. |
| Desktop Environment | Ensure that other desktop environments are not interfering with GNOME Flashback. |
Install GNOME Flashback via APT
Update Ubuntu Before the GNOME Flashback Installation
When installing new software, starting with an up-to-date system is crucial. This step ensures your Ubuntu system has the latest security patches and features.
Use the command below to update your system:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgradeThis command first updates the list of available packages and their versions (sudo apt update). Then, it upgrades installed packages to their latest versions (sudo apt upgrade). This process helps mitigate any compatibility issues during the GNOME Flashback installation.
Proceeding with GNOME Flashback Installation via APT Command
Ubuntu’s default repository includes GNOME Flashback, facilitating a straightforward installation. To install, execute the following command:
sudo apt install gnome-session-flashbackThe sudo apt install gnome-session-flashback The command triggers the download and installation of GNOME Flashback and its dependencies. The download is typically under 100MB, ensuring a quick installation process. This step integrates GNOME Flashback into your system, ready for use after a reboot.
Finalizing GNOME Flashback Installation
Post-installation, it’s best practice to restart your computer. This ensures that the newly installed GNOME Flashback environment is initialized correctly. Restart your system with the command:
sudo rebootA reboot finalizes the installation and prepares your system to use GNOME Flashback. After rebooting, you can select GNOME Flashback from your login screen to use your new desktop environment.
Log in to GNOME Flashback
Selecting GNOME Flashback at Login
Upon restarting your Ubuntu system after installation of GNOME Flashback, you’ll return to the login screen. Here, switching to the GNOME Flashback environment requires a critical step.
Look for a cog icon at the login screen’s bottom right-hand corner. This icon is the gateway to the different desktop environments available on your system. Clicking on it reveals a list of all the installed desktop environments.
Choosing GNOME Flashback
In the list that appears, select “GNOME Flashback.” This action is crucial as it determines the desktop environment you’ll be operating in after logging in. Choosing GNOME Flashback ensures you utilize its classic and customizable interface, designed for efficiency and ease of use.
After selecting GNOME Flashback, proceed to log in as usual. You will then be greeted with the GNOME Flashback desktop environment, ready to explore and use.
This manual selection of the desktop environment is a one-time requirement. Ubuntu will remember your choice and automatically log you into GNOME Flashback in future sessions unless you change it again.
Additional GNOME Flashback Commands
Removing (Uninstalling) GNOME Flashback
To remove GNOME Flashback from your Ubuntu system, execute the following command. This action uninstalls GNOME Flashback and purges its configuration files for a comprehensive cleanup.
sudo apt autoremove gnome-session-flashback --purgeThe sudo apt autoremove gnome-session-flashback --purge command serves two purposes. Firstly, it removes GNOME Flashback (gnome-session-flashback). Secondly, the --purge option ensures that all related configuration files are also deleted, preventing unnecessary clutter and space usage on your system.
Reinstalling and Re-enabling the Ubuntu GNOME Desktop
Before restarting your system, it’s prudent to reinstall the Ubuntu GNOME desktop and enable its services. This ensures a smooth transition back to the default desktop environment.
sudo apt install --reinstall ubuntu-desktop
sudo systemctl enable gdm3The sudo apt install --reinstall ubuntu-desktop command reinstalls the Ubuntu GNOME desktop package. Following this, sudo systemctl enable gdm3 ensures the GNOME display manager (gdm3) is activated and configured to start on boot. These steps are essential to reaffirm Ubuntu GNOME as your primary desktop environment.
System Reboot
Reboot your system once you have reinstalled and reenabled the Ubuntu GNOME desktop. This action will apply all changes and transition your system back to the default GNOME environment.
sudo rebootAfter the reboot, you will be presented with the standard Ubuntu GNOME desktop, confirming the successful removal of GNOME Flashback and restoration of the original desktop environment.
Conclusion
In this guide, we’ve navigated through the installation, customization, and eventual removal of GNOME Flashback on Ubuntu. Remember, the beauty of GNOME Flashback lies in its simplicity and efficiency, making it an excellent choice for those seeking a balance of traditional functionality and modern Linux features.