4-decade long MS command line and Windows user learning Ubuntu. Please ELI actually 5: GNOME. I’m yet to find a Linux person who explain it simply.

1.24K views

Terminal and all that other shit, I follow you. Command lines. Fine. I don’t know what the Linux terms mean, but I understand command lines etc… But GNOME… what the fuck is it? Is it a suite? an environment? Every Linux user explains things like I’ve already been a user for a few years and all of them have forgotten what being NEW actually is.

Ironically, the WORST place to find Linux environments explained simply and clearly from the bottom up: The Internet.

This is where I remind and beg: Like. I’m. FIVE.

In: 81

27 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s a desktop environment. One of many that you could use instead.

They don’t all do the same things, but generally speaking they provide you with a desktop, program icons, a task bar, a start menu, a system tray, window decorations (like the bar on top, the minimize/close/etc. buttons, a border, etc.), drag and drop functionality and windows management (so you can switch between them, move them around, resize them, maybe snap them to the half of the screen or such).

Essentially it does everything you need to _intuitively_ interact with your computer through a GUI. Without it, you could essentially only display one graphical application at a time and all the (comfort) functionality you expect of the graphical interface of your PC would not exist.

You are viewing 1 out of 27 answers, click here to view all answers.