Install LinuxMint12 extensions Mate & MGSE in Ubuntu 11.10

Written by M. Zinoune @ http://www.unixmen.com

Linux Mint 12 RC comes with two option of desktop environment: One built with GNOME 3.2 and MGSE and other with GNOME 2.3 and MATE. In this post we will show how to Gnome shell extenstion Mate for LinuxMint in Ubuntu11.10.

First if you didn hear about ‘Mate”, it is a fork of Gnome 2 which is compatible with Gnome 3. Thanks to MATE, you can run both versions of Gnome on the same system.MATE is brand new, it’s not completely stable yet, and it’s missing a few parts. It’s being actively maintained and with close collaboration between the MATE developers and Linux Mint. With time the project will gain maturity and provide users with a traditional and solid desktop experience.⁽¹⁾

For “MGSE” (Mint Gnome Shell Extensions) is a desktop layer on top of Gnome 3 that makes it possible for you to use Gnome 3 in a traditional way. You can disable all components within MGSE to get a pure Gnome 3 experience, or you can enable all of them to get a Gnome 3 desktop that is similar to what you’ve been using before. Of course you can also pick and only enable the components you like to design your own desktop.⁽¹⁾