A desktop graphics environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Released in April 2011, GNOME 3 served as a major update for the GNOME project and was the first major release in nine years.
While GNOME 3 advanced the GNOME project considerably in terms of technology and new features, the overall look and feel of the interface was such a stark change that many long-time users of GNOME 2 were left unhappy with the new 3.0 release and have remained upset despite revisions made in the most recent 3.2 release.
The large base of users dissatisfied with GNOME 3 has led to the development of numerous GNOME 3 shells and alternatives, including the Unity shell in Ubuntu, the Mac OS X-inspired Macbuntu, the GNOME 2-based MATE and Linux Mint’s GNOME 3-based Cinnamon desktop environment.
