Why so long for gnome-shell3.2 in testing?(workround avail)

[viking777]

I think it is a disgrace that debian (therefore LMDE) testing has had to wait so long for gnome-shell 3.2. The 3.0 shell is virtually useless alongside the 3.2 version (and has no doubt turned many people away from gnome-shell altogether). Certainly in my case it means I spend most of my time in Fedora or even Mint 12 on virtualbox rather than waste time with the 3.0 shell. I tried to find out why it was taking so long for it to be moved into Testing, this is about the best I could come up with:

Why is package X not in testing yet?
Checking gnome-shell

trying to update gnome-shell from 3.0.2-8 to 3.2.1-8 (candidate is 35 days old)
gnome-shell is not yet built on kfreebsd-amd64: 3.0.2-8 vs 3.2.1-8 (missing 1 binary: gnome-shell)
gnome-shell is not yet built on kfreebsd-i386: 3.0.2-8 vs 3.2.1-8 (missing 1 binary: gnome-shell)

[Show all dependencies · pkgs waiting for gnome-shell · pkgs stalled by gnome-shell · gnome-shell on packages.qa.d.o · buildd status · bugs in gnome-shell]

Package name:

4996 packages are trying to enter testing. 13 packages are trying to be removed. 0 packages are going in/out today.
dependency toplist · oldest candidates · highscore · top stalls (no new, only ready) · versioned conflicts · old dependencies · obsolete binaries

written by Björn Stenberg · script source code

Data is updated hourly.
Latest update: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:23:07 GMT

Source: http://release.debian.org/migration/tes ... nome-shell

Now I am sure that for the millions of you out there using kfreebsd this is a massive issue, but for the minority of users on Debian Testing that are getting teed off with gnome-shell 3.0 it doesn't matter that much, and we would really like to move on if you don't mind?

Incidentally for those of you who, like myself, had never even heard of kfreebsd you need to read this:
http://wiki.debian.org/Debian_GNU/kFreeBSD

What I also found interesting in the post above (not the kfreebsd one) is that 4996 packages are waiting to move into testing!!

Now that is going to be a neat little update isn't it

Of course perhaps this kind of volume is normal for testing, I don't know because I have never read that page before, but it does seem an awful lot of packages to me.

NB. This post only directly relates to those using Debian Testing sources, not Incoming or Latest, as you will have to wait even longer for anything to happen (but then again you are not lumbered with gnome-shell 3.0 like we are - hats off to Clem for that!)

[GeneC]

Hey Viking
Congrats on the 'Moderator' position.

Got so tired of waiting for Gnome 3.2 to get to testing I changed to SID. Actually there a just a couple of packages from SID needed for Gnome 3.2
Gnome-Shell
Gconf
Tweak Tool

http://www.0d.be/debian/debian-gnome-3.2-status.html
Granted is been a LONG time since things have changed there. Dont understand it.

Dont have the same bad feelings about Gnome3.0 as you.
Dont see all that much difference. Except ability to use Gnome 3.2 extensions, MGSE, but there are similar extensions available for Gnome 3.0.
Not worth the bother though. Easier to just upgrade from SID.
I'd bet the update is soon..

[zerozero]

unfortunately here we are tied to debian's high standard's:

A (particular version of a) package will move into testing when it satisfies all of the following criteria:
[...]
It must be compiled and up to date on all architectures it has previously been compiled for in unstable;

and gnome-shell is compiled in kfreebsd in sid http://packages.debian.org/search?suite ... nome-shell
if it wasn't for this "little detail" gnome-shell 3.2 would be in testing for some time now http://release.debian.org/migration/tes ... talldeps=1 (this is for i386 but look how all is green and ok)

[Andrew33]

Hey Guys,

I've had gnome-shell 3.2.1-8 running on my laptop for about a week now (unknowingly), all is runing great and no worries.....this is what I'm currently running in repos:

andrew@lmde:~$ inxi -r
Repos: Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ debian main upstream import backport romeo
deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org sid main non-free
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ sid main contrib non-free
deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org wheezy main non-free
deb http://tridex.net/repo/debian/ wheezy main
andrew@lmde:~$

[Andrew33]

Congradulations Viking

[Elmacus]

Same here. Couldnt wait for testing and jumped to sid. I suspect it could take atleast 6 month. Lmde is in trouble.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[secipolla]

This leads to one conclusion (among an infinite #):
- use Mint-Debian's own repos or
- use Debian testing/sid as wish to have what you want.

Using Mint/Debian with, for instance, wheezy's repos is (notably) useful to pre-test the system before packages come to incoming/latest but doesn't make all that sense just to 'enjoy'.

[zerozero]

Lmde is in trouble.

i don't think so.
lmde is one of the most versatile setups you can find:
you want hyper-stable, you can get it;
you want stable, latest/incoming might be what you're looking for;
you feel more adventurous, you have testing;
and if you can't really wait and want it now there's sid;

of course one might say that to a certain extent all these mix&match are no longer lmde, well, maybe...

[Elmacus]

I will still use it. Its stable. I just meant Clem promise update when 3.2 is in testing. But that day is far away still.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[viking777]

The other 'fly in the ointment' as far as Testing goes is that, as zerozero discovered recently, the Debian freeze period (when the present Testing becomes the new Stable) is scheduled to start in June this year and that will mark another long 'update free' period. Now, when this happens once every two years as it should, I don't mind, but the way things are going re gnome-shell 3.2, it is almost the same as having two freeze periods in 6 months, and that I am not happy with.

As for tracking Sid, well I have considered that of course, and I seem to edge closer towards it every time I think about this question, but up until now I have been very happy with LMDE Testing and I don't really want yet another distro on my hard drive to maintain, I just want LMDE testing to roll as a rolling release should and at the moment it isn't doing that at all.

Thanks for the congratulations btw

[GeneC]

.......................................
As for tracking Sid, well I have considered that of course, and I seem to edge closer towards it every time I think about this question, but up until now I have been very happy with LMDE Testing and I don't really want yet another distro on my hard drive to maintain, I just want LMDE testing to roll as a rolling release should and at the moment it isn't doing that at all.

Thanks for the congratulations btw

Getting Gnome 3.2 (Shell) in LMDE tracking Testing

From tracking Testing
Enable SID temporarily.

Code: Select all

deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ unstable main contrib non-free 

Just update=
gnome-shell
gnome-tweak-tool
gconf2

Disable SID
Keep tracking testing with a fully functioning Gnome 3.2 shell.
-------------

Want MGSE?
You can download 'mint-meta-mgse' .deb
from Mint Lisa Repo
http://packages.linuxmint.com/list.php?release=Lisa
OR:
TEMPORARILY (It is Ubuntu based) add Lisa

Code: Select all

deb http://packages.linuxmint.com/ lisa main upstream import

-------------------

Add other extensions from
https://extensions.gnome.org/
EDIT:
It appears that you need to install the following package (unzip) to be able to add extensions from gnome.org

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install unzip

Thanks to "Lippy" and Viking777" for pointing that out.
---------------------

Add MATE from
http://mate.karapetsas.com/

And be as happy as a

[viking777]

I think that is probably what I will do GeneC thanks.

[viking777]

Well that was a great success story that.

Installing gnome-shell 3.2 - no problem.

Installing extensions from extensions.gnome.org - impossible. I tried about 15 of them not one of them was even installed, never mind working (although I got no errors during the process). Since these extensions are the whole point of using shell 3.2 I would say the whole thing was a complete waste of time, in fact it is even worse now than it was on shell3.0 - I can't even get shutdown options back in my shutdown menu, only suspend, and I can't get rid of the accessibility icon either, and that is just a small fraction of what is wrong with it now.

I did of course make a disk image before I started so nothing is lost, I can always restore it, but I would prefer to get the extensions working.

Any ideas?

Edit. I just noticed it is not all bad news, my calendar now displays reminders from google calendar and it never did that before!

[GeneC]

Well that was a great success story that.

Installing gnome-shell 3.2 - no problem.

Installing extensions from extensions.gnome.org - impossible. I tried about 15 of them not one of them was even installed, never mind working (although I got no errors during the process). Since these extensions are the whole point of using shell 3.2 I would say the whole thing was a complete waste of time, in fact it is even worse now than it was on shell3.0 - I can't even get shutdown options back in my shutdown menu, only suspend, and I can't get rid of the accessibility icon either, and that is just a small fraction of what is wrong with it now.

I did of course make a disk image before I started so nothing is lost, I can always restore it, but I would prefer to get the extensions working.

Any ideas?

Did you use Firefox? It seems the only browser that works.

EDIT:

PS
You have to remove your old Gnome 3.0 extensions

[viking777]

Did you use Firefox? It seems the only browser that works.

I sure did, but it just doesn't want to know.

However the good news is that I have found a workround which does seem to work.

I copied all the installed extensions from my Fedora installation (~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions and /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions) into my LMDE install then enabled them with tweak-tool. This has been successful so far, I just need to remember a few code tweaks that I applied in Fedora in order to make everything work again).

Pity about the gnome site not working though.

[zerozero]

you are alone in that fight viking, i remember at least xircon that couldn't make extension.gnome.org work either, i have no idea what might be missing tho

[viking777]

I remembered that thread zerozero and referred to it whilst looking for a solution, but xircon's problem apparently just fixed itself (even he doesn't know how this happened), mine of course hasn't.

No matter though, the workround for me was to simply copy the extensions from a working install then enable them with tweak tool. The workround for any user without a working shell 3.2 install is simply to download the extensions manually (the writers website is usually listed somewhere on the gnome extensions site) and then extract the files to one of the two locations mentioned in my last post and then use tweak tool to enable them. So although this isn't technically 'solved' it has a workround available so I will edit the title to reflect that.

This has made a huge difference to me on LMDE, it has moved from source of extreme disappointment to my favourite distro again in one hours work!

Thanks to GeneC for suggesting it.

[xircon]

My new problem is my machine reboots into fallback 3 out of 4 times Can't figure out what the problem is. So I just suspend till I work it out.

[GeneC]

xircon

Extension conflict?
Try disabling them all then adding one at a time.

[xircon]

Don't want to hijack this thread, but no, as the machine reboots, after the line about i915, if it is going to work the screen jumps and the video mode changes and text becomes smaller.

If the text remains the same, larger size, without the change in video mode, then I get fallback. So it is a video driver or xorg problem. I have loads of packages relating to xorg that I can't install, so hopefully it will sort itself in time.

Just have to reboot a few times until it "works".