A default Ubuntu 13.04 installation comes with the unity graphical user interface. As with many things unity is not your only option for a graphical user interface. There are several other desktop environments available for Ubuntu 13.04 that you can download and install for use. This tutorial will show you how to install the GNOME 3 desktop environment on Ubuntu 13.04 also known as Gnobuntu.
The default desktop environment for Ubuntu 13.04 is Unity which is based on GNOME without the GNOME Shell. GNOME 3 includes the gnome Shell which is a new development for gnome that some people do not like. Personally, I have grown to like GNOME 3 with all of its extensions. The GNOME Shell is similar to the unity interface in that it allows you to find your programs through an overlay when clicking on “Activities”. The programs used in GNOME 3 are basically the same as in Unity due to unity been based on GNOME.
To install the GNOME Shell, open the terminal and type the following command as shown below.
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell
You will be asked to enter your password and then asked to select a default display manager as shown below. I chose the gdm display manager.
Once you have run this command successfully, you will be able to go to the top right corner and log off. When you have logged off you will be taken to the login screen in which you will click on the Ubuntu logo as shown in the screenshot below.
You will then select the GNOME desktop environment from the menu.
You will now be able to log in with your user password. You will be taken to the GNOME 3 desktop environment with theGNOME Shell as shown below.
Congratulations, you are now able to boot into the Unity desktop environment and the GNOME 3 desktop environment. If you have any questions or comments don’t hesitate to leave a comment below. Also, if you found this tutorial helpful please like and share so that other people will find this tutorial more easily.