Q: Where can I download the GNOME 2.0 Desktop? A: You can download it from http://www.sun.com/gnome/get.html Q: Is GNOME 2.0 Desktop a supported product? A: Absolutely. It is covered by Sun Services' support offerings for the Solaris[tm] Operating Environment. If you already have a support contract for Solaris OE, you are entitled to support for the GNOME 2.0 Desktop. For more information see: http://www.sun.com/gnome/support.html Q: Where should I go for information on troubleshooting the GNOME 2.0 Desktop?
A:
Refer to the GNOME 2.0 Desktop for the Solaris Operating Environment
Troubleshooting Guide:
http://docs.sun.com/db/doc/817-1740.
Q: Is it possible to upgrade CDE to GNOME? If not, should I uninstall CDE before or after installing GNOME? Basically I'd like to have GNOME and be able to clean up my disk from CDE.
A:
GNOME can be installed alongside CDE.
Q: Is there a way to get Gnome 2.0 for Solaris 7 (SPARC)? Or I should compile it (and all libraries required by Gnome 2.0) on my own? A: We support GNOME 2.0 on Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 and (in the future) Solaris 10. If you want a version that runs on Solaris 7 then you can build yourself (or download from elsewhere), but it will not be supported. Q: We have Problems with Screen Resolution on our Elite3D-Lite Cards under Gnome2.0. Can you please provide more information about the problem. Please send output from:
/usr/X/bin/xdpyinfo
/usr/sbin/afbconfig -prconf
Can you give us the correct and best Settings for this Card under Gnome?
A: All screen resolutions which are supported by the X server will work with GNOME. It is recommended to run GNOME 2.0 with a 24 bit display. The default 8 bit configuration will also work. The following is an example 24 bit configuration that is running well in our labs: --- Hardware Configuration for /dev/fbs/afb0 --- Type: double-buffered AFB Lite with Z-buffer Board: double memory rev 0 (Vertical) Number of Floats: 3 PROM Information: @(#)afb.fth 1.17 98/03/06 AFB ID: 0x101df06d DAC: Brooktree 9070, version 1 (Pac2) 3DRAM: Mitsubishi 130a, version 1 Framelock Configuration: Master EDID Data: Not Available Monitor Sense ID: 7 (Unknown monitor type, defaulting to Sun 19" monitor) Monitor possible resolution: 1152x900x66 Current resolution setting: 1280x1024x76 <****** Q: What about security issues with using GNOME? I have heard of many "buffer overflows" in CDE. Another Question, can I use XDCMP to connect with my GNOME Desktop?
A:
There is a known security issue with the GNOME print manager which
is documented (including a work around) on the Sun web site. Sun
have carried out code sweeps on the GNOME code to identify and
eliminate security vulnerabilities. Additionally, the code is
visible to a large community of developers which increases the
probability that security vulnerabilities will be detected and
removed.
Q: Does Sun plan to deliver future versions of Solaris with only Gnome, instead of CDE? A: GNOME will continue to be delivered with Solaris. Over time, we expect GNOME to become the default desktop on Solaris. We will continue to support CDE customers and we will continue to support running of CDE/Motif applications in a GNOME environment. Q: I accidentally deleted the bottom panel, is there any way to restore it?
A:
On the top panel, right click:
/usr/bin/gconftool-2 --recursive-unset /panel/apps pkill panel Q: Is there any way to setup different wallpapers for different workspaces in GNOME 2.0? A: Nope. Its not a feature in GNOME 2.0 right now. Q: Will Gnome 2.0 on Solaris 8 be able to use dual heads (video cards)? Will it utilize 3 video cards? How about the Xinerama feature for Xsun? A: GNOME 2.0 on Solaris 8 works with up to 16 heads in multi-screen mode. Xinerama works in all supported Xsun configurations. Note that all framebuffers must be of the same kind. Q: In CDE I can setup an action on the desktop to prompt me for the name of a server to remote xterm to. How can I do this in Gnome? I use this to have a number of xterms open on remote servers on login, and would like to be able to do this in Gnome.
A:
You can create a launcher to solve this problem:
Command: telnet/rlogin hostname Run in Terminal: On Icon: Something appropriate Name: hostnamePress Ok. You can script the above so that you are prompted for the hostname instead of hardcoding it. You will get an icon on the root window. Double click on this you will get to your remote host. You could use the tab feature and profile feature of gnome-terminal to get all your remote connections in a single window:
Then you get all the remote hosts of interest in a single terminal window with tabs labeled with each host name. Its pretty nice. Q: Global Profiles and Displays: I have been trying to customize the default set of panels and associated launcher applets that are displayed when a new user runs GNOME for the first time. I thought the sample script provided in the "Sample Script for Setting Individual Pane; Preferences" of the GConf manual would be a good place to start. However, using the commands provided in the sample script as a test have no impact on the initial setup and display of the panels displayed in the GNOME desktop. Are there some global panel preferences used in GNOME 2.0 for Solaris 9 (SPARC) that keep from configuring a custom set of panels? I would like to modify the default set of panels so I do not have to do so each time I create a new user. Can you provide any suggestions? Do you know of any documented examples that are known to work?
A:
This is a first pass answer that we will try and
improve on over the next week or so.
cp -R /home/user1/.gconf /home/user2This will copy over ALL the users defined settings/preferences. if you wanted to restrict this to just the panel then do: mkdir -p /home/user2/.gconf/apps cp -R /home/user1/.gconf/apps/panel /home/user2/.gconf/appsThis will just copy over the panel setup and preferences. Sounds easy so far, but here's where it doesn't work so easily :-( It is also important to copy over any launchers to the new users home. i.e. if you add a launcher to the panel to start mozilla then the actual .desktop file gets stored in: /home/user1/.gnome2/panel2.d/default/launchersand a pointer to this will be stored in the gconf database. The problem is that the full path to it is stored so each pointer in the gconf db will have to be edited to point to the new users home dir location of the .desktop or even better to a system location of it. So you need to: vi /home/user1/.gconf./apps/panel/profiles/default/objects/{}*/%gconf.xml and change the paths from /home/user1/.gnome2/panel2.d/default/launchers/*.desktop
to something like /home/user2/.gnome2/panel2.d/default/launchers/*.desktop
then you need to copy the actual .desktop files to that location. There is behaviour in the panel which write's back the configuration periodically. This prevents creating a central repository of launchers and just pointing to them. This is the bit we'd really like to give a better answer to... The way GNOME does it at the moment needs to be improved.For our next release we want to have the pap store $HOME/.... as the pointer in gconf and get the panel to expand it. That way the .desktop files can just be copied from user1 to all users and just work! Hope this helps some. Q: Is it possible (although perhaps not supported by Sun) to run a concurrent Gnome 1.4 (as released by Sun) along with Gnome 2.0?
A:
It is possible but not supported as you suspected.
Q: Two CDE products I still use are "dtmail" and "dtterm -C". I know I can swap to Netscape mail, but what GNOME product can I use to get a console window, since "gnome-terminal -C" does not exists! A: The answer at the moment is to use xterm -C or dtterm -C. gnome-terminal doesn't have this option. We are investigating this as an enhancement. Q: Each time we start the Gnome dekstop, we lose our loadkeys UK settings. Where can we change the keyboard layout settings under Gnome? We need /usr/bin/loadkeys UK. A: The character palette applet can be used to change the keyboard layout. Q: Is it a good idea to install Gnome on a SunRay Server? We are using SunRay Server Software Version 1.3. Most users want to have the Gnome Desktop, but I am anxious about the memory consumption, performance and the compatibility with the SunRay Server Software.
A:
Yes, GNOME is supported on SunRay. However, GNOME user sessions
consume more memory than similar CDE user sessions, so be sure
to follow the performance tips in the on-line GNOME Troubleshooting and
SysAdmin guides at:
http://wwws.sun.com/software/star/gnome/documentation/
Q: Performance: Gnome vs. CDE We installed Gnome 2.0 final on a SunBlade 100 (Sol9 12/02, 768MB RAM, SparcII 500MHz). The display performance is significantly slower than with CDE (moving windows, switching screens). We plan to use GNOME on our SunRay Server. How much more CPU Power do we need to have the same display performance than with CDE ?
A:
The reply posted earlier (above, #17) should help
answer your question. The key additional resource
that might be needed is memory, rather than CPU,
as GNOME requires more memory.
Q: On Solaris 8 after Gnome 2.0 Desktop has been installed, login window gets cycled: after entering username and passwd, you get login window again and again.
A:
To try and diagnose your problem I suggest you login with a
failsafe session and execute:
/usr/dt/config/C/Xresources.d/Xresources.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10or /usr/dt/config/{locale_name}/Xresources.d/
Xresources.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10
There is a bug which can result in a failure to create a locale specific resource file. You can workaround by copying Xresources.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10 to the appropriate directory. You can edit the resource names as appropriate. Related questions: * Question #23 Q: I installed GNOME 2.0 and my SUNSPCI does not work anymore. I am using Solaris 8 on Ultra-10 machine. Any ideas?
A:
We have reproduced your problem using Solaris 8 U7 on an Ultra 10
with a mach64 graphics card.
Q: I am attemping to build some applets for our GNOME environment. It appears that Sun is not distributing the header files for GNOME. I am able to build GTK+ applications using the /usr/sfw/include (This is Solaris 9, BTW). What is the support story on these interfaces? Will Sun ship them (or are they hidden??) A: If you are using the header files under /usr/sfw/include and successfully building gtk applications then you are building GNOME 1.4 applications as opposed to GNOME 2.0 apps. GNOME 2.0 does not deliver GNOME 1.4 header files, it does deliver 2.0 header files. To ensure you have the complete set of header files (for GNOME 2.0) ensure you do a customize intall and select the developer packages. Q: Since CDE is already there and does EVERYTHING you need a desktop to do, what is the point to spending time with GNOME? Who would trade their Cadillac (CDE) for a Yugo (GNOME)? Why does Sun feel compelled to waste developers on non-value added stuff like this. Why don't you reassign everyone on this team to 1. Fix or remove picld, and then 2. Fix or remove SMC.
A:
I am delighted you are satisfied with CDE having spent some
time working on the product. Sun is providing GNOME in response to
customer requirements and as part of our desktop client strategy. Q: I'm experiencing the "login window gets cycled" difficulty described above. I use Solaris 9, and have checked for and found /usr/dt/config/{locale_name}/Xresources.d/ \ Xresources.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10 Note: Line above broken for layout. executing this produces : ./Xresources.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10: Dtlogin*altDtsIncrement:: not found ./Xresources.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10[3]: Dtlogin*altDtName:: not found ./Xresources.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10[4]: Dtlogin*altDtKey:: not found ./Xresources.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10[5]: Dtlogin*altDtStart:: not found ./Xresources.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10[6]: Dtlogin*altDtLogo:: not found ./Xresources.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10[7]: Dtlogin*altDtXserverFlags:: not found A: In order to diagnose your problem:
The file you identified is a resource file, so is not executed. It does point to a script - /usr/dt/config/Xsession.Sun-gnome-2.0-fcs-10 which is executed during session start. Note: Any follow-ups will be posted Q: When I tell the window list to group tasks over 1 it only works for gnomified appications. Why is this? Under gnome 1.4 it worked for all processes. It should behave the same.... To reiterate if I fire up 14 xterm windows I end up with 14 tabs, not so with gnome-terminal. There I would end up with only 1. What can I do to correct this problem? A: This is a change between 1.4 and 2.x. In 2.x the grouping is done on a process basis. gnome-terminals get grouped because it has a client server architecture so all windows are displayed by the same process. StarOffice and Mozilla are other examples. xterm windows are displayed separately because each window has a different associated process. Q: To bring a window to the front in CDE you have to click in the border of the window (assuming you have selected "point in window to make active"). Can this same "click in border" (but not in window) behaviour be duplicated in a GNOME desktop? A: The behaviour in GNOME is governed by the GNOME window manager, Metacity which does not support the feature you asked about. Metacity was deliberately simplified in terms of configurable settings to make it easier to administer and maintain and to help make the code set smaller.We believe that some features (like the one you mention) will be incorporated into Metacity over time as users request the most useful ones. We will raise an internal request for enhancement on this feature and prioritise it based on users requesting it. Q: Is Ximian Evolution going to be included in future versions of Gnome 2? A: In short, yes. We are actively working on Evolution and will make it available in a future GNOME release. We do not yet have a schedule we can share with customers. Q: I have used Solaris for over ten years, and have recently been co-writing gtk/gnome applications for Linux/Solaris. Gnome/gtk is VERY good as a tool but not just as a desktop. The strength of gnome/gtk comes from the wealth of tools written by the open community. Getting updates/new apps for Linux has always been easy via rpms. For Solaris it is a REAL PAIN, and why I have concentrated more on Linux than Solaris in recent years. If Sun still wants to promote Solaris AND gnome, why oh why of why can't you fund an engineer just to port the lastest gnome apps to Solaris and have a single web point of contact to retrieve them ? At present the Sun gnome site just points to the gnome website which has no dedicated solaris port page. I am an Evolution user on Linux, and was expecting at least this to be in the Gnome2.0 desktop ;-( I would be grateful of your comments re the above and whether Sun will make "acquiring" apps easier, else I will just bin the Sun hardware and concentrate on Linux.
A:
Evolution will be made available for Solaris. It is being worked
on at the moment. Date not yet available, though.
Q: I recently installed gnome 2.0 on Solaris 9/02. I am trying to print from gedit but am having difficulty. Is there a config file that I should be looking for? When I select print, click on the Printer Tab, select location: lpr and type in printer name, the job is sent to the printer but nothing comes out. We had no problem with gedit 0.9.6. The new version 2.0.5 is giving us trouble.
A:
Please confirm that you don't even get a blank page.
Q: Does Sun's Gnome2 desktop support Xft anti-aliased fonts like other Gnome2? If so, how setting it up? If not, is planned for future release?
A:
No :-( |
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