Gnome is one of the latest window managers to appear for Linux. Along with the K Desktop environment (which I also had installed), these are the two main favourites in Linuxdom. Sure, purists may argue that this looks more like Windows than an X Windows, but that is the beauty of Linux. It is highly (perhaps too highly for some) configurable.

I opted for a normal login (black text console asking for login) screen but Gnome can be configured to ask for a login with a tidy window. This is a nice feature but I like to do a few things usually before going to X. So, what do you get with Gnome.

You get some pretty good games although they are your usual board game/Tetris style affairs. You also get a configuration system which is far more like Windows than the usual X configuration tools. Screen savers are in abundance and there are some nice icons and backdrops available. You also get a very easy to configure and far-more-useful-than-the-Windows-one Taskbar with a menu (and even extras like the Virtual Desktop and Games!) which can be easily hidden to a small tab on either side of the screen. It all feels very flashy and cool which, apart from Windowmaker, I can't really say about the other Managers that I've tried. Switching to other WMs, a feature I love in Linux, is sadly not found (I couldin Gnome even though I installed KDE, Gnome, Windowmaker, Afterstep and the standard mode. You were provided with the menus from these WMs though so accessing the software wasn't a problem.

GnoRPM is the frontend for the popular Redhat Package Manager format of software archives. This is the first one (I didn't get along with XRPM, Glint or the command line versions) that I've been able to use successfully and is much easier to install/upgrade/query/uninstall packages than with the command-line version. It would have been a lot easier if I'd installed GCC (whoops), but at least with RPMs, solving that is easier.

The windows have a look and feel similar to Win95/98 but are more versatile e.g. on the top left menu (a la Win) you have the option to NUKE a non-responsive app saving time. In fact, this is one of the first WMs that I have only rarely used the command line (for mounting drives). Goody. Everything just feels nice and easy but the raw power is still there but with a nice veneer over the top!

Of course all this comes at price on your precious memory but although I haven’t run anything more weighty than the GIMP (although that's probably quite large) and X11Amp, it didn't seem to cause any noticeable swapping. Processor overheads also appeared to be minimal. The high mark doesn't mean this is a 'must have' but I can't fault it. Novices may start here, others may just opt for the standard X.

8/10 - loses a mark for not being essential and also for not being able to switch to other WMs. Otherwise, this is fine.