Peter Ross <Peter.Ross@bogen.in-berlin.de> wrote:
IMHO Gnome became so complicated it "just works" (lucky you) or it doesn't, and then you end up with bug reports as quoted above. Now systemd seems to add another dimension to it.
Gnome is indeed large and complex. I think there is much to be said for simplicity of design and implementation, which in essence is what the Arch Linux project aims to achieve. (They've embraced Systemd, but Gnome is of course optional, along with other window managers/desktop environments). I still work mostly from the console, partly for accessibility reasons (the console-based tools are much more reliable and have features I need), and partly because most of the software that I like happens to be text-based. I pop into Gnome occasionally as required. (The accessibility-related tools that I need in an X environment all derive from Gnome, although it's apparently possible to run them with XFCE 4.10). For maximum reliability I'd generally recommend running a minimalist window manager or desktop environment. Complex GUIs tend to come hand in hand with millions of lines of code and a system that becomes hard to work with when problems arise.