How To Install Gnome3 In Ubuntu Using PPA (Warning: Still Unstable!)

Few hours ago the long awaited Gnome3 was officially released. You can try it via the OpenSuse or Fedora desktop directly from their official page, but for Ubuntu users it is somewhat complicated. Now, everyone is aware of the recent clashes between Canonical and Gnome team which made Canonical dependent on the Unity Desktop for an answer.

So as a "message" (fain enough :D ) to Gnome team, there are "less" empthesis of Gnome3 in Ubuntu 10.10 or for the upcoming 11.04 as well. Still, if you want to install Gnome3 in Ubuntu despite all these "issues" then, long live the PPA!... you can install Gnome3 by as simple as giving 4 commands in Terminal in Ubuntu!.

But here's the thing, according to the PPA developers, it is highly unstable! and can easily break your system. And once installed, there is no way you can downgrade it either!. Below is the official warning ...

This package contains packages from GNOME3 and their dependencies so they can be used in Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty). This PPA is EXPERIMENTAL and MAY BREAK YOUR SYSTEM. There is no downgrade process.

Be prepared for few bumps!

So, if you understand the danger but still have the courage to give a try at Gnome3 in Ubuntu 10.10, then open your Terminal and issue the below commands.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

You don't have to restart the PC, but I recommend that you do a reboot. Just in case :). And when prompted at the log-in screen (GDM) you should see a new session for Gnome3!. 

Note - You should not try to install Gnome3 in Ubuntu 11.04 Unity (at least maybe for the moment, because the Gnome Shell breaks the Unity easily).