A couple weeks ago, I wrote some posts on GNOME Shell which included a number of criticisms of the desktop environment that will likely become Ubuntu's default at some point in the future.  Jon McCann, lead designer for GNOME Shell, recently got in touch to offer his responses to the problems I found with the new interface.  Here's what he had to say.

GNOME Shell is a new completely revamped user interface for GNOME. GNOME Shell brings a new window manager called Mutter which is a combination of Metacity and Clutter. This reportedly makes Compiz unnecessary(and incompatible too).

Fathers Day, and the end of my Gnome-Shell series. I still find it surreal to log into a session running Gnome-Shell and see a desktop devoid of familiar features. Gnome-Shell is the new direction Gnome is going for release 3, and Ubuntu seems set on following suit. Will this be a smart move?

Gnome 3, which will be available to install in Ubuntu 10.04, Fedora 13 will mark the first radical change to the Gnome Desktop since it’s inception, thanks to it’s “new” interface ‘Gnome-Shell’.

Canonical's decision to go with the Unity shell on GNOME may be a game changer for Ubuntu, but it doesn't come without risk. Mark Shuttleworth's declared aims are to unite design with free software.

Gnome 3, due for inclusion in Ubuntu 10.04, will mark the first radical change to the Gnome Desktop since it's inception thanks to it’s “new” interface ‘Gnome-Shell’.

I’ve been using the GNOME Shell preview available in Fedora 12 this week and I’m really enjoying it. I was testing out some candidates for updates to the free drivers for my ATI Radeon HD4850 (and the stuff that went with them) already, and decided to see what happened when I picked GNOME Shell. At F12 release time, my graphics card wasn’t quite ready for GNOME Shell use.

This is my first look at gnome shell. I guess this is going to be the big thing for gnome when gnome 3 comes out in 2010. Gnome shell is in it’s early stages yet, but I miss having the ability to place things on the panel.

If all goes according to plan, Ubuntu 10.10 will sport Gnome 3, which represents a radical overhaul of Ubuntu's default graphical user interface in the form of Gnome Shell, when it debuts a year from now.  In order get a taste of what this desktop of the future will look like, I've spent the last few days using the development version.  Here's what I've found.