As an end user I can tell you, from an eye-candy perspective that GDM1 was very themeable and looked great. Then they moved to GDM2 with a very boxy, clunky look. "We will add more themeing options later," is what they said. Well now we are on GDM3 and it is just as ugly and boxy looking as ever.
Ubuntu has the option of keeping with the boxy look. Patching GDM on their own, always at the mercy of having to rehack their code when upstream changes come along. They could also make changes to GDM3 and try to get Gnome to accept the patches. Which would leave them on some technical committee trying to get consensus or making revisions till they are to Gnomes liking. With the recent Unity / Gnome fallout, that does not seem to be a very productive route.
I think Ubuntu wanted to have 1 greeter, that works well with Ubuntu / Xubuntu / Kubuntu /Lubuntu (which GDM3 does not) and is easily themeable for all the above environments AND being possible to make the themeing very elegant and beautiful looking.
I have been waiting 3 years for Gnome to do that with GDM. I am quite thrilled that LightDM will offer another choice.
I think the "its lighter" and "it has 80% less code" arguments are bunk. Ubuntu is trying to avoid saying what I am saying, "GDM is as ugly as sin and Gnome will not fix it or accept help in fixing it, so we are doing something different"
Why LightDM
Ubuntu has the option of keeping with the boxy look. Patching GDM on their own, always at the mercy of having to rehack their code when upstream changes come along. They could also make changes to GDM3 and try to get Gnome to accept the patches. Which would leave them on some technical committee trying to get consensus or making revisions till they are to Gnomes liking. With the recent Unity / Gnome fallout, that does not seem to be a very productive route.
I think Ubuntu wanted to have 1 greeter, that works well with Ubuntu / Xubuntu / Kubuntu /Lubuntu (which GDM3 does not) and is easily themeable for all the above environments AND being possible to make the themeing very elegant and beautiful looking.
I have been waiting 3 years for Gnome to do that with GDM. I am quite thrilled that LightDM will offer another choice.
I think the "its lighter" and "it has 80% less code" arguments are bunk. Ubuntu is trying to avoid saying what I am saying, "GDM is as ugly as sin and Gnome will not fix it or accept help in fixing it, so we are doing something different"