I'm not very familiar with the Gnome team, but isn't this just a resource problem?
They're trying to build a better product, and they're only a bunch of part-time volunteers.
At some point they had a bunch of features, but to keep up with the other desktops (Aero, Quartz) they had to focus on rearchitecting and, being a small team, there haven't enough manpower to keep all the features.
I also don't think language (api's) are not at all comparable to desktop environments. There's just so much going on in a desktop environment.
They're trying to build a better product, and they're only a bunch of part-time volunteers.
At some point they had a bunch of features, but to keep up with the other desktops (Aero, Quartz) they had to focus on rearchitecting and, being a small team, there haven't enough manpower to keep all the features.
I also don't think language (api's) are not at all comparable to desktop environments. There's just so much going on in a desktop environment.