Are there any plans to palliate the interface shift on the transition from Unity to GNOME Shell?

[Carlos Solís]

As it is well known already, the interface of GNOME Shell is very 
different from the one in most other desktop environments, and even 
earlier versions of GNOME itself. With the statement that Ubuntu will 
drop support for Unity in favor of GNOME Shell, and further statements 
from both main Ubuntu and Ubuntu-GNOME developers that customization 
will be intentionally minimal, in order to keep the desktop as the 
upstream GNOME developers intended it to be, this means that a major 
interface shift is about to come for the standard Ubuntu user.

The problem existed back in 2011, when Ubuntu decided to avoid GNOME 
Shell by creating the Unity desktop environment, and it still exists 
now: the handling of windows and tasks is different from the one most 
other desktop environments offer to the user by default, perhaps with 
the exception of tiling windows managers, which are more intended for 
power users. In particular, the complete removal of an always-visible 
taskbar with the currently open programs, a staple of the vast majority 
of desktop environments, being replaced with a mouse gesture to display 
a list of windows. Sadly, I am yet to find a single article praising the 
decision, and most of the comments on the topic suggest to either 
install a plugin, or to switch the desktop environment entirely. This 
design decision has apparently proven unpopular with everyone but the 
GNOME interface developers, but given the context, all points to Ubuntu 
17.10 keeping it intact, effectively removing the taskbar by default for 
users that upgrade next October.

This leads to the normal user upgrading from Ubuntu 17.04, rebooting the 
computer, hopefully reading the help file that will pop up on boot, 
clicking "Applications" to open an app, finding a sole window preview 
laying around, clicking on some app and opening it, repeating the 
process, and maybe by then the change of paradigm will be evident. But 
what happens if this is not the case? Or if the "slam the mouse cursor 
to the left corner first" gesture becomes too cumbersome after a certain 
amount of time? Are there any plans to directly palliate the change of 
interface for these users with tools bundled with the newest Ubuntu 
(such as a plugin), or are they expected to relearn the desktop paradigm 
upon the first boot and accustom to it?

Hoping this mail is the beginning of a healthy discussion,

- Carlos Solís