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

[David Woyciesjes]

On 04/13/2017 09:13 PM, Carlos Solís wrote:
> 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
>
     Maybe they should make the installation of Docky a prominent option 
at installation?


-- 
--- Dave Woyciesjes
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            Registered Linux user number 464583

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