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

[Awjin Ahn]

> Or if the "slam the mouse cursor to the left corner first" gesture
becomes too cumbersome after a certain amount of time?

Hitting `Super` key shows the window overview

> 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

Extensions are a huge attraction of Gnome. They let you tweak the desktop
to your liking. For example, this extension
<https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/307/dash-to-dock/> displays the
taskbar by default. Perhaps a short how-to guide can be shown upon boot-up
for new Ubuntu installations.

I believe that with good on-boarding documentation and some open-minded
experimentation, users will be able to make the shift smoothly.

- Awjin

On Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 9:13 PM, Carlos Solís <csolisr at azkware.net> 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
>
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