[ubuntu-za] Stop the Anti-Unity / Gnome 3 FUD!

[Quintin van Rooyen]

On Dec 22, 2011 5:05 PM, "Werner Roets" <cobolt.exe at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 22/12/2011 16:28, Peter Nel wrote:
>>>
>>> With the Upgrade to 11.10, I would recommend 10.04.  Seriously.  I have
>>> "upgraded" several machines and than reinstalled to take them back to
>>> 10.04 for lots of people.  Gnome 3 is broken, both in design, and in
>>> stability.  (Unless you have that one exact system that is also owned by
>>> a developer, but it is still broken in design)
>>>
>>>                        Lee
>>
>> Lee,
>>
>> It's opinionated comments like that that creates fear (uncertainty,
>> and doubt) in the minds of less experienced users whom we are supposed
>> to guide into adoption.
>>
>> Recommending degrading to 10.04 is a short term "solution" at best,
>> and is irresponsible. It's already 3x releases old. The next one,
>> 12.04 is the next LTS, and Canonical will be discontinuing support for
>> 10.04 in the near future... Are YOU going to support them then? Or
>> what, are you going to tell them to migrate to Linux Mint, that with
>> Mint 12 (Lisa) has also seen the sense of going over to Gnome3 (it's
>> supposed "edge" over Ubuntu having been Gnome 2!), or perhaps some
>> other less-supported desktop?
>>
>> You have the right to your opinion but don't sell it as fact, or
>> impose it on impressionable people who may take your word as
>> authoritative on the subject.
>> There are many (apparently the majority according to recent polls) old
>> and new users that like Unity and/or Gnome3.
>>
>> Certain people find it hard to adapt I find, more due to old habits
>> than the new paradigm being inferior in design or concept.
>>
>> Regards
>
> Hi guys,
>
> The linux desktop has moved on from gnome 2, it's time to accept that.
Downgrading to older versions of Ubuntu is not a wise choice because as
Peter mentioned it won't be supported for much longer.
>
> I've been using 11.10 since release and although I found it a bit
difficult to adapt at first, I decided to take an objective viewpoint on
the work flow Unity gives you. If you give the system a chance you'll
notice that you can find pretty much anything you need using the dash and
that is accessible in a single click or by pressing the Super key. If you
know what the file or application is called you will be able to find the
file almost instantly. Also note that the search will check meta tags for
music (and probably photos and videos too). You can cue a song in banshee
simply by doing SUPER + string + enter (providing the song you want is the
first item in the dash list or you will have to use the mouse or arrow
keys). The same method can be used to open any file or application even
those that aren't installed via a package manager (if you can remember the
name of the binary).
>
> This is a very unfamiliar but almost perfect way of using a keyboard /
mouse equipped computer. Some of us can't remember so well and that's why
there are easy to use and well organised menus in the dash. The launcher is
of course basically just the latest version of the NeXtSTEP dock. This
concept was obviously made famous by OS X's dock. For the fast majority of
people who can't remember the name of a program, a picture is helpful and
that's all a dock really is. It's just a bunch of little icons to launch
programs. Why is it better than gnome2/windows style program switching? The
dock is application-centric not window-centric. Windows 7 has grouping to
try and fix that problem without alienating any of it's user base.
>
> The difference is that linux is where cutting edge stuff gets right out
for people to try and it's normally designed to be good, not to be
familiar. Unity is sloppy, a little buggy and the lack of customisation is
quite terrible. I use Komodo Edit for PHP programming and I constantly
awaken the stupid thing when
> switching files (as they are on the left). The launcher's delay for
popping out should be slightly longer by default and should be adjustable.
The launcher, in my opinion would also do much better at the bottom as the
launcher hides itself so well, screen-space isn't really a factor. Did I
mention the extra screen space that the new title/menu bar combination
gives you? That screen space is truly golden for people on a laptop.
>
> Unity needs some refinement but I'd love it if people stuck with Ubuntu
because they've brought us this far. If you find that Ubuntu is somehow
insulting your intelligence because it's so easy to use, I'd recommend
being a big boy and getting hold of Arch Linux or Slackware.
>
> Regards
>
> Werner 'Cobolt' Roets
>
> P.S Mint 12 is good too but i disabled most of the plugins because Gnome3
is better vanilla if your mind is open enough!

I haven't tried Mint in a few releases. Methinks it is time for a revisit.

I wonder if people are really that OK with the gnome2 habit of moving ones'
launchers, and even at times _panels_ , around.

Or how's about jumping throughball those menu's. To get to a program or
file.

Unity is a huge departure, but I think on balance it is an improvement. I
have found less bugs with it than gnome 2 had even after all the years in
development.

I could never get to like Gnome3, but it is a matter of personal choice
methinks.

You can set the Unity launcher hiding behaviour through compizconfig
settings manager, or through any of a myriad of new little apps that are
appearing.

Not to mention the app ecosystem that is appearing with custom lenses and
launchers.

Unity and Gnome3 goes deeper than just the interface, and then also the OS
updates go further than that as well.

Gnome 2's main calling card is familiarity, it has little else to offer
users than that.
>
>
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