Unity and GNOME 3: You either love it or you hate it

[Ben Stones]

You know those Marmite adverts, "You either love it or hate it"?, well that could be said the same for Unity and GNOME 3.x

Unity user interface

The Unity user interface was first introduced in the 10.10 Netbook Remix edition of Ubuntu, however in 11.04, it was introduced to desktop and laptop computers of Ubuntu alike. So if you had an accelerated graphics card, Unity with the Unity launcher, as shown below, was and is default. While you could, as of 11.04, switch to Unity 2D that used the standard GNOME 2 user interface (which I'm sure plenty of people ended up doing). In 11.10, the Unity 2D interface was overhauled to bring Unity 3D to non-accelerated graphics cards. While it isn't as slick and as good as the Unity 3D version, it does the job (although improvements need to be made in my opinion; for example, in navigating around active/listed apps, etc).



What were some of the issues with Unity among users?

I'm sure many long-term Ubuntu/Linux users did not like the direction Canonical was going in with Unity, and so decided to ditch Ubuntu entirely (or at least, switch to Unity 2D in Ubuntu 11.04), and instead I'm sure plenty reverted to Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu. As of now, Linux Mint uses a modded version of GNOME 3, which I actually prefer to Vanilla GNOME 3. I actually, as of now (and my opinion could change, of course) prefer Unity over GNOME 3. I don't like that you can't change much about it; and while that also pretty much likewise applies to Unity, Canonical are definitely improving on this front with Ubuntu 12.04. As of Unity 5.2 (in Ubuntu 12.04 Alpha 2) you can change whether the Unity launcher hides or not, and the sensitivity when you want it to reappear if you decide to stick to defaults and allow it to hide if a window is in the way of the Launcher; in which case, the Launcher hides.

I think Unity is pretty good to be honest. Although it is annoying when you have a lot of apps on it, it is a slightly cumbersome multitasking between different apps as of now. But, to give Canonical and the Ubuntu developers some credit, they are definitely improving on Unity and the Unity launcher (as well as customisability) in Ubuntu 12.04. They're also making the user interface generally more well-rounded and polished, and the menus look more professional, too. The menu items within menus (such as the top right menus) have more spacing (or padding?) etc.

GNOME 3

GNOME 3 was long-awaited, and when released, without quite some criticism, which I have to admire them for because to stick to their guns and ignore the critiscm to move forward with what they believe is a good future for GNOME. It takes a lot to do that. Do we see governments doing that without bowing down to pressure from pressure groups?

Anyway, going back on topic now. GNOME 3 has a great user interface, I must say; but again, I prefer Unity to GNOME 3.x primarily because GNOME 3 isn't very much customisable (as of now - but that said, Unity is quite the same, too) and I am confused as to how exactly one would switch between multiple apps. The "dock" (or whatever it is technically called in the GNOME community) when you open the "Activities" menu (or hover right to the top-left to activate it immediately without clicking the "Activities" menu button itself) gets quite small when quite many apps are listed on the dock; whether open or "locked" or "added" to the dock itself. And whether I am suppose to hunt for the window I wish to switch to or use the dock itself is unclear to me. I've not used it enough to give a proper conclusion on GNOME 3, but this is my initial impressions, and I don't want to over exaggerate and say, if I use it more, I may like it as I start to use it more and use it in a way that suits me. A screenshot of GNOME 3 is below:



So, have you tried Unity in Ubuntu recently and/or GNOME 3? What do you think?

Ubuntu screenshot from: http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets.../unitydash.jpg

GNOME 3 screenshot from: http://www.dedoimedo.com/images/comp...me-3-using.jpg

[DPS Computing]

I've not personally tested it out but......

from the pics I love it .