[GNOME 3] First Impressions?

Sloshy · 2011-04-19 13:35:11

caseyjp1 wrote:

Gnome still feels like a clickfest for a lot of stuff

You do realize that GNOME 3 has quite a few keyboard shortcuts to make using the desktop just as fast, if not faster, than before? Like for example, press the Windows Key ("Activities Key" to the GNOME devs) and you'll get the Activities overlay right there, which is actually more useful than an auto-hiding dock to me because it combines the dock with a spatial window switcher in the middle . Or you could just fling your mouse to the top-left corner, as it's a hot corner. As for launching applications, you aren't supposed to be going into the Applications menu every time, if that's what you're doing . The proper, faster way to launch apps is to either add them to your favorites list on the left or search for them in the overlay; just press the Activities key and start typing. Also, Alt+Tab now sorts by application so it's easier to get multiple windows of the same application up at once, while Alt+(whatever key is above Tab, usually the ` key) sorts by windows in whatever application's selected (or the current one if none is selected). Check out the GNOME Shell Cheat Sheet for more

stILLlearning wrote:

error: target not found: gnome-shell-extensions

AUR, or follow the instructions here.

fijam · 2011-04-19 21:40:05

I actaully also like keyboard management in gnome3. Two more useful things Sloshy didn't mention:
Alt-F2 for quick launching application by name (has tab completion)
Ctrl Up/Down arrow for switching workspaces

Only_Slightly_Bent · 2011-04-19 21:52:26

Sloshy wrote:

caseyjp1 wrote:
Gnome still feels like a clickfest for a lot of stuff
You do realize that GNOME 3 has quite a few keyboard shortcuts to make using the desktop just as fast, if not faster, than before? Like for example, press the Windows Key ("Activities Key" to the GNOME devs) and you'll get the Activities overlay right there, which is actually more useful than an auto-hiding dock to me because it combines the dock with a spatial window switcher in the middle . Or you could just fling your mouse to the top-left corner, as it's a hot corner. As for launching applications, you aren't supposed to be going into the Applications menu every time, if that's what you're doing . The proper, faster way to launch apps is to either add them to your favorites list on the left or search for them in the overlay; just press the Activities key and start typing. Also, Alt+Tab now sorts by application so it's easier to get multiple windows of the same application up at once, while Alt+(whatever key is above Tab, usually the ` key) sorts by windows in whatever application's selected (or the current one if none is selected). Check out the GNOME Shell Cheat Sheet for more
stILLlearning wrote:
error: target not found: gnome-shell-extensions
AUR, or follow the instructions here.

Is there a better way to quickly move and resize windows with the keyboard. It is the only thing still keeping me with Awesome. The ctrl+f8 or what ever it was is painfully slow and I couldn't find anyway to redo it. I am currently trying to work pytyle in working with mutter on the side but it may be awhile before I have time to really work on it.

Sloshy · 2011-04-20 14:05:36

Only_Slightly_Bent wrote:

Is there a better way to quickly move and resize windows with the keyboard. It is the only thing still keeping me with Awesome. The ctrl+f8 or what ever it was is painfully slow and I couldn't find anyway to redo it. I am currently trying to work pytyle in working with mutter on the side but it may be awhile before I have time to really work on it.

As far as I know, Alt+F8 is your only option for now. I'm not entirely sure if resizing windows using the keyboard is considered a "power user" feature or not, but I think you'll need a third-party workaround for this. I'd talk it over with the devs on IRC or something as well, as I point out frequently in here .

caseyjp1 · 2011-04-20 14:53:32

Sloshy wrote:

caseyjp1 wrote:
Gnome still feels like a clickfest for a lot of stuff
You do realize that GNOME 3 has quite a few keyboard shortcuts to make using the desktop just as fast, if not faster, than before? Like for example, press the Windows Key ("Activities Key" to the GNOME devs) and you'll get the Activities overlay right there, which is actually more useful than an auto-hiding dock to me because it combines the dock with a spatial window switcher in the middle . Or you could just fling your mouse to the top-left corner, as it's a hot corner. As for launching applications, you aren't supposed to be going into the Applications menu every time, if that's what you're doing . The proper, faster way to launch apps is to either add them to your favorites list on the left or search for them in the overlay; just press the Activities key and start typing. Also, Alt+Tab now sorts by application so it's easier to get multiple windows of the same application up at once, while Alt+(whatever key is above Tab, usually the ` key) sorts by windows in whatever application's selected (or the current one if none is selected). Check out the GNOME Shell Cheat Sheet for more
stILLlearning wrote:
error: target not found: gnome-shell-extensions
AUR, or follow the instructions here.

Sloshy, I "know" there are keyboard shortcuts...but my impression holds after several days usage. Its not as "mouse intuitive" as gnome 2 and yes it is more "clicky" overall. I'm thinking of several folks I take care of who
aren't as "keyboard-ey" as some of us as well.

Hell most people just freak when I show them what "alt+tab" is ffs. Gnome 3 AND Unity are a monster change for the average user on the desktop.

BOTH of these shells are awesome gorgeous slick for touch devices...but desktop computer? not in my opinion.

Plus gnome's "don't customize me" attitude riles me tbh. (even though you CAN customize some stuff, the stuff I want to change up...nopers.)

The Unabeefer · 2011-04-22 04:48:26

I hardly click at all, and I barely EVER use the mouse. Of course, I use the top-left hotspot and then mouse-wheel on the pager to change desktops...

Padfoot · 2011-04-23 08:47:13

For someone who has been a huge advocate of Xfce for quite a few years, I now have fresh Gnome 3 installs on both my desktop and netbook. I'm giving it a decent try. Still not sure if it will replace my love of Xfce, but I'll give it a chance for a while.

My main bug bear (and this is mostly towards upstream app devs, but in certain instances, also applies to the Gnome devs), is that for a number of years now, things have been moving towards tablets and netbooks (and other small screen devices). While apps are being updated for this, the one thing that seems to be missed in most cases is the use of gtk.scrolledwindow. I have lost count of how many apps config/preferences dialogs are just too big for the screen to see, let alone change config options, and of course, where is the OK button to confirm your choices......off the bottom of the screen of course. I know I can ALT + LEFT CLICK and drag the window to reach these options, but it is very difficult to do this with a touchpad.

A couple of examples; nautilus properties dialog - especially when trying to change file permissions (and your choices do not apply recursively even is you choose that option, thunderbird account settings is another. Just one simple thing overlooked and it creates a huge usability issue.

There are other issues of course (configurability), yet they can be overcome, and I am sure as the desktop develops, the config options we all want will appear. The desktop is not even one month old, so let's give the dev's a chance.

Regarding config, GTK and Metacity themes can be changed, along with fonts, cursors and sound themes, in both your shell session and in GDM. I have them configured to my liking. It just involves a bit of work in root nautilus and root gedit, copying and editing config files. Not ideal, yes, but I am certain GUI options for these will appear in time.

For those missing a screensaver, simply install xscreensaver. My install works perfectly with this.

Start up options? A GUI is there, it just hasn't got a nice .desktop file to display it in the menu yet. gnome-session-properites will get this going.

dconf and gconf? Well gconf is there for the shell fallback option, which uses a "legacy" (to early to call it legacy yet) version of Gnome, and also for the apps that have not been converted to the newer dconf and gsettings system. dconf is of course for the new shell and the apps that have been converted, so if you are looking for theming options, they are all in dconf, unless you plan on using the legacy fallback.

Finally, the reason there are not further options for the panel:
a) It was simply designed this way. Gnome 3 is about reducing distractions.
b) Bonobo is no longer supported, and many of the applets we know and love simply have not been ported to the new framework.

This will slowly resolve itself. The applets will be re-written to take advantage of the new notification framework where appropriate, and if absolutely necessary, and extension will be made for the panel. Just take the battery applet for example. It can be found in the gnome-shell-extensions package in AUR and, I daresay, will be used as a template for designing other extensions.

Cheers.

EDIT:

For those who want the original DEL key functionality back in nautilus:
From the Arch Gnome 3 wiki

Changing Hotkeys
In dconf-editor, enable org.gnome.desktop.interface "can-change-accels".
An example of changing the delete hotkey: Open nautilus, select any file/directory, then click "Edit" from the menubar, and hover over the "Move to Trash" menuitem. While hovering, push delete. The accel should change from "ctrl+del" to "del".
Make sure you have selected a file, else the "Move to Trash" menuitem will be greyed out. You should disable "can-change-accels" afterwards, to prevent accidental accel changes.

Last edited by Padfoot (2011-04-23 09:52:15)

anakin550 · 2011-04-24 19:50:49

I have just installed arch on my Dell Dimension 3100 with a Pentium4 and 2gigs ram and Im using the onboard graphis intel 915g chipset. Gnome-shell runs smooth at first but then I will open an app or use a keyboard shortcut and it will crash my rig and produce a kernel panic. I will have to log into my gnome shell and copy the error codes maybe even start another thread, but so far my use of it is damning any ideas?

Bazzaah · 2011-04-24 20:48:19

I must admit that I was a bit sceptical of it, but I installed it yesterday and first impressions are great - it's very well thought through, great to work with and with a little tweaking looks great. Even my wife likes it.

A few bugs, but that's to be expected, but for me at least nothing serious.

Hats off to Gnome - they've done a great job.

sultanoswing · 2011-04-24 22:58:27

Too early to tell for my workflow... but it's still installed, and a positive impression is slowly growing.

I quite like the slick interface, and it can still be customised (albeit with uneccessary amounts of under-the-hood tweaking). I have the desktop drawn still, which allows right-clicking (nautilus-open-terminal is invaluable to me) and easy access to documents on the desktop. That's an interesting point, Gnome 3 seems focussed towards apps rather than documents.

Looking forward to see the bugs get tidied up and some more customisation options come back.

caseyjp1 · 2011-04-26 13:00:30

sultanoswing wrote:

Looking forward to see the bugs get tidied up and some more customisation options come back.

After a bit more fiddlin' futzin' and testing, this sums it up quite nicely for me as well.

I LOVE Unity...on the netbook. still. It just feels right on the small screen. Gnome3 does not. On the main box with a 26" monitor though...hmmm...I'm not sure. I think the above quote is beyond important, as right now making things work the way I want them to...is a royal pita. And no, dconf and text editing are NOT the answer. I think the gnome-ers decided we're all idiots as a baseline...which is true sometimes....but stuff like the activities bar....the only choice for an app showing up there is....quit it? wtf?

If this was the end of the line...I'd say yuck and deal with kde or xfce, BUT again, its version "1", so at this point, I'll just say there are some truly cool ideas and stuff going on here. I DO like the virtual desktops on demand for instance.

We shall see. For now though, its snappy, it does work pretty well and does what its supposed to do. It has crashed/frozen up hard a few times but I've seen these as known issues on bugzilla.

Here's to hoping we get our gui customization tools back...and right soon.

As a P.S. to this post:

Whoever decided that "system settings" should be the same name and icon as the kde version ought to be smacked upside their head with a trout. Seriously. If you have KDE installed as well, some of the name duplication with identical icons is beyond stupid. -just sayin.

Renato_Ferreira · 2011-04-27 03:52:46

I have been trying GNOME 3 + GNOME Shell for a few days now (after having tested beta Shell some time ago), and I'm really liking it! The workspaces are just great, and I can easily manage multiple applications simultaneously. I enjoyed this "new" workflow and being able to quickly positioning and organizing multiple windows on the desktop without the resizing-minimizing thing. One point is that sometimes the menus feel like a little too far from each other (I usually launch applications using the keyboard, but clicking on the favorites and then on a workspace is a bit of a work... and I use a big monitor )
The integration with apps like chat is great too.
I really think this was an amazing progress, especially for being the "first" version of this new approach, but in my opinion it's highly important to give users the option of more advanced configurations. Although I agree on keeping things simple, some configs are pretty much "you won't want to change it anyway" right now, but it's better to give something like advanced options, if that's the case.
One of the few issues I had, and I'm not sure where to report the solution I came up with (I'm not sure whether it is a GNOME issue), was that pulseaudio (now necessary, as I understood) was not receiving my internal mic signal. Pavucontrol and GNOME settings were like if the mic was already set up, but changing the Card in alsamixer to HDA Intel (instead of PulseAudio) I realized that the mic was actually set up to 0 receiving. Increasing this value from alsamixer completely solved the issue (it was not set to 0 before the update).

celettu · 2011-04-27 12:37:58

I expected to dislike both Unity and Gnome3, but that's only true for Unity. The biggest difference for me is what you can access after you hit the Win key

Gnome 3:

Everything. You can start typing to find an app, click the dock on the left and the workspaces on the right. Brilliant.

Unity:

You can start typing to find an app, but opening the workspaces needs another click, and opening an app on the dock another two, one to focus the dock and another to actually start the application.

Other pro and con of Gnome3:

PRO:
- Beautiful, simple, elegant (especially with added Faenza icons)
- grabbing a window and "throwing" it upwards is actually a faster way to maximise it than the normal button way
- I actually use less clicks than before: Win + click on the dock or Win + "type first letters of app" + Enter is fast.
- Integated apps -> calendar on top, chatting via an empathy notification...extremely cool
- Changed my workspace habits: everything I alt tab between is on the first workspace (it's not like I have a taskbar that becomes cluttered or anything), everything else goes to whatever workspace that's available

CON
- Dock should differentiate more between active and non-active apps
- changing workspaces is now ctrl alt up/down instead of left/right...feels completely arbitrary to me
- Applications that aren't integrated with Gnome (banshee, pidgin) are more difficult to access (no system tray)

sultanoswing · 2011-04-28 01:12:32

celettu wrote:

...
- I actually use less clicks than before...

I've heard of left clicks and right clicks, but never less clicks. Do you need a special mouse for this? Does it also have great clicks?

Or do you mean fewer clicks (mouse clicks being a discrete, rather than continuous variable)? ;p

Last edited by sultanoswing (2011-04-28 01:13:11)

stefanwilkens · 2011-04-28 07:04:23

Compared to KDE when it made its big leap of faith (4.0 release), GNOME 3.0 certainly is doing a better job of being a desktop. And hell, that IM feature alone is golden

I am have some random issues where the gnome shell seems to partially crash, but I am not yet sure what the root cause of this is.

Are there any users of empathy here?
Has anybody experienced random crashing of the main application thread?

Last edited by stefanwilkens (2011-04-28 07:16:13)

Pawlerson · 2011-04-28 09:40:30

stefanwilkens wrote:

Compared to KDE when it made its big leap of faith (4.0 release), GNOME 3.0 certainly is doing a better job of being a desktop. And hell, that IM feature alone is golden

KDE 4.0 at least didn't break usable desktop guidelines. You're making a big mistake comparing KDE4.0 to Gnome3, because KDE4.0 was marked as a NON FINAL VERSION. While KDE4.0 was far from perfect it wasn't so because of design, but because of quite early stage of development. Gnome3 is in many things just broken by design (tm), so you have to use Red Hat tools to change fonts (sic!). KDE brought many enhancements to its application while I didn't see any improvements in Gnome3 applications. The only new thing I have noticed is gnome shell which is a real usability problem for me. Someone who thinks using mouse+keyboard all the time for daily tasks or to switch activities is a good idea is a moron.

stefanwilkens · 2011-04-28 10:37:13

Pawlerson wrote:

stefanwilkens wrote:
Compared to KDE when it made its big leap of faith (4.0 release), GNOME 3.0 certainly is doing a better job of being a desktop. And hell, that IM feature alone is golden
KDE 4.0 at least didn't break usable desktop guidelines. You're making a big mistake comparing KDE4.0 to Gnome3, because KDE4.0 was marked as a NON FINAL VERSION. While KDE4.0 was far from perfect it wasn't so because of design, but because of quite early stage of development. Gnome3 is in many things just broken by design (tm), so you have to use Red Hat tools to change fonts (sic!). KDE brought many enhancements to its application while I didn't see any improvements in Gnome3 applications. The only new thing I have noticed is gnome shell which is a real usability problem for me. Someone who thinks using mouse+keyboard all the time for daily tasks or to switch activities is a good idea is a moron.

You use a joystick?

The only major break I can see in normal use is applet-based applications or applications that had significant user-interaction through panel applets.

Yes, KDE brought a lot of application changes. It also brought quite a bit of breakage with it. I also don't recall 4.0 being advertised as a non-final, nor is this indicated anywhere (http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.0/). It was labeled "beta software" and "non-final" by the users, not the developers.

I suppose though, if you don't like the new feel of the shell, this is a disaster release for you. It all feels very natural and logical to me.

I will agree that the massive lack of configuration tools is a pain, definitely something that can be improved upon. What is there is nicely integrated though.

broken pipe · 2011-04-28 10:47:26

i really like gnome 3, its simplicity, the notifications and the shortcuts to make its behaviour more comfortable and faster.

but i really miss some shortcuts:
to assign a window to another desktop,
tile the window horziontally and/or vertically,
fast switch to another desktop

stefanwilkens · 2011-04-28 10:56:11

broken pipe wrote:

i really like gnome 3, its simplicity, the notifications and the shortcuts to make its behaviour more comfortable and faster.
but i really miss some shortcuts:
to assign a window to another desktop,
tile the window horziontally and/or vertically,
fast switch to another desktop

The shortcut keys to assign windows to another desktop have been disabled by default, but can be configured.

All keyboard shortcuts for GNOME are configured through System Settings -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts (tab)

Fast switching to another desktop can be done with Ctrl + Alt + Up / Down, you can also assign key combinations to instantly switch to a certain desktop.

The options you are looking for are under the " Navigation" section of the shortcuts tab.

Pawlerson · 2011-04-28 12:02:17

stefanwilkens wrote:

You use a joystick?

That would be cool! However, I'm using a mouse, usually.

The only major break I can see in normal use is applet-based applications or applications that had significant user-interaction through panel applets.

I was talking about design. Applications seems to be fine, but there aren't any important changes which would made them braking.

Yes, KDE brought a lot of application changes. It also brought quite a bit of breakage with it. I also don't recall 4.0 being advertised as a non-final, nor is this indicated anywhere (http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.0/). It was labeled "beta software" and "non-final" by the users, not the developers.

As far as I remember it was labeled as non final by KDE developers. It had to be mentioned somewhere else, but afaik it was on the main page.

I suppose though, if you don't like the new feel of the shell, this is a disaster release for you. It all feels very natural and logical to me.

For me it's really hard to use it in comfortable way mainly because of different experience introduced with GS. I'm also long standing KDE user (but I'm still in better posistion than long standing Gnome2 users when comes to switch to Gnome3 ;p) and I like to have good control over my computer. However, I'm going to try Gnome 3.2.

I will agree that the massive lack of configuration tools is a pain, definitely something that can be improved upon. What is there is nicely integrated though.

Let's hope they'll make it better, but it was the design decision to cut the features off and this is my main concern about this release. There are some people who deserve to be kicked out of the Gnome world.

Włóczymyśl · 2011-04-28 12:49:25

Pawlerson wrote:

stefanwilkens wrote:
You use a joystick?
That would be cool! However, I'm using a mouse, usually.

It leaves one hand free of use and makes your usage much slower... yeah, very wise but only if you use your PC for multimedia and single-tasking only so it's not a case for you to learn how to use your work equipment faster, easier and more confident. And when I already did it once - I see your way of usage just as you see clicking "search" in Google instead of just pressing Enter or scrolling your browser's window with scroll bars instead of the mouse wheel. And you call me a moron...

But anyway: I was always Gnome user, now I switched on KDE for a while, just to try it and I'm waiting for Gnome 3 in [extra] because KDE sux much... it looks like fucked up Windows with it's poorly-made, pseudo-glassy looks and all these eye-candies which are generally okay but in certain situations they are not working and you just want to get rid of them asap... well, these are just little things like application menu for example: when you move the cursor around the apps, the marking shadow is exactly on the app you have selected by your mouse but there is also the frame which is moving not so smoothly like a shadow so it looks like my PC is too slow for a KDE to chandle it _but it so much isn't_! And generally, everything is not happening just when you click something, you have to wait these milisecounds and it's not even noticeable when someone else is doing stuff on your PC but you can feel the heaviness of KDE in every secound of usage. Gnome 2 was much better as it was not trying to be 2nd Windows, everything was plastic rather than glassy and that was as much eye-candy while it was also smoother and even when you did a lot of stuff and have a lot of apps working: it may have been slower but it was smooth all the time. The same is with Gnome 3 as I tested it for a couple of days... I'm not on it as it's recommended to use whole [testing] if you want everything to work okay and I don't want to be SO MUCH sutting-edge as I need to have my PC working all the time, I can't let the updates to fucked up it when I will need it to do some job...

So: if anyone knows if Gnome 3 will be present in [core] in May? Fedora vesrion which is gonna be released in May, it will have Gnome 3 as default... I choosed Arch to be up to date, not necceseary 1st but 2nd at least... ;3

Sloshy · 2011-04-28 14:58:44

Pawlerson wrote:

stefanwilkens wrote:
You use a joystick?
That would be cool! However, I'm using a mouse, usually.

Hah! Seriously though I don't see what the big deal is. Virtually the entire Shell is keyboard and mouse navigable (you don't have to use both), and 3.2 will make it much more usable on touch devices as well as desktops (at least that's the plan), of course in addition to fixing up the desktop more. The "Applications" menu is slow to open, yes, but it's faster to launch an application by adding it to your favorites (if you're a mouse user).

Włóczymyśl wrote:

But anyway: I was always Gnome user, now I switched on KDE for a while, just to try it and I'm waiting for Gnome 3 in [extra] because KDE sux much...

I've never really been a KDE fan either. GNOME has a much better focus on accessibility (heck there's an icon for it on the top bar whether you want it or not with a lot of options). Instead of "shiny", GNOME has a much more "simple" look (but it still looks reasonably shiny ), which I find to be easier to look at. KDE, regardless of any bugs, has always seemed to be indecisive design-wise relative to GNOME. With GNOME they give me a standard, tested way to use my Desktop (yes, they did usability testing, and quite a lot of it) and I appreciate knowing that it's so consistent and standardized. With KDE, it feels like they're giving me a ton of preferences and "desktop building-blocks", so to speak, and telling me to essentially "build my desktop myself". They have a usable default configuration, yes, but some configuration options simply do not need to be present. Why would I need X applet on X part of the screen in X configuration, for example? I want to use a desktop that's consistent so I know what to expect from it, not something that has me constantly wondering, "hmm, should I enable this preference or am I fine?".

Sorry if it sounds like I'm trashing KDE here; I'm not. It's a very nice and respectable desktop , but I like the simplicity of GNOME. That's my personal preference.

Włóczymyśl wrote:

So: if anyone knows if Gnome 3 will be present in [core] in May? Fedora vesrion which is gonna be released in May, it will have Gnome 3 as default... I choosed Arch to be up to date, not necceseary 1st but 2nd at least... ;3

I can think of three main reasons:

1) They don't want to force all GNOME 2 users to be upgraded just yet
2) Rhythmbox still hasn't released it's GTK3-compatible release, and the version in [testing] is just a build from git.
3) They're waiting for a couple bug fix releases and/or package revisions so the desktop is more usable for new users.

Oh, and GNOME is in [extra], not [core].

Włóczymyśl · 2011-04-28 18:28:46

Sloshy wrote:

Włóczymyśl wrote:
So: if anyone knows if Gnome 3 will be present in [core] in May? Fedora vesrion which is gonna be released in May, it will have Gnome 3 as default... I choosed Arch to be up to date, not necceseary 1st but 2nd at least... ;3
I can think of three main reasons:
1) They don't want to force all GNOME 2 users to be upgraded just yet
2) Rhythmbox still hasn't released it's GTK3-compatible release, and the version in [testing] is just a build from git.
3) They're waiting for a couple bug fix releases and/or package revisions so the desktop is more usable for new users.
Oh, and GNOME is in [extra], not [core].

1) Well... it will happen anyway and it's cutting-edge as I heard? They choose fair way to apply Python 3, they just changed the names of Python 2's modules from "python-modulename" to... "python2-modulename". Gnome is too big to keep it as whole I guess so that can be the reason not to do the same... am I thinking right?
2) So, is there going to be a meta package? I'm not even using Rythmbox... and Gnome 3 was told to be compatible with gtk2... am I wrong?
3) Fair enough. Nautilus is not working very well (it crashes while I'm using thumbnails) so I needed to use Thunar instead.

Yeah, I know it's in [extra] and I even thought I corrected that mistake before posting...

Pawlerson · 2011-04-28 19:30:27

Włóczymyśl wrote:

It leaves one hand free of use and makes your usage much slower... yeah, very wise but only if you use your PC for multimedia and single-tasking only so it's not a case for you to learn how to use your work equipment faster, easier and more confident. And when I already did it once - I see your way of usage just as you see clicking "search" in Google instead of just pressing Enter or scrolling your browser's window with scroll bars instead of the mouse wheel.

The second hand is under my head usually, because when I read some 'constructive' criticizm about KDE my head starts immediately falling down. Seriously, forcing someone to use keyboard is a big minus from the usability stand point. It's natural the keyboard lets you do things faster, but working with mouse only should be comfortable.

And you call me a moron...

Not you, but the gnome shell makers.

But anyway: I was always Gnome user, now I switched on KDE for a while, just to try it and I'm waiting for Gnome 3 in [extra] because KDE sux much... it looks like fucked up Windows with it's poorly-made, pseudo-glassy looks and all these eye-candies which are generally okay but in certain situations they are not working and you just want to get rid of them asap... well, these are just little things like application menu for example: when you move the cursor around the apps, the marking shadow is exactly on the app you have selected by your mouse but there is also the frame which is moving not so smoothly like a shadow so it looks like my PC is too slow for a KDE to chandle it _but it so much isn't_! And generally, everything is not happening just when you click something, you have to wait these milisecounds and it's not even noticeable when someone else is doing stuff on your PC but you can feel the heaviness of KDE in every secound of usage. Gnome 2 was much better as it was not trying to be 2nd Windows, everything was plastic rather than glassy and that was as much eye-candy while it was also smoother and even when you did a lot of stuff and have a lot of apps working: it may have been slower but it was smooth all the time. The same is with Gnome 3 as I tested it for a couple of days... I'm not on it as it's recommended to use whole [testing] if you want everything to work okay and I don't want to be SO MUCH sutting-edge as I need to have my PC working all the time, I can't let the updates to fucked up it when I will need it to do some job...

I have exactly opposite feeling. KDE runs very good on my computer which is quite old. It looks much better than Gnome 2 and 3 in my opinion. However, I can understand you have a different feeling. You're ignoring the fact Windows does usability research and KDE does it too. The same about Unity, but I'm nearly sure nobody did such research when comes to Gnome Shell. Damn, to pass some usability guidelines you have to provide the basic stuff which was cut off from the Shell. Everyone who goes from Windows to KDE doesn't have to learn everything from the scratch. When someone moves from M$ system, KDE or even from Gnome 2 to Gnome3 (gnome shell) it's a real PITA.

Pawlerson · 2011-04-28 19:33:41

Sloshy wrote:

Hah! Seriously though I don't see what the big deal is. Virtually the entire Shell is keyboard and mouse navigable (you don't have to use both), and 3.2 will make it much more usable on touch devices as well as desktops (at least that's the plan), of course in addition to fixing up the desktop more. The "Applications" menu is slow to open, yes, but it's faster to launch an application by adding it to your favorites (if you're a mouse user).

If they improve desktop experience it will be great. It's usable with using only mouse, but this needs to be improved. On my computer the "Applications" menu starts fast.

Arch Linux

#101 2011-04-19 13:35:11

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#102 2011-04-19 21:40:05

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#103 2011-04-19 21:52:26

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#104 2011-04-20 14:05:36

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#105 2011-04-20 14:53:32

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#106 2011-04-22 04:48:26

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#107 2011-04-23 08:47:13

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#108 2011-04-24 19:50:49

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#109 2011-04-24 20:48:19

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#110 2011-04-24 22:58:27

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#111 2011-04-26 13:00:30

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#112 2011-04-27 03:52:46

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#113 2011-04-27 12:37:58

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#114 2011-04-28 01:12:32

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#115 2011-04-28 07:04:23

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#116 2011-04-28 09:40:30

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#117 2011-04-28 10:37:13

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#118 2011-04-28 10:47:26

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#119 2011-04-28 10:56:11

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#120 2011-04-28 12:02:17

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#121 2011-04-28 12:49:25

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#122 2011-04-28 14:58:44

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#123 2011-04-28 18:28:46

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#124 2011-04-28 19:30:27

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

#125 2011-04-28 19:33:41

Re: [GNOME 3] First Impressions?

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