Ubuntu
unity package

A request for more information

Asked by John Winterton

I've been running the 12.04 Unity Desktop (referred to as Ubuntu in the menu choices) for some months now and I am at a bit of an impasse to try and understand the deconstruction of some of the items that used to be integrated. For example, the control of the mouse is now buried in the Advanced Settings when I want to change its appearance. In previous versions all such settings were in the Appearance app. I have always liked to be able to find things in one place when I want to change them or update their themes. In the Settings Panel the mouse controls allow only speed and handedness to be controlled. Why on earth was this changed?

Can you give me a reference to the rationale documentation for the changes to the desktop from the GNOME style to the Launcher/Dash style? I am most curious to see, since I've been in this business for some fifty years now. This user interface is surely neither instinctive nor very easy to use.

I am also not much amused by the idea of a read only panel and the lost of one of the indicators I depend on very much. And no, it is not on the distribution.

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John Winterton (jwinterton) said : 		#1

Oh, and one more comment. Many of the window widgets for these controls cannot be resized. This is especially unfortunate for persons who need larger fonts and the columns in these widgets overflow and the window cannot be resized. What kind of programming is this, pray?

You get a C- from me for this so-called improvement. It is much more difficult to use, but I still want to be "with it".

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#2

You can use XFCE or install gnome-panel and get the old school desktop. Unity isn't everyone's thing but it doesn't have to be, you can use anything else you can lay your hands on

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John Winterton (jwinterton) said : 		#3

Yes, I know. I am looking for the rationale documentation for this massive change. I am curious about the design thinking that went into this, because other O/S makers are doing similar things (Windows 8 for example).

I am thinking that this might have to go back to 11.10 which I believe was the first issue of this desktop.

Once upon a time when I was working, I had more than somewhat to do with design of user interfaces.

Actually, I don't like XFCE. I unloaded it when I went up to 12.04, and I've tried out the Gnome desktop and find is just as puzzling and mysterious. I believe the changes on the systems control interfaces could have been done better, especially with the windows widget borders problem.

Having only the "This Solved My Problem" is a piece of hubris on your part. It hasn't solved anything.

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John Winterton (jwinterton) said : 		#4

Please keep this going until I get more than a flip answer from a vegetable.

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Sam_ (and-sam) said : 		#5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unity_%28user_interface%29

http://design.canonical.com/2011/04/unity-benchmark-usability-april-2011/
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2011-April/032988.html
http://derstandard.at/1246541995003/Interview-Shuttleworth-about-GNOME-30---Whats-good-whats-missing-what-needs-work
http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/tag/unity
http://www.linuxuser.co.uk/opinion/linux-users-ubuntu-column-100-with-mark-shuttleworth/

https://live.gnome.org/GnomeShell/FAQ
https://live.gnome.org/ResearchAndDevelopment
https://live.gnome.org/Design
https://afaikblog.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/a-new-approach-to-gnome-application-design/
http://worldofgnome.org/gnome-3-5-2-first-sights-p/

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John Winterton (jwinterton) said : 		#6

Thanks very much. If the first responder had read my request, we could have solved this sooner. Now I have rather a lot of reading to do on my holiday.