For me it was a major revelation when it was pointed out that, for someone who doesn't want his desktop changed, I did install all sorts of crazy things when I was starting with Linux (Compiz plugins, anyone?). And while Gnome 3 pushed me into Mate, it wasn't because it was different but rather because it was bad. So I'm excited about someone trying something new, particularly someone who realizes that the Desktop is not a tablet.
Here's an idea that I believe I read in HN as "the original purpose of the desktop": add a Desktop Manager that manages which icons are on your desktop and makes it easy to switch.
The desktop is kind of weird, in the sense that it's prime real estate but, at the same time, there's an expectation that you shouldn't put too much stuff there, and then it ends up cluttered anyway. I think it's worth trying a stronger separation between "Desktop" and any other regular folder, emphasizing that the Desktop is where you place links to the files you need right now, but with a mechanism to clear it completely (without losing data) and another to switch which icons you see right now, kind of like browser tab groups. That way, when you're working on a project you place the files you need on the desktop and when you're done you clean it up.
I agree, GNOME 3 and all the subsequent versions are so bad. They made GNOME into a glorified tablet environment, but I'm using a desktop, not a tablet, for a reason.
I'm still mad at GNOME developers for ruining such a good desktop environment.
Luckily, Linux Mint managed to create a good environment that is as pleasant as using GNOME 2.
Go to gnome.org, scroll down to "Developer Platform" and look at the title bar of the screenshot there. If you see a clean interface, then no reason other people give you will help.
But, if you do see the arrows there and think - why are there so many arrows and dots? It looks like bad UX. They you can see the issues others are talking about.
I... disagree. GNOME Builder is GTK4 and Libadwaita, with lots of custom widgets to build out the "IDE-lite" experience.
It looks like this because it's also how XCode and Visual Studio looks. I don't like it, I don't use Builder, but the design isn't foreign.
Visual studio does not look like this, because it uses text instead of icons. Which both uses less space, and is much easier to parse.
The gnome style client side decorations versus traditional menu bars is just bad. It works okay if your application has like… two buttons. Which, to be fair, is many gnome apps because they’re so feature-anemic. But once you have many functions, it becomes a mess that wastes huge amount of screen space.
probably_wrong · · focus · HN ↗
Here's an idea that I believe I read in HN as "the original purpose of the desktop": add a Desktop Manager that manages which icons are on your desktop and makes it easy to switch.
The desktop is kind of weird, in the sense that it's prime real estate but, at the same time, there's an expectation that you shouldn't put too much stuff there, and then it ends up cluttered anyway. I think it's worth trying a stronger separation between "Desktop" and any other regular folder, emphasizing that the Desktop is where you place links to the files you need right now, but with a mechanism to clear it completely (without losing data) and another to switch which icons you see right now, kind of like browser tab groups. That way, when you're working on a project you place the files you need on the desktop and when you're done you clean it up.
reddalo · · focus · HN ↗
I'm still mad at GNOME developers for ruining such a good desktop environment.
Luckily, Linux Mint managed to create a good environment that is as pleasant as using GNOME 2.
gf000 · · focus · HN ↗
tecoholic · · focus · HN ↗
But, if you do see the arrows there and think - why are there so many arrows and dots? It looks like bad UX. They you can see the issues others are talking about.
gf000 · · focus · HN ↗
How about actually talking about the topic at hand, which is the gnome shell and its UX?
someonebaggy · · focus · HN ↗
bigyabai · · focus · HN ↗
It looks like this because it's also how XCode and Visual Studio looks. I don't like it, I don't use Builder, but the design isn't foreign.
preg_match · · focus · HN ↗
The gnome style client side decorations versus traditional menu bars is just bad. It works okay if your application has like… two buttons. Which, to be fair, is many gnome apps because they’re so feature-anemic. But once you have many functions, it becomes a mess that wastes huge amount of screen space.