Tag Archives: Gnome 3

What I actually loved about Gnome Shell

Posted by on May 1, 2011 10 comments

I’m sorry, I couldn’t write an entirely negative write up about ‘Shell without coming up with some flattering words towards the devs that worked so much on it.

As a Gnome user for the past 6 or so years, I do appreciate the work that has been done on both Old and New Gnomes. And here’s my favorite things about Shell.

It’s extremely lightweight

Seriously, It’s fast. Gnome 2.32 with compiz/advanced effects somethings felt sluggish when switching between windows, and on Shell, with advanced effects on, I dare say Gnome 3 feels faster than Gnome 2.32 with advanced effects off. Mutter is magic.

Creating Workspaces is a delight

Seriously, I really really love creating Workspaces. On Gnome 2.32? I removed the applet. On Shell? I use them very often, dragging windows from one side to the other and watching them pop up is fun.

It forces me to concentrate on a task

Without the pesky notification area, and without the taskbar, I find myself getting a lot of things done. I suffer from some self-diagnosed ADD and lose focus on what I’m working on with the minimal distractions.

The Hot Corner

I like it. Clicking on the Activities button, dragging the mouse to the ‘Hot Corner’, or pressing the Super key brings an Overview of all the Windows that are open. I like typing an app’s name, hitting enter, and launching it. I rarely ever click on ‘Applications’ or launch stuff from the left side dock though, and I’ve never used the Wikipedia or Google search integrated on shell.

Good Riddance, Maximize button

A huge discussion on Gnome 3 was the removal of the minimize/maximize buttons.

Thanks to Gnome-Tweak-Tools, I added minimize back there, but Maximize is gone. I can simply drag a window to the top, and it’ll maximize it. Dragging it near a corner tiles them neatly too.

Everything looks gorgeous

I like the Black bar on top, and how the icons are all grayish. I like how the Overview looks and acts, and the default Wallpaper isn’t that bad.
I loved the little ON/OFF switchers that are used on bluetooth/network manager.

I find myself using the mouse less and less

  • Using Super and typing the app I want to open, and hitting enter, works.
  • I’ve also found myself using Alt-F2 a whole lot, and I never used it back on Gnome 2.32.
  • When I launch the Overview, my mouse moves slightly towards the Window I want to open, which means I move it less.
  • I like being able to Alt Tab and Alt | to switch between Windows and Window-Groups

I like the new notifications

 

 

 

 

I can quickly switch songs on Rhythmbox using it, and there’s a Pidgin Shell Extension that makes chatting on Pidgin an absolute delight.

This is one of the things I really loved about Shell.

Closing Words

Gnome 3 does feel kind of incomplete here and there, I really miss a lot of applets, but know that Extensions are extremely powerful, and given some time, they’ll completely replace Applets.

I think Gnome 3 is definitely worth it for a lot of people. Just not me. And it hurts, since I’ve actually used Gnome exclusively for over 6 years.

Why I’m Sick and Tired of Gnome Shell

Posted by on May 1, 2011 45 comments

I’ve been using Gnome Shell (Gnome 3) exclusively for 2 weeks today, and while I do have a few good words to say about it… today’s the day I’m switching to KDE once and for all.

Gnome Shell is Defective By Design, and I’m here to tell you why.

NetworkManager

Looks 2.0. Acts like 0.1

  • I can’t disconnect from a Wireless Network unless I turn off Wifi entirely.
  • I can’t view my current IP unless I click Network Settings
  • There’s no longer any way to connect to a hidden wireless network.
    • Found it. It’s hidden under Network Settings, click the Network name, then click on Other.
  • I can’t modify the Wired options unless I actually plug a cable.

And before you tell me it’s an unfinished product, these decisions are there by design, and as far as I know, I can’t right click anything to prompt for more options.

Alt Tab vs Alt | (The key above Tab)

I often find myself with dozens of LibreOffice PPTs open, or dozens of GIMP images open, or dozens of Gedit windows open. Trying to Alt | between the windows is an absolute nightmare. I know Shift-Alt-| helps you go back and forward between the windows, but why should i have to switch through them, when they change their order for no apparent reason?

I know pressing the Super key brings an overview with all the windows open. At one point, my overview looked like this:

Try to find what you’re looking for.

One quick way to fix this? Bring back the old Task Switcher, at the bottom of the screen. Where it’s been the past 10 or so years.

Add programs to the menu

For some insane reason, Fedora never seems to install Alacarte on Gnome by default. Or maybe I’m crazy for actually using it?

I tried to add an Eclipse instance to the menu. Thought right clicking might help, but no luck. Dragging the icon? No luck either.

Alacarte lets you modify the menu, but unless you know the app’s name, and install it yourself, you’re S.O.L.

Notification Area should be visible *always*

How long ago did someone mention me on IRC?

The notification area does not do its job. If you missed the notification, it hides and does not remind you of a missed notifications.

It should always be visible. This is probably my biggest annoyance.

Right Click on Desktop Can’t change the Wallpaper

Once upon a time, back in Fedora… 14? I was able to Right Click the Desktop, and change the Wallpaper from there. That’s gone now.

Apparently if I open the Activities overview, and click on Applications, I can’t find any way to change the background, but apparently typing “Background” on the search box finds a hidden app that lets you change it. FFS! Hidden!

Update: I’m an idiot, there’s a way to change Background by opening the Gnome Control Center, which I can’t find without using gnome-control-center on a terminal, or going to Network Settings, and clicking All Settings.

I really miss TimeZones

Another Gnome 2.32 feature I miss on Gnome 3 was the ability to see other timezones by clicking on the Clock panel.

I wish someone made an extension for that. I really miss it, and would’ve been handy it now that I’ve started the GSOC.

Update: Stephane wrote in the comments that this is his GSOC Project! Looking forward to it on Gnome 3.2!

Defaults are just insane

Closing the lid automatically suspends the laptop.

If it wasn’t for Gnome-Tweak-Tool, I wouldn’t have lasted on Gnome-Shell nearly as long as I have.

Tweak Tool lets you change a lot of Gnome’s defaults, like its fonts, the lack of minimize/maximize buttons on top, and even showing the Date in the clock (Which isn’t there by default). Tweak Tool even lets you let Nautilus manage the desktop again, adding Icons back to your screen.

Trying to turn off the computer the first time was downright surprising. I clicked my name and Suspend showed up. Power Off wasn’t an option. There’s a package called gnome-shell-extensions-alternative-status-menu (Isn’t that a mouthful?) that brings back sanity onto that menu.

Battery Monitor annoyance

Hah, as I was writing the closing words, my computer just alerted me that I have 7% battery remaining. There used to be colors up there. I would’ve loved colors warning me ahead of time that I’ll probably need a charger soon. As soon as the “5 minutes of battery remaining showed up”, I panicked and raced for the battery charger.

Could you please warn me before? Maybe add colors onto that icon? Or would that break the “beautiful design decisions”?

Update: Perhaps use “battery cells” on the battery, like cellphones do, that way it would be easier to distinguish between 75% full and 25% full.

Closing Words

Gnome’s “Simplicity” is down right insulting to a computer enthusiast. It makes it impossible to do simple tasks that used to flow naturally, and it’s made dozens of bizarre “design decisions”, like hiding Power Off behind the “Alt” key.

The lack of a taskbar, and hiding the notification area are extremely annoying, and the only reason I lasted this long is because I don’t have time to switch from Desktop-to-Desktop mid-week.

I think KDE is done re-installing. Good riddance, Gnome 3.

Let’s kick (Gnome) Shell!

Posted by on March 8, 2011 1 comment

So, apparently today is troll-a-Gnome-dev-day, and given how much I looooooooooooove the fact that Gnome Shell is broken by design…

I couldn’t resist.

Does this mean Miguel de Icaza is Shredder?