Ubuntu 12.04 LTS & Unity: Ubuntu's "Win8?"

[deadflowr]

There's always gnome-shell...

well at least until the gnome-devs completely implode.

[craig10x]

Also, unity is the kind of desktop environment that you need to use for a few weeks...i imagine you just took a quick look and said..."no way"....well, if you would adapt a positive attitude and stick with it for awhile, you might be really surprised...when unity first came out, many felt the way you did...but since then, many have turned around and now are big fans of it!

The best way to think of it is as dock that "auto hides" on the left side of the screen which is basically a "shortcuts taskbar"....you simply place all your favorites and frequently used apps on it (for quick "1 click" access) and for apps you use very infrequently, just open the "dash" (search button on top) and start typing the name of the app (say "terminal") and viola...there it is!

It also has a really neat desktop switcher and you can also reduce the unity dock's size (which i always do,i don't like the icons that big)....in appearance settings...

Also, it (unity) keeps getting improved by ubuntu...i am running 13.04 development and it's even better then ever...and unity is a heck of a lot more intuitive to use then windows 8....(quite frankly, THAT is a mess)

"Cairo Dock" session on ubuntu would make a nice option (if you prefer a dock on the bottom) i have used it and it's pretty cool, but eventually i decided to just go with the default (unity)...

Sounds like you never used anything with a "dock" (like a mac for example) or any of the docks available on linux....basically, you are just stuck in the old 2-panel old fashioned way of doing things...
Time to come into the 21st Century, my friend

[3rdalbum]

Mate is almost identical to stock Gnome 2, but of course Ubuntu 10.04 didn't ship with stock Gnome 2. It had Ubuntu patches and other enhancements (notify odd, indicators etc)

If you can't live with Mate as close as it is to Gnome 2, or anything better than Mate, then you'll have to use Windows 7 until it goes out of support. Then sell your computer. Gnome 2 is not coming back.

It was abandoned by its developers over a year ago and they are very happy with their new Gnome. Ubuntu is happy with Unity and they will not revive a desktop that was widely derided for looking old-fashioned and being bunged up with legacy code and annoyingly buggy and inflexible.

[3rdalbum]

In June 2012 TechRepublic writer Jack
Wallen, who had been very critical of
early versions of Unity said “I’ve
noticed something lately. Since Ubuntu
12.04 was released, and I migrated
over from Linux Mint, I’m working
much more efficiently. This isn’t really
so much a surprise to me, but to
many of the detractors who assume
Unity a very unproductive desktop…
well, I can officially say they are
wrong… I realize that many people out
there have spurned Unity (I was one
of them for a long time), but the more
I use it, the more I realize that
Canonical really did their homework
on how to help end users more
efficiently interact with their
computers. Change is hard – period.
For many, the idea of change is such a
painful notion they wind up missing
out on some incredible advancements.
Unity is one such advancement.”

[andrew.46]

Interesting line breaks, what happened there?

[cariboo]

@JSeymour, since you don't seem to like any of the Ubuntu derivatives, and 10.04 desktop eols in May of this year. Why stick with Ubuntu? There are several other distributions that still use the old Gnome 2 interface. The only thing you will have to relearn is package management, everything else is the same.

[rrich1974]

come on guys.....it is been almost 2 years since the unity was launched. it is a very good DE and i use it on a CAD program and i can say that i have got the same productivity as in wind 7.
get over gnome 2....it is dead.

[tartalo]

Also, unity is the kind of desktop environment that you need to use for a few weeks...i imagine you just took a quick look and said..."no way"....well, if you would adapt a positive attitude and stick with it for awhile, you might be really surprised...when unity first came out, many felt the way you did...but since then, many have turned around and now are big fans of it!

People should stop using this "if you don't like it you should use it more" argument. I can't fully express my feelings about this argument because I am a gentleman and this forum has a code of conduct.

[vanadium]

People should stop using this "if you don't like it you should use it more" argument. I can't fully express my feelings about this argument because I am a gentleman and this forum has a code of conduct.

There is a point here. A change of habits can be difficult, and you cannot have a good definitive opinion when you did not at any time seriously attempted to use the product.

For those preferring the classical desktop, there remain plenty of modern, up to date opportunities: mate, cinnamon, xfce desktop, and even gnome 3, that now officially supports a classic mode.

We have more choice than ever.

[craig10x]

Thank you vanadium..the point i made IS a good argument...i can tell you from my own personal experience that i reacted much like he did when i first encountered unity..

In my case, my favorite desktop was NOT the old ubuntu's that had the 2 panels (never liked that no matter how long i worked with it) but rather the linux mint's style (or windows 7 style)
of lower panel only with a "slab style menu"....which is why for quite some time i migrated to Linux Mint because it was there by default and i didn't have to "customize" like i did on ubuntu to create that
desktop...

So, initially, can't say i totally hated unity but just didn't warm to it at all...because it was DIFFERENT...
After a few weeks i said...hmmm maybe i should spend a few weeks with it and have a more positive attitude (look at it like a new "adventure") and THEN see how i feel about it...

Well, after that time, i said...you know, this is pretty COOL...i can definitely work with this...and i have ever since

So, i suggest he try it again for a few weeks with a more open mind...and if he still doesn't warm to it, then, as you mentioned, there are number of alternate desktops he can add to ubuntu without actually leaving ubuntu....