Never seen so much complaining

[BigSilly]

So many people in the Linux world so resistant to change. I would never have even tried Linux in the first place if I was so resistant to trying something new. Would have just stayed with XP and forgotten it all.

[KBD47]

I agree that choice is good. Unfortunately, especially among new users, choices are not sufficiently advertised. It's fine to say to someone who's used to Linux "if you don't like Unity just install something else." But say that to someone who's just installed Linux for the first time and it can feel very overwhelming. I've been there, and I almost gave up on Linux. Experienced users tend to forget that newbies don't have the same skills and knowledge they do.

Choice is great, it makes Linux great, but for newbies and even not-so-newbies a new OS can feel like stepping into a mine field. My first experience with Gnome 3 on Fedora felt like stepping into a mine field with crashes here, crashes there. My new install of Ubuntu Unity 11.10 and the thing was freezing every time I did anything while Unity actually worked for me on 11.04 So when things get screwy, people complain, and it has nothing to do with Ubuntu and all those working on Linux being bad, or uncaring people, it just has to do with users getting frustrated. For example, if a simple help menu would have come with Gnome 3 it would have made a big difference to me, and probably other users as well. Instead we get this foreign thing that doesn't even have an "off switch". One little pdf file linked to the desktop with about 5-10 simple 'how-to' explanations would have saved me some complaining and others from hearing me do so. In the end I may have to eat my words about gnome 3 after scouring the net to figure out how it works and seeing that it may not be the devil it first appeared to be.
Ubuntu simplified and improved their installation. That is what we need more of, easier ways to use our computers, and with huge changes (like Gnome 3) some simple instructions for use would help. Lubuntu and Xubuntu are becoming more popular not because they are the best thing since sliced bread, but because they are easy to use and intuitive.
I'll end this on a positive note--Ubuntu is freakin awesome, they just need keep making it easier for users to see it.
KBD47

[Trior27]

I started using Ubuntu 6 years ago. I stopped using Windows 2 years after that (been using it all my life).

The reason I stopped using Windows was that in their last version they made a very bad interface where I couldn't find anything, it would slow down my pc a great deal, it would crash all the time... I hated the damn thing.

I was very eager to try Unity when it came out. I upgraded my Ubuntu version right away but then I couldn't find anything it would slow down my pc a great deal, crashed all the time... I used it for some months, and yes, I hate the damn thing.

I agree that Ubuntu should innovate, and it would be great if it spreads and not only computer geeks and tech freaks use it. But innovating doesn't mean copying things others already did wrong.

[MarjaE]

So many people in the Linux world so resistant to change. I would never have even tried Linux in the first place if I was so resistant to trying something new. Would have just stayed with XP and forgotten it all.

Well, it's easy to attribute this frustration to [other people's] resistance to change. But few of us would be here if we were resistant to change. A lot of the time we faced specific problems with Unity, and we can't find the solutions within Unity. For me, there were too many problems, and some of the problems - the difficulty of window-switching, the visible-on-mouseover features, the dependence on searches - made it much harder to do any work in that desktop environment. And it was maddening to try to work in or try to find fixes in. But when we bring up any problems with Unity, we tend to face dismissive comments.

So far Xubuntu looks much better-suited to my needs than Unity was. But between the way I feel Unity was rushed on us, and the way I feel these fora have grown randomly insulting, I am much less enthusiastic about Ubuntu than when I started.

[erokit]

Whoa everybody! Calm down. While this new interface is startlingly different, it is not terrible, and it is where all interfaces are going.

Have you seen Windows 8? Mac OS/X Lion? iOS 5, Android Honeycomb?

Ribbon menu based GUI interfaces are losing appeal. Obviously not yours, but what about that 8 - 12 year old who will one day be 21. Maybe they'll lucky to learn what a command prompt bash shell is, as likely as me learning morse code. In fact they may never use a PC as we know it.

Tablets, and the iPad in particular have changed everything with GUI design. And the average user is looking form simplicity, not endless choices that complicate things.

I have seen the linux GUIs move from being a Windows clone, to throwing in a lot of Mac, and now with Unity staking a claim to a unique interface with it's own advantages.

What we love about linux will be history if the GUI doesn't keep up with the current UI design standards. World keeps turnin'.

Go the Zen path and give it a try. Use my approach to using new interfaces. Simply ask yourself how would I do 'x' if I didn't have a clue how to use a computer. It helps you to gain a beginner's mind. (That's what Einstein brought to physics.)

peace

[cariboo]

Interesting. So there isn't just one solution to the desktop puzzle? Am I reading that correctly?

Now... How exactly would one person make their desktop different from someone else's?

I take it you've never checked out the desktop screenshot thread? There are many people doing interesting things with their desktops.

[Dale61]

The most disappointing is that people complain BEFORE they explore other options. We are extremely fortunate that there are other options other than WYSIWYG. If you don't like something, try something else until you find something you do like. I didn't like Unity in 11.04, but I'm determined to get my head around it in 11.10.

One program I used extensively in 11.04 (DVD Styler) crashes every time I used it in 11.10, so I explored and found something else that does a similar job. I didn't jump on here and complain that DVD Styler didn't work for me; I searched for another option. It was quite a simple task as well.

[BigSilly]

Well, it's easy to attribute this frustration to [other people's] resistance to change. But few of us would be here if we were resistant to change. A lot of the time we faced specific problems with Unity, and we can't find the solutions within Unity. For me, there were too many problems, and some of the problems - the difficulty of window-switching, the visible-on-mouseover features, the dependence on searches - made it much harder to do any work in that desktop environment. And it was maddening to try to work in or try to find fixes in. But when we bring up any problems with Unity, we tend to face dismissive comments.

So far Xubuntu looks much better-suited to my needs than Unity was. But between the way I feel Unity was rushed on us, and the way I feel these fora have grown randomly insulting, I am much less enthusiastic about Ubuntu than when I started.

If that's aimed at me then I'm sorry. I don't mean to be insulting. You have legitimate complaints and have tried through various channels to fix them, and have constructive criticism. There's nothing wrong with this. What does annoy me is when random posters post random rants that help nothing and are mostly just moaning that it's different (not aimed at you).

I remember when a mate of mine gave me a Mandriva disc in 2005 when I was struggling with Windows XP. Linux was so completely and utterly alien to me, but I kept with it and I'm glad I did because I gained more from that experience than I lost, and was happy to be rid of XP eventually once I gotten used to Linux, and what seemed so strange and alien to me now feels second nature and makes sense. But I could have dumped it in fear there and then and stayed with crappy old XP. But what I would have missed out on...

It's a question of adapting for some, it's a question of moving on for some, and a question of helping improve it for others. Just putting up with it isn't an option, neither are random rants. Personally I haven't found it especially hard just using it, and don't have the complaints that you list as issues of mine. If I did, then I'd be off just like I did when Natty just didn't work for me. I don't see the point getting your bowels in a knot if you don't like it.