Just installed 11.04 - Not too impressed

[Big Ed]

I've got to say that I'm not particularly pleased with the latest version of the Gnome desktop. I'm assuming that it has been customized by the Ubuntu team to look the way it does.

First off, why is the close window icon in the top left instead of the top right? Which is where it is if the window is not maximized. It makes no sense to have it in two different places depending on the size of the window.

No more application menus? Everything is moving towards a graphical interface so my screen now looks like a giant iPod. It now takes more time to find the application I want to launch than it did before. This is not progress.

Also the workplace switcher has the same problem. I used to be able to move the mouse to the bottom right corner of the screen to pick a different workplace. Now I have to move the mouse left, wait for the graphical menu to appear, click on the switcher and click twice more on the workplace I want. Again, this is not progress.

There are other issues, but these are my top three.

There seems to have been a lot of work put into making this a "pretty" interface, but not necessarily a more usable one.

Sorry for the rant. I'm just finding this all to be quite irritating.

Ed

[IWantFroyo]

1) Window buttons have been on the left since 10.04 LTS

2) This is Unity. Log out, and select Ubuntu Classic from the drop-up menu at the bottom of the screen (where it just says: Ubuntu).

3)Hit <control> and one of the arrow keys.

As for the rant, don't worry. These are quite common these days. Hope I helped!

[Big Ed]

Thanks for the tip on Ubuntu Classic. That fixes a lot of the issues for me. I _really_ like having the application menus available. And also the workplace switcher. Things are faster now.

I know the window buttons have been on the left for a while. I moved them with a theme back to where they were originally with 10.10. But they never made sense to me if they're not in the same place with an un-maximized window. Hmm, the theme must still be active because they're back over on the right side again. :)

Ed

[IWantFroyo]

Happy to hear that I helped! I used Classic a lot in my experience with Unity.
I'm using Fedora 15 now. Gnome 3 isn't too bad. It's certainly pretty. I just feel like I'm using Alt-Tab too much...

[Big Ed]

I used Fedora for a few years when it first came out. It was a pretty good distribution. But I've been on Ubuntu since 4.04, I think. I spent today downloading the latest Slackware release. I may still give it a try as I've already backed up everything in my home directory. And I've got a soft spot for Slackware, since it was my first intro to Linux many years ago. I've had it on various spare machines over the years and I've found it to be very stable.

Thanks again,
Ed

[mercurycc]

Ubuntu 11.04 did not impress me either. Looks sketchy. Gnome 3 is not perfect but seems it is heading towards a better direction.

Enjoying Fedora 15 so far.