I have tried and still use different DEs, but for some time now Windows 10 DE is my favourite one. I think all others should just copy it, no need to reinvent the wheel.
Ubuntu Unity desktop back from the dead after several years' hiatus
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Re: Ubuntu Unity desktop back from the dead after several years' hiatus
#152I have tried and still use different DEs, but for some time now Windows 10 DE is my favourite one. I think all others should just copy it, no need to reinvent the wheel.
Compared to Windows 10, the Windows 11 DE is such a regression imo.
Re: Ubuntu Unity desktop back from the dead after several years' hiatus
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If I recall correctly, both GNOME and Unity shared rejection from a number of users (I don't know if that was large group or just very noisy) The GNOME redesign. The old 2D GNOME was OK. It was functional, stable and pretty (for someone who thinks that Windows 3.11 style is a good fit for a work environment). Then the old software was abandoned and the update was pushed onto users. KDE also had a transition disaste…
Has there ever been a good time for Linux on the desktop? I'm using Linux (Kubuntu) daily, and it works most of the time, but I still see some issues from time to time (multi-monitor strangeness, windows suddenly appearing without frames because kwin crashed, desktop wallpapers not being shown or being shown incorrectly etc.).
Yes for someone like yourself who is comfortable with a computer from 2003-2022.
The challenge is that Linux isn't a singular product its a source compatible ecosystem of parts. There has always existed a collection of excellent parts one could use to make an excellent experience. However as a user you probably don't want to build your own distro so you are going to be relying on someone else's collection and projects come and go and differ substantially in quality both between projects and over time.
For instance Ubuntu has basically from my perspective gone to hell.
Re: Ubuntu Unity desktop back from the dead after several years' hiatus
#154For me the killer feature of Unity is the HUD[0] allowing you to simply type to find menu items. Save so much time going through options it is incredible. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_WW-DHqR3c
There was also plotinus (https://github.com/p-e-w/plotinus) for a sort-of-similar thing. I think it still works, but I use too few gui applications to bother.
Re: Ubuntu Unity desktop back from the dead after several years' hiatus
#155"This new release doesn't come from Canonical: it's from Linux wunderkind Rudra Saraswat", a 12 years old Linux enthusiast from Bengaluru, India. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/rs2009 Incredible stuff, love to see it.
[Article author here] He does amazing work. I did a little profile piece on him a few months ago: https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/04/rudra_sarsawat_ubuntu...
This young fellow is why computing should be accessible everywhere. How many more wunderkinds are we missing out on and failing who may be wallowing in poverty or suffering elsewhere in the world?
Re: Ubuntu Unity desktop back from the dead after several years' hiatus
#156I remember what happened I think. There was a thread here on HN a few years back presenting something new Ubuntu Unity related and discussion developed about how Unity was bad. Someone from Ubuntu team saw the thread and said he did not know people hated it so much and they will look into into it/change it back to gnome? Apparently forgotten and I can't find the thread to verify the details!
[Article author here] I am astonished at what a short memory HN has. The Ubuntu project manager did an "ask HN" post on what people wanted to see next. It is here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14002821 The result was fairly overwhelming: stop Unity, Mir, the mobile stuff, etc. So that is what happened. I personally feel it was a huge mistake. :shrug:
I opened that post. The top comment asks for mixed DPI, trackpad gestures, and better power management. I had to scan (and click the next page thing) quite a lot to get to something that looked vaguely critical of Unity (and even then it was "collaborate with Gnome more"). I wish they took the other suggestions as seriously…
Unity was entirely pointless though.
Re: Ubuntu Unity desktop back from the dead after several years' hiatus
#157Good. Unity was the best desktop environment on Linux by a long shot.
Re: Ubuntu Unity desktop back from the dead after several years' hiatus
#158I remember what happened I think. There was a thread here on HN a few years back presenting something new Ubuntu Unity related and discussion developed about how Unity was bad. Someone from Ubuntu team saw the thread and said he did not know people hated it so much and they will look into into it/change it back to gnome? Apparently forgotten and I can't find the thread to verify the details!
I doubt very much that that anecdote is true. I was involved in the development of Unity at Canonical, just as I was involved in the development of the Eee PC at Xandros before that. Unity developers were very well aware that there was a small but extremely vocal minority of users who expressed their strong dislike and contempt for their work. We were also aware of the much larger and quieter plurality of people who…
> Unity developers were very well aware that there was a small but extremely vocal minority of users who expressed their strong dislike and contempt for their work. We were also aware of the much larger and quieter plurality of people who liked and appreciated it, and maybe the majority of people who just turned on their computer and got to work without a second thought about the desktop environment.
How would you tell? If most people don't say anything and most of the ones that do say something have negative feedback, how do you distinguish between most people being okay with it versus most people hating it quietly?
Re: Ubuntu Unity desktop back from the dead after several years' hiatus
#159To provide some historic context: Unity was released in times when there was this "Netbook" trend, started by Asus EeePC with 7" display, followed by a lot of other cheap Netbooks in the 7"-10" display category. Additionally, Canonical pushed to become a mobile/smartphone OS vendor. These constrained display sizes were some of the main factors in the UX design of Unity. Fast forward to today, Netbooks were a short-li…
Should be noted that compared to Unity, GNOME 3 is an even more extreme variant of the phone/netbook UI.
Considering how keyboard-driven Gnome Shell is this is a terrible take...
Re: Ubuntu Unity desktop back from the dead after several years' hiatus
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
[Article author here] He does amazing work. I did a little profile piece on him a few months ago: https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/04/rudra_sarsawat_ubuntu...
i this you linked to the wrong unity8 ... unityx seams to be something different ... https://lomiri.com/ is the renamed unity8 that is used in the ubuntu touch phones now ubports phones
[?]
I did not link to Unity8 at all in my article.
The article is about Rudra Saraswat, so I linked to Rudra's project, UnityX. As far as I know, he isn't working on Ubuntu Touch at all.