I’m not really sure if this is the right place in Ubuntu Discourse to post this but I have many comments and/or suggestions about the interface design of the Ubuntu operating system.
First I have to say that Ubuntu interface design is great. I think it’s intuitive, very customizable and easy to use. For new users it’s just a matter of time to get used to the ecosystem and the little differences between Ubuntu, Mac and Windows.
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Well, the first thing I noticed is that when an app is finished loading it doesn’t alert the user that everything is done and the app is ready to use. I might be a little mistaken but I remember that Unity used to do this when an app finished loading. This issue is more evident when the user has the “hide the dock” function activated on the settings panel. It also happens when the user asks the browser to show the file on folder. I guess the icon “shaking” function in Unity dock was very useful so the user knows that the system has done what they asked for.
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What if we had the “install” option on the context menu that pops up when you click in multiple font files. It would be a very useful option and would save time installing fonts. Does it make sense?
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I noticed that some apps in Ubuntu use some different names (e.g. Nautilus is called “Files”, Gedit is called “Text editor”, Evince is called “Documents Viewer”). Is there any particular reason why this does not apply to every app? So why not do the same with the webcam app called Cheese or the remote desktop app Remmina? I think this would be great for new users to know what some apps are made for.
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The built-in emoji popup only works with some apps like Gedit. I guess this is a more useful tool if it worked when we click the right button inside browsers or desktop apps like Telegram and Discord. I know these apps have their own “dialogue popup system” but maybe the emoji popup could be easily accessed by a shortcut no matter what app is running.
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I noticed that is a bit hard installing extensions in Gnome. Especially for people who are not familiar to terminal commands and Linux. It was needed for me to install the Gnome Extensions app and even with it installed I had to manually look for the Gnome extensions folder (which is hidden) in order to install it and get it to work. Would be great if this extensions manager was already inside the Settings App.
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I was thinking, when we take a screenshot we could keep it in the clipboard area. Why does the screenshot goes to the “Images” folder instead of going to the clipboard area? If the screenshot goes to the clipboard area it gets easier to paste it on Gimp, Inkscape, etc.
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How difficult would it be to include a sound equalizer in the sound settings on Settings App. This would be a great solving for the low volume problem I have noticed that many users have. I guess this is a driver issue too but unfortunately we have a lack of some Linux drivers.
Well, I think that those are the main comments I have to do and I believe that Ubuntu is already amazing. User experience is something we can always leverage though, right? Especially for users new to the Linux environment. I’ve been using Ubuntu for a long time, but because of the kind of software I have to work with I need to use MacOS more often. As a graphic designer I am trying to work with open source software in parallel. And I hope that maybe one day I can fully transition to Ubuntu to work with graphic design tools. Today we have great Linux compatible software like Figma, Gravit and the good old Gimp and Inkscape apps. I really hope for the day that I can dump Adobe apps.