Maybe, it's time to drop the "Unity look" from default Ubuntu?

[TonyS]

You are officially becoming exhausting. Your criticism travels from attacking UD to lack of drag and drop (which is, as you must know, a temporary setback in the extension), and then to Ubuntu as a brand.

As other people have tried to explain to you: a lot of people were happily surprised with Ubuntu’s take on GNOME, and have since grown into enjoying every bit of post-Unity Ubuntu. The developers community had some tough decisions to make in a very short period (as lined out in Didier’s blog), but looking at the users, surely they must have done something right?

Someone else has correctly stated that what makes a distribution unique is not only skin-deep. As you know, Ubuntu started off as a GNOME 2 environment with different colours. What then, has made Ubuntu so popular? … The half-yearly upgrades, the open approach to distributing licenced software (we owe Steam, Spotify, Slack to it), the thriving community, the security updates and support on client and server side.

From what I read in your post, you are alternately advocating for D2P, then Cinnamon, then Fedora. Why not just … use that then instead?

[chanath]

This conversation doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere useful. Please, @chanath can I recommend you take a step back and re-consider your approach. This near-constant negativity is incredibly draining…

It is quite naturally going nowhere.
It was just a question, which pulled in the negativity of others, not mine. I am never negative. I try everything, even have the default Ubuntu.

I like to use the monitor’s screen, known as the desktop, for work for nearly 2 decades, and wouldn’t want to change now. The things is, in another distro with the gnome 3.34, I can have the drag and drop to and fro, using the same Gnome Shell, but in Ubuntu I can’t. Seemingly a simple matter, but not for my colleagues in the office, and in the other floors. So, would be pretty hard to ask them to join Ubuntu proper.

Anyway, as this thread brings in negativity, best to close it.

[richardv22]

I understand you feel strongly about your habits and I am pretty sure your opinions on how desktop environment should look like and behave are very valid.

I just think you are little bit projecting your opinions onto others. Various problems will be fixed in the future, as you were already told and other aspects of the desktop environment will be improved upon. Ubuntu is in constant development. I am just not sure if question “Maybe it is time to drop the Unity look from default Ubuntu” was poised right.

My dad only in last 2 years used Ubuntu, Fedora and Kubuntu. He was fine with every single one. People who are willing to move away from Windows often don’t expect to have the same experience with completely different system. Just look at more and more popular Chromebooks.

Anyway, I am pretty sure there will be more space to talk about different aspects of desktop when the time is right. I just don’t think the time is now.

[mohan-ram]

The things is, in another distro with the gnome 3.34, I can have the drag and drop to and fro, using the same Gnome Shell, but in Ubuntu I can’t. Seemingly a simple matter, but not for my colleagues in the office, and in the other floors. So, would be pretty hard to ask them to join Ubuntu proper.

Which distro is that? From what I has seen and used no other distro that has GNOME as their default desktop environment do even show icons the desktop.

[chanath]

I am just not sure if question “Maybe it is time to drop the Unity look from default Ubuntu” was poised right.

When that look can be had in all other distros, and also with more options, the look has not much of a value, as it is not unique.

Which distro is that? From what I has seen and used no other distro that has GNOME as their default desktop environment do even show icons the desktop.

Just pick a random one; Arch, Gentoo, Fedora, OpenSuse and so on. Arch and Gentoo doesn’t have any default DE. Here’s the link to get Desktop Icons.

[mohan-ram]

Just pick a random one; Arch, Gentoo, Fedora, OpenSuse and so on. Arch and Gentoo doesn’t have any default DE. Here’s the link to get Desktop Icons.

So done via an extension, not built into GNOME default.

[chanath]

So done via an extension, not built into GNOME default.

How do you think the Desktop icons happened in Ubuntu? Not by an extension? Have a look in /usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions.

[mohan-ram]

Oh I know how it is there. I know it is by an extension. When you have to install an extension, especially one not done by distro vendor, then it is a moot point as average users are not going know about it.

[chanath]

as average users are not going know about it

Most would wish it, but users are not frogs in the well.

[memeplex]

It’s fine that you let us know of a more powerful extension but take into account that according to its README:

it is still an alpha development, so it probably still have a lot of bugs. Use with care.

It’s clearly not in good shape to ship it as Ubuntu default desktop icons implementation. Maybe Ubuntu developers could fork it and improve the situation, I don’t know. In any case, the matter isn’t as simple as you make it seem, like if Ubuntu developers are ignoring your great suggestion just out of obstinacy.

[chanath]

it is still an alpha development, so it probably still have a lot of bugs. Use with care.

This can be said about anything, any distro. The day the “stable” is released, next pre alpha comes in. Ubuntu 19.10 hasn’t been yet released. The distros are in a perpetual alpha state.

One of the bugs I found in the Ubuntu system extension Desktop Icons is that files can’t be dragged to and fro from the screen (desktop), so I installed the alpha extension, and my Ubuntu eoan, the default one, user friendly.

Btw, it is nice not to be the average user, you know.

[memeplex]

it is still an alpha development, so it probably still have a lot of bugs. Use with care.

This can be said about anything, any distro.

Hey, it’s impossible to achieve any communication at this level of vagueness.

One of the bugs I found in the Ubuntu system extension Desktop Icons is that files can’t be dragged to and fro from the screen

This is not a bug, it’s a missing feature. By the same token one could say that the inability to read your mind is a bug of the desktop icons extension.

[chanath]

Hey, it’s impossible to achieve any communication at this level of vagueness.

Do a little bit of research. You can read Spanish. Find his blog and read the reasoning behind it.

[itzswirlz]

Literally nobody heard what I said.

Just like MATE Tweak, we should have multiple layouts that can be chosen manually, but Unity look should remain the default one.

EDIT: Sorry, I actually didn’t say that, it was that we should change it, but yes, above mentioned is a solution.

[frederik-f]

You can’t just install one version of this and then one version of that.
They need to match, you know.

Can’t you just stop this and these pointless, endless threads where basically only you talk about your current weird Frankenstein setup? It just looks like you want to talk a lot but without actually communicating.

[chanath]

Can’t you just stop this and these pointless, endless threads where basically only you talk about your current weird Frankenstein setup?

I also once wrote about some weird Franken icons…And, Gnome-look has a whole lot of these…

You can’t just install one version of this and then one version of that.

You can!
All you have to do is come out of the box.
And, disable one, and enable the other, or…replace the system extension with the other.
Btw, does the person, who originally created the extension still maintain it? Or had dropped it, and someone else had taken over to continue?

The thing is, it is all about extensions, just to make Gnome shell more useful. You can either put it in your .local, or make it a “system” extension.

And, depending on the extension(s) it becomes a Franken_distro. In the nice old days, we all had Franken-distros. If one wants to use a vendor-locked system, best use MacOs or Windows.

Ah, I didn’t say a word since 2 days…until someone couldn’t stand it!

[itzswirlz]

I say we just keep the icons for all icons used and gtk themes or any themes used in Ubuntu history. I don’t think we need any more.

[diogoconstantino]

I like the Unity look, and don’t want it to go away (it’s bad enough that Unity went away). I don’t feel any need for the features you mentioned.

[chanath]

It is all about extensions. Pick any distro, add Gnome shell, add 3 freely available extensions, and you got the Unity look, if that’s what you want. The screeny here is on Arch Linux fully rolling, and with the Unity look.

If you want exactly the same UD, you can get it from here, that is, if you want an extension with less options. Well, extensions are all about options, more the better. Otherwise, what’s the use of extensions?

Nothing unique!

[diogoconstantino]

I don’t think extensions make much sense for a DE.