Good afternoon, I immediately apologize for poor English, I use a translator.
I have been using Ubuntu since version 12.04, I have a small YouTube channel dedicated to the following topics: linux, ubuntu, linux gaming.
link: https://www.youtube.com/c/UbuntariumbyRedroot/featured
I have been using Ubuntu as my main home system since 2014, so I have something to say
DESIGN:
I Never understood the imposition of a bright Unity theme in Ubuntu, and its interface (yes there is a choice of a dark theme, but this is not enough). Over the years of using Ubuntu, I found my ideal option based on using Ubuntu for: Internet, multimedia, office work, programming, work in audio / video / 3D editors, where there is only one small panel from the top with a dock of selected programs, a desktop switcher and other useful information. In this case, it is very convenient to use many windows of programs, quickly switch between them and desktops.
Perhaps you should do as DE MATE developers and create templates where you can choose options \ schemas for the layout of the desktop interface, for example: as in macOS, windows, gnome2, gnome 40, Unity
Separately please make it possible to select wallpepers for the user’s login screen and the ability to blur it like a user’s lock screen.
SYSTEM:
A lot of people praise btrfs, but I see no reason for you to put this FS as the main one, who knows its tricks, chooses it himself. And newbies are better off with ext4 so far
You are now actively developing a new installer, I recommend that you focus on a set of programs in it or completely give the user the opportunity to choose which programs he needs during installation. As it is done in Ubuntu studio, for example, if a user installs Ubuntu for games, offer him a set of programs: steam, obs studio, Lutris \ PortProton, etc.
ARCH systems are very popular now, I found out on my YouTube streams that it’s all about aur \ pacman. They are very simple to understand and do not force you to learn how to build software from source. I am not a supporter of this approach, but as a result, I had to make my own utility for Ubuntu: bzu-gmb, which is essentially a set of scripts for installing \ assembling useful software for ubuntu in silent installation mode, many users greeted this idea with enthusiasm
The standard set of programs in Ubuntu seems very strange to me …
For example, in Linux Mint, the boot-repair utility is installed by default, which is very convenient when restoring the bootloader in live mode. The inxi utility - which will tell everything about your system in the console. TimeShift is the creation of pickups, a simple and convenient program and, most importantly, reliable.
Yes, you can install all this yourself and it may seem to you that all this is not a significant trifle, but it is in such trifles that Ubuntu loses to other Linux distributions. I highly recommend that you review the set of utilities that are included in the standard Ubuntu package.
I’ll probably stop at this