The Grumpy Editor's GNOME 3 experience [LWN.net]

The Grumpy Editor's GNOME 3 experience

Posted Mar 16, 2011 20:45 UTC (Wed) by jku (subscriber, #42379)
In reply to: The Grumpy Editor's GNOME 3 experience by johannbg
Parent article: The Grumpy Editor's GNOME 3 experience

It helps the discussion if everyone avoids generalizations... You claim GNOME is ignoring its current user base and is on the path to failure.

I'm a power user by most meanings of the word, a software developer and a long time linux/unix user. First of all, I love the fact that different paths are being explored -- this is why it makes sense to have several desktop environments. Second, I really like the direction GNOME is now going. I think the panel implementation especially is a step in the direction of "Just Works" and the activity mode has potential. I'm also very happy that when it improves the overall experience, someone is ready to go through the painful battle that removing and rearranging configuration options always is.

I hope we can agree that GNOME 3 is not "targeted only at novice end users" and that not all experienced users want problems solved by "exposing various configuration options in various applications".

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The Grumpy Editor's GNOME 3 experience

Posted Mar 16, 2011 23:07 UTC (Wed) by johannbg (guest, #65743) [Link]

"It helps the discussion if everyone avoids generalizations... You claim GNOME is ignoring its current user base and is on the path to failure."

Yes I feel that Gnome is moving further towards what it has been criticised most in the past and by doing so it is on the path to failure.

It can achieve both by exposing various option and knobs in accounts with type set as "Administrators" while keeping it's "simplicity" by completely hide all the that stuff along with for example workspaces and various other things in accounts with type set as "Supervised".

"I think the panel implementation especially is a step in the direction of "Just Works" and the activity mode has potential."

How do you feel like it's an closer step into "Just Works" as to previous experience?

From my perspective from the moment you log in you have a less usable and productive environment for example as it's currently implemented the activity mode is adding another step to the previous users experience from the moment you log in.

The first thing you have to do after you log in is to move the mouse point and click "Activities" for you to be able to start doing any kind of work and that's a step backwards in usability and productivity compared to Gnome 2 where you logged in and you could click an icon in the panel or on the desktop of course that can be solved by by putting the user in "Activities" immediately when he logs in.

"I'm also very happy that when it improves the overall experience, someone is ready to go through the painful battle that removing and rearranging configuration options always is."

Well yes "when" this is what the novice end users complained to me one of the most about with regards to Gnome 2 as in the continues change in the Menus.

From a developers perspective it was cleaning/tidying up the menus which had the side effect that it caused the novice end user to "learn" again and again where things are which they did not like so much..

"I hope we can agree that GNOME 3 is not "targeted only at novice end users" and that not all experienced users want problems solved by "exposing various configuration options in various applications"."

Every indication in the design points otherwise...