Progress On The GNOME 40 Shell Continues At Full Speed

[maxtorete]

Yeah, maybe so, but I am not interested in any virtual desktops, and most computer users seem not to be either. It seems to be some small set of special type of users who like that functionality. So GNOME Shell have lots of uninteresting stuff that does not interest me who just want a desktop like Windows 10.

Windows 10 has virtual desktops. Maybe there are more people interested in them than you think...

[uid313]

Windows 10 has virtual desktops. Maybe there are more people interested in them than you think...

Yeah, it recently got them in an update, its kind of hidden away though, and I don't think many people know about it or care about it. I mean its cool that GNOME got virtual desktops, but the core functionality is too focused on their own ideas like their app drawer which makes GNOME feel like something for a phone or tablet, Microsoft already tried this with Windows 8 and it was so universally hated, they had to backdown and revert back to the start menu with Windows 10.

[JackLilhammers]

Why can't the just clone mission control from mac os? They're literally reimplementing a subpar version of it!
Then again the whole gnome experience is a bad copy of apple design.

The top three things that immediately come to my mind:

• Moving windows between virtual desktops seems harder with this new design
• Who wants to login into applications?! I'm hoping against hope that it can be configured
• Is it possible that gnome still isn't smooth?! I mean even on their video the animations stutter

[cynic]

I mean its cool that GNOME got virtual desktops, but the core functionality is too focused on their own ideas like their app drawer which makes GNOME feel like something for a phone or tablet, Microsoft already tried this with Windows 8 and it was so universally hated, they had to backdown and revert back to the start menu with Windows 10.

ehm... what do you exactly mean with "gnome got virtual desktop"?
gnome had virtual desktop for about 20 years now...

[finalzone]

IMHO, it still won't be up to par with with Plasma, Cinnamon, or Mate in regards to efficient multitasking. For me, any work involving three or more programs feels clunky and slower on GNOME; like jumping between a web browser, a terminal, a text editor, and a file browser which I seem to do a lot. The way I can set that up in Plasma is just more efficient to me and not much on that video showed GNOME getting better in that regard.

I did like that the app drawer made use of the sides of the screen. The last time I used vanilla GNOME the icons were in a square shape with lots of padding on the sides and it really annoyed me. I'm not a fan of full screen app drawers, but that's better than what it was.

If GNOME had a taskbar and a drop-down terminal added to the project I could really make it work. Sorry not sorry, but I'm never going to be able to make those icon dock launchers on the bottom work. I'll compromise on a taskbar with quick-launch icons, but that's as far as I'll go. The things I want to access that fast will be icons on my desktop or taskbar and I'll use the main menu for the rest...oh, wait...

GNOME Classic addresses that need.

[uid313]

ehm... what do you exactly mean with "gnome got virtual desktop"?
gnome had virtual desktop for about 20 years now...

Yeah, I know, it has virtual desktops, and app drawer, and dash, and shell and all kinds of useless things that nobody wants and nobody likes. The only way to get GNOME to be nice is to install ArcMenu and Dash-to-panel and then its actually nice, when it looks, feels and behaves like Windows 10.

[remenic]

Yeah, I know, it has virtual desktops, and app drawer, and dash, and shell and all kinds of useless things that nobody wants and nobody likes. The only way to get GNOME to be nice is to install ArcMenu and Dash-to-panel and then its actually nice, when it looks, feels and behaves like Windows 10.

Stop it I'm pissing myself 😂

[jeffgus]

Yeah, maybe so, but I am not interested in any virtual desktops, and most computer users seem not to be either. It seems to be some small set of special type of users who like that functionality. So GNOME Shell have lots of uninteresting stuff that does not interest me who just want a desktop like Windows 10.

When I first started Linux/Unix back in the mid-90's, the virtual desktop was the most useful feature in the UI. Back then I was running fvwm2 (on Linux or Solaris via a X-Terminal). FVWM was pretty basic, but it had virtual desktop. Since then, using a UI without a virtual desktop makes me feel claustrophobic. I'll always associate Unix/Linux with virtual desktops. It took far too long for Windows to add the feature.

[Mez']

IMHO, it still won't be up to par with with Plasma, Cinnamon, or Mate in regards to efficient multitasking. For me, any work involving three or more programs feels clunky and slower on GNOME; like jumping between a web browser, a terminal, a text editor, and a file browser which I seem to do a lot. The way I can set that up in Plasma is just more efficient to me and not much on that video showed GNOME getting better in that regard.

All these wide diagonal movements from your current position in an app to Activities on the upper left corner to the dock on the far bottom and again when switching between a couple of windows, as seen in the video, are just ridiculous.
Any dock or taskbar does the job way faster and with more restrained movements (hence wrist or finger strain).

[Hibbelharry]

All these wide diagonal movements from your current position in an app to Activities on the upper left corner to the dock on the far bottom and again when switching between a couple of windows, as seen in the video, are just ridiculous.
Any dock or taskbar does the job way faster and with more restrained movements (hence wrist or finger strain).

Normally you don't do that. If you want to see the activities view you just press your super key. You'll get large previews of your apps and click on the right one. You'll get much more context comapred to small buttons in any old school taskbar. If you want to launch an application, you press super and type the first 2-3 letters and press enter. Gnome is very fast on multitasking after getting into its basic principles. When I get back on any desktop Environment with an old style taskbar I always feel those to be clumsy and slow, because those really put me into need to go far distances with my mouse and review the whole list of apps in a crammed taskbar to identify my app and get it into focus...