A discussion about OS Interfaces

[HeXen]

I wanted to talk about interfaces in general, although i know i focus more on metro and gnome 3 in my post.
I'm a linux noob dualbooting. I actually never cared a lot for Windows xp/7 interfaces simply cause their not really all that organized in how it installs applications. Simple enough to toss shortcuts where ever, but unless you manually catogorize them, its really not a very fluid visual experience.

Windows 8 consumer preview is well...you likely know and there are many threads for that. Frankly, i don't care for it. Metro start menu is more like opening a different OS. It completely goes out of theme to the actual desktop.

In Linux, i never cared for Gnome 2 either, KDE was ok cause i liked how the start menu was layed out and organized. Cinnamon however is far better imo, when it comes to the old school menu driven desktop.
Unity is like a re arranged Gnome shell (gnome 3) i found its launch bar similar to just having a dock, other than that, the actual interface and navigation was'nt as fluid. (by fluid i mean a transition that is fast and visually appealing)

I LOVE GNOME SHELL (gnome 3.4)...there i said it. I know many in the linux community don't like it cause for one their stubborn and old and 2, their not used to it, as its more a visual difference than an interactive one.
Its the exact same gripe in regards to Windows 7 vs Windows 8. However, win8 is actually less productive.

So now to focus on Gnome shell vs Metro's replacement of start menu

Metro...no start button or indicator
G3...theres an indicator labled "activities" and is also a button.
Metro...you have to move mouse to corner, hover n wait..then click. Only to have your eyes visually disturbed thanks to lack of flow...its like watching a sexy movie then immediately a fischer price commercial comes on.
G3....you have to move mouse to upper left corner and no click is needed or you can click on "activities". No need to "hover n wait". just move mouse to far corner and bam, there is your alternative start menu. Slap mouse cursor back to that corner and bam, your back to desktop. its quick, its fluid and more intuitive than MS's.
Metro...The background changes completely when open. No theme flow
G3...the background is darkened and doesn't feel like opening a tablet OS
Metro...has quick at a glace...lets call them gadgets that open apps. Desktop apps have an ugly icon within a box. Search is there too, just type, no need to click on search box first.
G3.... Beautiful large icons when clicking Apps. These apps are also gategorized by type via the far right pane. Search is here as well just above and you just type, no need to click in the search box either. You also see all your open applications and it is here you can switch quickly between apps.
Metro. Switching between apps requires you to hover the left pane first displaying a small pic of the open app.
G3....no gadgets that open apps are displayed here

I'll stop there. 1 con for G3 imo.
Overall, Gnome 3.4 is the most intuitive and fluid interface i think i have ever used. Now naturally the same could be said for the menu driven interface, but this one actually interacts the same fashion, its just visually different.
No ugly tree systems, hard to see icons, funky border lines, no links for an apps website and uninstall to accidentally click.

I really like Gnome 3.4. Its beautiful, i can get work done quickly. I am now using Windows 7 purely for Steam to game. I have it set so Steam is all it launches. Using Ubuntu 12.04 with the Gnome 3.4 interface for everything else and am estatic at how i can work flow.

So boot up a livecd (fedora 17 uses gnome 3.4 by default) and give it a chance. use it for a few days and if you like Metro better than i'll give you your money back (well you have to paypal it to me first).

So what's your take on interfaces in general. How could it be made better? What is your all time favorite and why?

 

[lxskllr]

I like the Metro start menu. I DON'T like Metro programs. Mandatory full screen applications are barely suitable for a portable, and not suitable at all for a desktop.

I hate Gnome3. They removed too much functionality, and hacked together fixes aren't a suitable replacement for functionality that should be built in.

I liked Gnome2, and it's still my favorite DE, but Gnome2 is dead. I'm not ready to jump on the Mate bandwagon yet. It's a worthwhile goal, but it needs to be more than a nostalgia show. The Gnome2 applications need to be properly forked, and then have their names changed to reflect that. They can also work on extending the DE, while keeping the aesthetics of Gnome2. That';s a huge task for private development, and I have my doubts about them pulling it off.

I like Xfce. It has most of the functionality I liked about Gnome2, but with a bit less polish. I expect the desktop to remain basically the same as long as it's around, and that's a good thing. Computer interfaces remained the same for decades because it's a great design. The reason they didn't change wasn't due to technical limitations, they didn't change because there was no place for improvement. Polish increased, but the design was perfected.

Honorable mention goes to E17 and OpenBox. E17 is quirky and cheesy, but there's something I like about it. I'm currently in E17 now. It has mucho bugs, and the desktop is disjonted, bt it's kind of fun. OpenBox has just enough polish to not be boring. It's uber lightweight, and easy to use. I'm gonna spend more time with it because I'm contemplating an O/S change for my netbook. The options are leave Ubuntu 10.04 supported or not, Bodhi(E17 distro), Zenix-os(OpenBox distro with Zen theming), or Crunchbang(OpenBox distro with generic theming). The last two are based on Debian. I could just install Debian, but using something ready made takes out some of the initial configuration.

 

[lxskllr]

I just installed OpenBox, and found a blog post on configuring it. This made me LoL...

To make things even easier you can use Obmenu, a graphical application to edit the Openbox menu. Obmenu is in the Hardy and Gutsy-backports repositories. Use the following command to install it:

sudo aptitude install obmenu

Unfortunately, Obmenu is not any other Ubuntu repository. If you are using a version older than Gutsy, you’ll have to build it from the source code. First install its dependencies:

sudo aptitude install python2.5 python-glade2 python-gtk2

Now download the source code from the Obmenu website. Extract the package and move into newly extracted Obmenu directory with the terminal.

tar xzvf ~/obmenu-1.0.tar.gz

cd obmenu-1.0

Install the application with the following command:

sudo python setup.py install

Once it is installed, you can start Obmenu with the command ‘obmenu’. Once it is loaded, you can edit your menu by clicking a few buttons and typing the entries of your choice. It couldn’t be easier!

Oh, I think it could be a little easier :^D

 

[HeXen]

to gnome 3's credit, you can add extensions. one i found is a menu style.

But what functionality did they remove that you cant add in someway? I'm still pretty new to it, but so far i havn't found anything i can't do yet.
Old ones may be considered a great design, but that doesn't mean there are not easier and faster ways to get work done.

looked at some pics of crunchbang with openbox. kinda reminds me of rainmeter with one of Talisman's dark themes on Windows. Just judging by the pics, i'm uncertain as to how i could access and manage apps any faster than Gnome 3 outside of using keyboard shortcuts.

 

[lxskllr]

But what functionality did they remove that you cant add in someway? I'm still pretty new to it, but so far i havn't found anything i can't do yet.

Stuff can be added in, but it has to be via third party. If an extension breaks, you have to fix it yourself, or wait for someone else to fix it for you. It's great to have that kind of flexibility, but the desktop experience shouldn't have to rely on hackery. There's core features that should be provided by the desktop, and Gnome is dropping them. That's extending to Gnome applications also. They're making things work exactly one way, and if someone doesn't like that way, they're SOL.

I'm back in Xfce now, and it's nice to be home. I have my upper panel with a few launchers I use a lot, plus informational widgets, my lower panel is hidden, and has my workspace switcher, plus open application tabs, and my windows are set so they pseudo tile. It's simple, built in, and I think it looks decent, though that's subjective.

 

[HeXen]

They're making things work exactly one way, and if someone doesn't like that way, they're SOL.

sounds just like your talking about Windows 8. lol

 

[lxskllr]

sounds just like your talking about Windows 8. lol

:^D That too. I don't like the removal of options. If they want to do something new, that's great, but it shouldn't be forced, especially if you're making radical changes.

I especially don't like mobile influenced interfaces. One interface can't be perfect for both scenarios. Compromises have to be made. I think Gnome3 and Unity are decent compromises as far as that goes, but compromises none the less. I'd rather see a full desktop system, and a full mobile system, and let people pick which they want; maybe even mix-matching components from each.