Global menu: It has the same drawbacks as the apple implementation. It is not always clear which application occupies the global menu. Therefore, the global menu should start with the icon of the active application. Quit and minimize should pop up when you press the icon. Pressing the icon has already been learned when using the ubuntu dock. Next to the icon the application menu should appear. Hiding the menus under a name just adds to the initial confusion. A non-maximized application should never occupy the global menu. That’s non-intuitive and has no advantages. The only reason for the global menu is a better use of screen space when the application is maximized. Otherwise it is a prime source of confusion, which should be minimized.

Ubuntu dock:

1. The dock should appear when you hover over the ubuntu icon. This is a good solution because no conflicts with controls of particular applications may occur. This would be a real advantage over standard docks.

2. The standard configuration shouldn’t have plural workspaces and the workspace switcher. Plural workspaces are a geek feature. My dad never got the hang of it, therefore I got rid of them on his computer. Geeks should have an easy way of customizing the behaviour of the ubuntu dock.

3. The dock should not hide intelligently but stay on top all of the time in the standard configuration. This is just confusing for first time users or casual users. I like it, but I know it’s a source of confusion for lots of noobs. The geeks can easily configure the dock according to their needs.

This is my last point: Both the ubuntu dock and the top panel should be easily customizable for non-pro but advanced users. I don’t like the detour to the compiz settings manager. I like docky and the old gnome 2.x panel a lot in this respect.

A few words of praise: The search for applications and files has been implemented very well. It makes a lot of sense to use the whole screen space in order to display the most frequently and installed applications. It also looks really good. I like the way the keyboard short cuts are displayed in the ubuntu dock. The keyboard controls are very well thought out. Kudos to ubuntu!

1. I find looking for applications and files easier using the gnome 2.x drop down menus. This is faster – for me – if I am looking for an application.

2. Several applications like gnome do, docky don’t work with unity. These two applications can actually be replaced. But I use a clipboard manager and the force-quit application in the old gnome 2.x panel. The unity panel doesn’t feature these applications and doesn’t appear to be customizable. I couldn’t find replacements for these applications. Force-quitting an application is something I need to do occasionally. I frequently Copy texts between different applications, which is not possible by default using unity. I couldn’t find a replacement for my clip-board manager parcellite. That was the tipping point for me against unity.

Switching between applications with the Ubuntu-Dock is a nuisance. The dock disappears and does not reappear when you hover with the mouse in the area of the dock. You have to click the ubuntu-icon twice. I found out by coincidence that it appears when using the window (urg) key. But most people want to use their mouse and there is no convenient way for a mouse user.

Adding new apps to the dock doesn’t work as expected by dragging and dropping. Unfortunately, neither gnome-do nor kupfer work with unity. But this may have been done on purpose. It took a while to find out and this time was wasted and frustrating.

The application menu looks slick but coming from gnome I find it difficult to find the apps. I am used to using gnome-do for a quick search. After some frustrations I figured out that urg-a (application search) and urg (file search) does the job.

There are quite a lot of things we users have to adapt to and learn. I don’t have a final opinion yet, but the process of adapting can be frustrating. A quick and easy tutorial for noobs would be much appreciated.

I don’t think I would be using Linux if it weren’t for Ubuntu and, of course, Canonical. But then I don’t think Linux would be at all what it is today without Ubuntu. Back in the day, I tried lots of different distros, none really worked for me out of the box until Ubuntu came along. I’m obviously not alone. Having made the switch from Windows for good sometime around Dapper, I can’t bear to use even Windows 7 anymore. Not a single Ubuntu release (not even Edgy) made me regret the move. Your team made my life better; or at least, allowed Linux to make my life better. Isn’t that what’s important? You all deserve pats on the back for what you’ve done to make Linux truly useable in a way that gnome alone never could have. Now you go the next step towards making people’s lives easier and all us nerds can do is complain? I can’t see room for anything but applause – I guess some people just like to complain.