[ale] I really incredibly exponentially hate ubuntu unity

Wed May 16 07:38:24 EDT 2012

On 05/16/2012 01:02 AM, arxaaron wrote:
> +1 for Mint.  Been the distro of choice for my last few installs
> for novices.
>
> Or, putting new words to the old bluegrass tune:
>
> "May the GUuuuuIiiii ...  be unbroken.... buy no hype, load, buy no
> hype.
> Let my desktop, stay uncluttered, buy no hype, load, buy no hype."

+1

Aaron, I think you should finish writing your tune and perform it at an 
ALE get together. ;)

>
> peace
> aaron
>
>
>
>
> On 2012/05/15, at 13:18 , Jay Lozier wrote:
>
>> On 05/15/2012 12:46 PM, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> Warning - ranting follows. Apologies in advance to anyone who likes
>>> Ubuntu Unity. I've been using a Ubuntu 11.10 live cd to do some
>>> disk maintenance. I have to vent, here, or I'm going to have to
>>> break some fragile objects in the house. By the way, I know I've
>>> said some of this before. After all the careful consideration and
>>> observation and pondering I can stand, I have concluded that:
>>>
>>> <RANT ON>
>>>
>>> I hate unity.
>>> No, I HATE unity.
>>> No, I REALLY hate unity.
>>> No, I really INCREDIBLY hate unity.
>>> No, I really incredibly EXPONENTIALLY hate unity.
>>>
>>> For my purposes and style of computer use and preferences, it is
>>> probably the worst UI I've ever seen in my life. Here are just a
>>> few of the reasons I hate it.
>>>
>>> 01) They combine a menu button bar with a taskbar. If I want to
>>> start something, I want a menu. If I want to know what's running
>>> and switch to it, I need a taskbar. I don't need some mongrel
>>> hybrid of the two.
>>> 02) There is no obvious way to change any button bar settings.
>>> 03) There are no text names for the apps on the button bar, unless
>>> you hover your mouse on them. (Couldn't do that if it was a tablet.)
>>> 04) Apps are much harder to find and browse through. I'm aware of
>>> the search function. Windows has it too. I don't like it, and
>>> rarely use it.
>>> 05) The menu for the WINDOW I'm in is sitting in the bar at the top
>>> of the SCREEN.
>>> 06) If I have multiple windows open, there is no easy way to tell
>>> which menu I'm reading.
>>> 07) The window menu HIDES as soon as you roll your mouse away. The
>>> very first or second thing I do when I install an OS, even Windows,
>>> is disable every stinking function that auto hides things.
>>> 08) The scroll control is normally invisible.
>>> 09) The scroll control moves around and is never in the same place,
>>> like the old arrows at the top and bottom of a scrollbar. So, every
>>> time I want to scroll, I have to go looking for the current
>>> location of the control.
>>> 10) The scroll control hides itself, EVEN IF YOUR MOUSE IS ON IT.
>>> So, say you're reading a long document. You want to read some,
>>> click the scroll down arrow, read some more, click again, etc. YOU
>>> CANNOT DO THIS WITHOUT MOVING YOUR MOUSE OFF THE SCROLL CONTROL AND
>>> BACK ON TO MAKE IT REAPPEAR. Just writing this virtually has steam
>>> coming out of my ears.
>>> 11) If I want to see all my apps or find an app that I don't know
>>> the name of, I have to click the menu button, then more apps, then
>>> see 87 more results. For all that pain, I get this giant list of
>>> icons that are not categorized at all, all occupying lots of screen
>>> real estate, AND AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, THERE IS NO ACCESSIBLE
>>> SCROLL CONTROL. I can only scroll with the thumbwheel or the edge
>>> of the touchpad. A heirarchical text based menu is TEN THOUSAND
>>> times better. An OPTION to display icons might be handy, ON OCCASION.
>>> 12) The running things on the combined menu bar and taskbar are not
>>> grouped together. So, if I've selected several things from the
>>> button bar to run, and I want to know what's running, I have to
>>> scroll up and down the bar and look for the stupid little carret
>>> indicators.
>>> 13) There is apparently no way to move the button bar or resize it.
>>> 14) There is no obvious way to change any settings for the button
>>> bar.
>>> 15) The buttons on the button bar are too large, and it takes up
>>> too much vertical space for the number of apps it displays.
>>> 16) While I do normally keep my taksbar vertical, most people are
>>> used to horizontal bars, and may actually like them that way, but
>>> this gives you no choice, apparently.
>>> 17) The close, minimize, maximize buttons are on the wrong side of
>>> the window.
>>> 18) Most of the appearance and font options I'm used to seem to be
>>> gone, or exceptionally well hidden.
>>> 19) The button bar "squishes" when there are too many icons, until
>>> you roll over it (which you couldn't do on a tablet by the way),
>>> then it unsquishes, generally hiding the icons at the bottom.
>>> 20) There are no "panels" apparently, that I can position around
>>> the screen and put little objects on like the CPU usage indicator,
>>> etc.
>>> 21) This is a TABLET interface and I'm using it on a LAPTOP OR
>>> DESKTOP. Those interfaces and environments should NEVER be mixed,
>>> in my opinion.
>>>
>>> </RANT OFF>
>>>
>>> Pant, Pant. OK, breathe, count to 10, think about a peaceful scene.
>>>
>>> Well, amazingly, that's all I could think of after testing the
>>> product for a full 30 minutes. Perhaps I WON'T continue later.
>>>
>>> Suffice it to say, that if I have to run THIS, then I won't be
>>> running Linux. I've heard bad things about Window 8 too, but
>>> haven't investigated it. Now, I know you are going to tell me that
>>> there are alternatives. So, hypothetically speaking, if I were to
>>> upgrade from Ubuntu 11.04 to Ubuntu 12.04, can I still run GNOME 2
>>> on it? If not, what would be the closest thing to that user
>>> experience that I'm used to and THAT I LIKE?
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance. Any help and advice is appreciated.
>> Cinnamon from Linux Mint should work. Cinnamon is Gnome 3 that acts
>> more like Gnome 2
>> Cinnamon install via PPA (http://askubuntu.com/questions/94201/how-do-i-install-the-cinnamon-desktop
>> )
>>      sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gwendal-lebihan-dev/cinnamon-stable
>>      sudo apt-get update
>>      sudo apt-get install cinnamon
>>
>> KDE and Gnome 3 should work and both are available via Synaptic in
>> 12.04 repository.
>>
>> Installing Mate apparently updates to Mint. Mate is a fork of Gnome
>> 2 included in Mint.
>>
>> Unless you need "vanilla" Ubuntu; Mint should be releasing a new
>> version sometime in June. Mint normally releases a new version about
>> 1 month after the Ubuntu release.
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>> Ron
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and
>>> K-9 Mail.
>>> Please excuse my potential brevity.
>>>
>>> (To whom it may concern. My email address has changed. Replying to
>>> former
>>> messages prior to 03/31/12 with my personal address will go to the
>>> wrong
>>> address. Please send all personal correspondence to the new address.)
>>>
>>> (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might
>>> want to
>>> call on the phone. I get about 300 emails per day from alternate
>>> energy
>>> mailing lists and such. I don't always see new email messages very
>>> quickly.)
>>>
>>> Ron Frazier
>>> 770-205-9422 (O) Leave a message.
>>> linuxdude AT techstarship.com
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> Ale at ale.org
>>> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
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>>> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo
>>
>>
>> --
>> Jay Lozier
>> jslozier at gmail.com
>> _______________________________________________
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>> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
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>> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo
>
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-- 
Until later, Geoffrey

"I predict future happiness for America if they can prevent
the government from wasting the labors of the people under
the pretense of taking care of them."
- Thomas Jefferson