10 ms·

Ubuntu 16.04 Unity 8 current state [video]

72 points by reddotX 10y ago

Insanity 10y ago
I actually grew used to using Unity after some time, so much so that I now prefer even the windows taskbar to be on the side of the screen and not on the bottom when I am on a windows box. EDIT: Removed part of the text that was actually about ccsm
- spraak 10y ago
  I put the Ubuntu Utopic Unicorn as my desktop* for my Windows machine to help me feel better when I have to use it :P *Edit: I mean as my wallpaper.
  - nhumrich 10y ago
    Wait, you mean to say you run unity as the DE for the windows OS?
    - Insanity 10y ago
      I take it to mean that he uses that as a desktop wallpaper. No?
      - spraak 10y ago
        Yes :D
    - lnx01 10y ago
      No, I think he's literally running Unity on Windows 10. I believe it's possible with WSL layer and Ubuntu for Windows 10. edit: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/07/someone-just-installed-unity-windows http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/07/someone-just-installed-un...
      - spraak 10y ago
        Wow, that's really cool! Though rather un-amazingly I just meant as a wallpaper :/
    - spraak 10y ago
      Sorry, I mean it's my wallpaper :/ [0] http://www.linuxidc.com/upload/2014_10/14102720535951.jpg http://www.linuxidc.com/upload/2014_10/14102720535951.jpg
- mswift42 10y ago
  I like Unity too. It has sane keyboard shortcuts out of the box, and I really love how it's so economical with precious vertical screen estate.
- keithpeter 10y ago
  Yes, I fully agree that use of the sides of the letter-box shaped wide screens was a good move, probably an inheritance of Unity from its Netbook incarnation. However, I found aspects of Unity in previous versions a little 'busy' and reverted to Gnome (I am one of those people who actually like Gnome Shell. Probably the result of 18 months on dwm with meta key bound to Mod4). Busyness: 1) hit Alt-F to bring up (say) the Save As dialog box within an application but hesitate a few milliseconds on the Alt key and you get the HUD. HUD was a genius move for using desktop apps on a tablet or similar but you need to be able to bind it to something like the CapsLock key or something). 2) For quite a few releases, Alt-chord mnemonics were broken, but have now been restored, except you have to release the Alt key after the first note of the chord. For instance to insert a formula in LibreOffice Writer, you type Alt-IOF but in Unity (and Gnome) you have to actually type this: Press-Alt-Type-I-Release-Alt-Type-OF. 3) I recollect (14.04? that moving the mouse pointer anywhere near the top left corner brought up the dash by default but sometimes you wanted a menu item 4) Top bar menus on a large screen with multiple windows and multiple applications - huge trek to top bar with risk of target application losing focus. 5) Maximised window with application, user goes to close application but brings up the shutdown menu by mistake (top right of screen). 6) For ages, the Dash took a long time to arrive compared to Gnome (hit Windows key in a live session of Ubuntu and compare with hitting windows in a live session of Fedora Workstation). PS: Canonical Design used to release details of user testing of Unity. Not so much recently. Anyone know of any user testing results on this?
tga 10y ago
Unity (and many other Linux UI projects really) current state: reinventing the wheel, with chances of hitting a usability sweet spot just before the next rewrite. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guide_to_X11/Window_Managers https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guide_to_X11/Window_Managers
- erelde 10y ago
  That link is about "window managers" which are different from "desktop environments". I agree though that Unity (in particular but not limited to) tries very hard to reinvent the wheel every 2 years.
  - ronnybrendel2 10y ago
    I am a KDE user for 10 years now and I can't emphasize enough how annoyed I am about this. Every major release breaks something. And it takes months and years for seemingly basic things to come back, if they come back at all. For example Shift+Del for files on the desktop https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=344969 https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=344969 . Right now I am especially pissed about the state of multi-monitor support for my Thinkpad + docking station. It is completely broken since KDE 5. I can't undock, dock, suspend + combinations without everything crashing. (That means I can't carry my laptop around the office.) KDE also has troubles arranging the desktops, keeping task bars on the correct monitor, or starting the desktop correctly at all. The middle mouse button of the external keyboard doesn't work after suspend. If I have two external monitors the frame rate drops significantly and I get screen tearing while moving windows around (Not sure whose fault that is. Maybe graphics drivers.) Etc. :( I know, open source, payment, free time. You can't really blame anyone for this. The incentives and accountability, like for commercial products, aren't there. With Microsoft's wish to be more like Google and the new telemetry features, I am either looking for a Mac next time or at least move to Gnome or Unity. What also sucks is that these issues lead to me only using a small subset of programs like console, browser and gimp (no fancy editor, no mail client) to avoid anything important I use breaking.
    - cyberpunk 10y ago
gravypod 10y ago
I think this shows off why linux desktop enviroments aren't up to par with other systems. At one point the recorder clicks what I assume is a button to open an image they download in "Gallery" and nothing happens. Did it open in the background? Is it loading? No idea. Also, another issue is that there are thousands of different ways across all of the apps for how to interact with them. Some have "Quit" options, some have top bars, some have icons everywhere. There isn't cohesion. I wish there was a "Linux-Desktop Standard" like OSX and Windows have but no one would ever agree on anything so it would go nowhere unfortunatly.
- my123 10y ago
  KDE neon is actually usable and a bit more sane than Ubuntu ;)
  - merb 10y ago
    well the last time I tried kde plasma I actually felt a little bit overwhelmed. And I guess the more non technical the person gets who is using it, the more overwhelming it gets. (I think neon somewhat resolves most problems, tough. But I didn't had the time to look at it (yet))
- bwat48 10y ago
  "Also, another issue is that there are thousands of different ways across all of the apps for how to interact with them. Some have "Quit" options, some have top bars, some have icons everywhere. There isn't cohesion." How is that any different from Windows?
  - wears_sweaters1 10y ago
    I cant think of any two Windows programs I use who's basic interaction varies as wildly as Linux program interaction can vary.
    - franciscop 10y ago
      Aren't the ribbon menu in Word, the classic menu and the Chrome/Firefox "menu" button wildly different?
rokosbasilisk 10y ago
Also if your are trying to do vr dev you really should use unity on windows 10. Edit: whoops didnt read closely enough
- xjia 10y ago
  Not the same Unity though.
- kminehart 10y ago
  I believe this is about the Unity Desktop Environment, not the Unity Game Engine.
djfm 10y ago
I try those new shiny DEs from time to time and always come back to xmonad. In particular, I need to be able to have desktop #x on display #y and desktop #z on display #t, i.e. have virtual desktops independent from the multiple displays setup - a feature that other DEs / WMs seem to never provide. This is very practical to, say, keep your emails always visible on one display while switching between other tasks on other displays. Sure, sometimes a release of xmonad will make the chrome dropdown menus stop working [1], or some other weirdness, but all in all, it's quite stable and I can focus on creating a workflow that really suits me and that I never need learn again. [1] https://github.com/xmonad/xmonad/issues/42 https://github.com/xmonad/xmonad/issues/42
ckdarby 10y ago
I'll just be over here on i3wm not using a mouse...

72 points by reddotX 10y ago

I actually grew used to using Unity after some time, so much so that I now prefer even the windows taskbar to be on the side of the screen and not on the bottom when I am on a windows box. EDIT: Removed part of the text that was actually about ccsm

spraak 10y ago
I put the Ubuntu Utopic Unicorn as my desktop* for my Windows machine to help me feel better when I have to use it :P *Edit: I mean as my wallpaper.
- nhumrich 10y ago
  Wait, you mean to say you run unity as the DE for the windows OS?
  - Insanity 10y ago
    I take it to mean that he uses that as a desktop wallpaper. No?
    - spraak 10y ago
      Yes :D
  - lnx01 10y ago
    No, I think he's literally running Unity on Windows 10. I believe it's possible with WSL layer and Ubuntu for Windows 10. edit: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/07/someone-just-installed-unity-windows http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/07/someone-just-installed-un...
    - spraak 10y ago
      Wow, that's really cool! Though rather un-amazingly I just meant as a wallpaper :/
  - spraak 10y ago
    Sorry, I mean it's my wallpaper :/ [0] http://www.linuxidc.com/upload/2014_10/14102720535951.jpg http://www.linuxidc.com/upload/2014_10/14102720535951.jpg
mswift42 10y ago
I like Unity too. It has sane keyboard shortcuts out of the box, and I really love how it's so economical with precious vertical screen estate.
keithpeter 10y ago
Yes, I fully agree that use of the sides of the letter-box shaped wide screens was a good move, probably an inheritance of Unity from its Netbook incarnation. However, I found aspects of Unity in previous versions a little 'busy' and reverted to Gnome (I am one of those people who actually like Gnome Shell. Probably the result of 18 months on dwm with meta key bound to Mod4). Busyness: 1) hit Alt-F to bring up (say) the Save As dialog box within an application but hesitate a few milliseconds on the Alt key and you get the HUD. HUD was a genius move for using desktop apps on a tablet or similar but you need to be able to bind it to something like the CapsLock key or something). 2) For quite a few releases, Alt-chord mnemonics were broken, but have now been restored, except you have to release the Alt key after the first note of the chord. For instance to insert a formula in LibreOffice Writer, you type Alt-IOF but in Unity (and Gnome) you have to actually type this: Press-Alt-Type-I-Release-Alt-Type-OF. 3) I recollect (14.04? that moving the mouse pointer anywhere near the top left corner brought up the dash by default but sometimes you wanted a menu item 4) Top bar menus on a large screen with multiple windows and multiple applications - huge trek to top bar with risk of target application losing focus. 5) Maximised window with application, user goes to close application but brings up the shutdown menu by mistake (top right of screen). 6) For ages, the Dash took a long time to arrive compared to Gnome (hit Windows key in a live session of Ubuntu and compare with hitting windows in a live session of Fedora Workstation). PS: Canonical Design used to release details of user testing of Unity. Not so much recently. Anyone know of any user testing results on this?

tga 10y ago

Unity (and many other Linux UI projects really) current state: reinventing the wheel, with chances of hitting a usability sweet spot just before the next rewrite. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guide_to_X11/Window_Managers https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guide_to_X11/Window_Managers

erelde 10y ago
That link is about "window managers" which are different from "desktop environments". I agree though that Unity (in particular but not limited to) tries very hard to reinvent the wheel every 2 years.
- ronnybrendel2 10y ago
  I am a KDE user for 10 years now and I can't emphasize enough how annoyed I am about this. Every major release breaks something. And it takes months and years for seemingly basic things to come back, if they come back at all. For example Shift+Del for files on the desktop https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=344969 https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=344969 . Right now I am especially pissed about the state of multi-monitor support for my Thinkpad + docking station. It is completely broken since KDE 5. I can't undock, dock, suspend + combinations without everything crashing. (That means I can't carry my laptop around the office.) KDE also has troubles arranging the desktops, keeping task bars on the correct monitor, or starting the desktop correctly at all. The middle mouse button of the external keyboard doesn't work after suspend. If I have two external monitors the frame rate drops significantly and I get screen tearing while moving windows around (Not sure whose fault that is. Maybe graphics drivers.) Etc. :( I know, open source, payment, free time. You can't really blame anyone for this. The incentives and accountability, like for commercial products, aren't there. With Microsoft's wish to be more like Google and the new telemetry features, I am either looking for a Mac next time or at least move to Gnome or Unity. What also sucks is that these issues lead to me only using a small subset of programs like console, browser and gimp (no fancy editor, no mail client) to avoid anything important I use breaking.
  - cyberpunk 10y ago

gravypod 10y ago

I think this shows off why linux desktop enviroments aren't up to par with other systems. At one point the recorder clicks what I assume is a button to open an image they download in "Gallery" and nothing happens. Did it open in the background? Is it loading? No idea. Also, another issue is that there are thousands of different ways across all of the apps for how to interact with them. Some have "Quit" options, some have top bars, some have icons everywhere. There isn't cohesion. I wish there was a "Linux-Desktop Standard" like OSX and Windows have but no one would ever agree on anything so it would go nowhere unfortunatly.

my123 10y ago
KDE neon is actually usable and a bit more sane than Ubuntu ;)
- merb 10y ago
  well the last time I tried kde plasma I actually felt a little bit overwhelmed. And I guess the more non technical the person gets who is using it, the more overwhelming it gets. (I think neon somewhat resolves most problems, tough. But I didn't had the time to look at it (yet))
bwat48 10y ago
"Also, another issue is that there are thousands of different ways across all of the apps for how to interact with them. Some have "Quit" options, some have top bars, some have icons everywhere. There isn't cohesion." How is that any different from Windows?
- wears_sweaters1 10y ago
  I cant think of any two Windows programs I use who's basic interaction varies as wildly as Linux program interaction can vary.
  - franciscop 10y ago
    Aren't the ribbon menu in Word, the classic menu and the Chrome/Firefox "menu" button wildly different?

rokosbasilisk 10y ago

Also if your are trying to do vr dev you really should use unity on windows 10. Edit: whoops didnt read closely enough

xjia 10y ago
Not the same Unity though.
kminehart 10y ago
I believe this is about the Unity Desktop Environment, not the Unity Game Engine.

djfm 10y ago

I try those new shiny DEs from time to time and always come back to xmonad. In particular, I need to be able to have desktop #x on display #y and desktop #z on display #t, i.e. have virtual desktops independent from the multiple displays setup - a feature that other DEs / WMs seem to never provide. This is very practical to, say, keep your emails always visible on one display while switching between other tasks on other displays. Sure, sometimes a release of xmonad will make the chrome dropdown menus stop working [1], or some other weirdness, but all in all, it's quite stable and I can focus on creating a workflow that really suits me and that I never need learn again. [1] https://github.com/xmonad/xmonad/issues/42 https://github.com/xmonad/xmonad/issues/42

ckdarby 10y ago

I'll just be over here on i3wm not using a mouse...