But you can't really compare the windows UI with gnome-shell, because they don't have the same workflow. For example, a "show desktop" action in gnome-shell is

But you can't really compare the windows UI with gnome-shell, because they don't have the same workflow. For example, a "show desktop" action in gnome-shell is useless, because there is no good reason to interact with the desktop (it doesn't show icons by default). Now, tell me, under Windows, how many times a day do you use a window's context menu, against, for example, the Start Menu? How many times do you expect a regular user to click on them? Furthermore, how many times can you activate a context menu from that position? Do you always use your windows maximized? You shouldn't optimize the corners of your screen for a windows button (because there might not be a window there). INSERT: the corners in gnome-shell always work the same way, independently of any window state. Having something in every corner of the screen doesn't mean that it is universally useful.