4 ms·

What GNOME extensions do you need to provide 'the bare minimum'? I use none and it's fine for me.

by petepete 4y ago

cerved 4y ago
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- 3836293648 4y ago
  Autohide? The dock only available in the overview by default. Ubuntu is far from vanilla gnome
lionkor 4y ago
For my wife, coming from Windows, it was quite a few things. With KDE, there were only small changes in the settings ui (like alt+shift to switch language, which gnome doesnt allow, needs a plugin)
- ho_schi 4y ago
  Use ReactOS or buy a license from Microsoft for Windows and accept it drawbacks. Or provide a well introduction into Linux and KDE and allow the user to excel :) GNOME is not an alternative to Windows. Linux is an operating-system for its own, building upon UNIX and Plan9. Especially Systemd is giving Linux a very own foundation. That said, we don't apply Emacs shortcuts on VIM because it degrades the provided features and make usage even harder. Humans are pretty good in adapting - one of our best features. An analogy - don't try to ride bicycle like a car. It won't work. PS: Best results with GNOME are with novice users. GNOME tends to be very keyboard centric and allows focus on your applications. These novice users don't try to apply usage patterns learned on Windows.
  - bacchusracine 4y ago
    >Best results with GNOME are with novice users. GNOME tends to be very keyboard centric and allows focus on your applications. These novice users don't try to apply usage patterns learned on Windows. Just out of curiosity, how many of these novices do you expect there to be? Also if you only target this group of people who have never used Windows, how do you expect to serve the massive number of people who started with Windows and made their way to Linux? Or do we not matter compared to that other group?
    - prmoustache 4y ago
      Not the parent poster but I would say kids. Most kids start their computing experience with tablets and mobile phones. Gnome has a very similar desktop metaphor being made to work as well on regular computers and tablets. My 9 and 12y/old daughters have never used windows and they are autonomous on the Fedora + Gnome laptop I lend them when needed for their homework or to watch streaming services.
      - ho_schi 4y ago
        Yes. A lot of people don't work much with computers. It is just our bubble which assumes that. In my case it aren't kids but older persons which succeed well with GNOME (Fedora). I don't have to care a lot and their able to install major upgrades with one prompt. And I'm happy with GNOME as power-user because of the keyboard centric usage. PS: Most computer courses fail to teach usage of computers. We need to read the computers output, understand it and then input. And for interaction a very "high-level" of the concept how a program works is needed. Instead most computer courses merely teach "and now we click on the blue icon" which leave helpless users. Interestingly TUIs seem to a magnitude better then GUIs, only text and focus on the task. A lean GUI helps somewhat. And websites? Horrible. HN is a seldom exception, just text from left-to-right, top-to-bottom.
  - lionkor 4y ago
    We can't both say "linux has so much customization" and at the same time "you have to disregard everything you know".
ogogmad 4y ago
"Bare minimum" is certainly an exaggeration, so I apologise. Gnome is indeed perfectly usable out of the box. And KDE is not "far more usable", it's just more convenient in lots of small ways. I haven't used it for a while, but I found that for certain audio controls, or to allow certain window layouts, I've needed to install extensions. I also found the information it provides about wifi to be less than adequate, and I'd imagine that you'd need to install extensions to fix that. KDE provides a running graph of traffic to/from a Wifi endpoint, and other information that you might not have considered.
- prmoustache 4y ago
  I do most of my audio controls with pavucontrol (which is not a gnome extension) regardless of the DE and I don't think that running graphs to/from a wifi endpoint is something many people do on a regular basis. And if I want graph for any kind of metrics I usually use netdata. I think gnome defaults works for anyone that subscribe to their desktop metaphor. I like it, some don't, but I don't think that is because it is not complete. It is certainly less configurable out of the box than KDE though and I understand why some people would prefer KDE.
  - cassepipe 4y ago
    I agree the graph thing is not very a "basic" example. I have another one : Someone asked me recently how to change the luminosity on GNOME. I looked at the keyboard but saw no sun icon so I turned to the system tray... No icon either. I, in turn, asked someone else "Oh, just click the volume icon" Turns out there is a whole panel of unrelated settings hidden you can see either clicking on the logout button or volume button... It's actually the same button. I am generally against hiding settings in menus and submenus but if you're going to, can it at least be a universal cog icon? Seems more like the product of an artist-architect willing to sacrifice everyday usability to commit to his "vision". In our case the system tray must look symmetric and bare. I do want tools not get in my way but not out of the picture.
    - prmoustache 4y ago
silisili 4y ago
Dash to panel/Dash to dock and Tray Icons Reloaded/TopIcons, I'd say at a minimum. I also added Openweather and Wobbly Windows, just because :).
3836293648 4y ago
Just Perfection. GNOME Animation speed is crazy slow. It takes almost a second to enter the overview. Just Perfection's Fastest option is also a bit too slow, but disabling animation entirely is too jarring Then for comfort I have Pop shell and hot edge.

What GNOME extensions do you need to provide 'the bare minimum'? I use none and it's fine for me.

cerved 4y ago

auto hide the toolbar

3836293648 4y ago
Autohide? The dock only available in the overview by default. Ubuntu is far from vanilla gnome

lionkor 4y ago

For my wife, coming from Windows, it was quite a few things. With KDE, there were only small changes in the settings ui (like alt+shift to switch language, which gnome doesnt allow, needs a plugin)

ho_schi 4y ago
Use ReactOS or buy a license from Microsoft for Windows and accept it drawbacks. Or provide a well introduction into Linux and KDE and allow the user to excel :) GNOME is not an alternative to Windows. Linux is an operating-system for its own, building upon UNIX and Plan9. Especially Systemd is giving Linux a very own foundation. That said, we don't apply Emacs shortcuts on VIM because it degrades the provided features and make usage even harder. Humans are pretty good in adapting - one of our best features. An analogy - don't try to ride bicycle like a car. It won't work. PS: Best results with GNOME are with novice users. GNOME tends to be very keyboard centric and allows focus on your applications. These novice users don't try to apply usage patterns learned on Windows.
- bacchusracine 4y ago
  >Best results with GNOME are with novice users. GNOME tends to be very keyboard centric and allows focus on your applications. These novice users don't try to apply usage patterns learned on Windows. Just out of curiosity, how many of these novices do you expect there to be? Also if you only target this group of people who have never used Windows, how do you expect to serve the massive number of people who started with Windows and made their way to Linux? Or do we not matter compared to that other group?
  - prmoustache 4y ago
    Not the parent poster but I would say kids. Most kids start their computing experience with tablets and mobile phones. Gnome has a very similar desktop metaphor being made to work as well on regular computers and tablets. My 9 and 12y/old daughters have never used windows and they are autonomous on the Fedora + Gnome laptop I lend them when needed for their homework or to watch streaming services.
    - ho_schi 4y ago
      Yes. A lot of people don't work much with computers. It is just our bubble which assumes that. In my case it aren't kids but older persons which succeed well with GNOME (Fedora). I don't have to care a lot and their able to install major upgrades with one prompt. And I'm happy with GNOME as power-user because of the keyboard centric usage. PS: Most computer courses fail to teach usage of computers. We need to read the computers output, understand it and then input. And for interaction a very "high-level" of the concept how a program works is needed. Instead most computer courses merely teach "and now we click on the blue icon" which leave helpless users. Interestingly TUIs seem to a magnitude better then GUIs, only text and focus on the task. A lean GUI helps somewhat. And websites? Horrible. HN is a seldom exception, just text from left-to-right, top-to-bottom.
- lionkor 4y ago
  We can't both say "linux has so much customization" and at the same time "you have to disregard everything you know".

ogogmad 4y ago

"Bare minimum" is certainly an exaggeration, so I apologise. Gnome is indeed perfectly usable out of the box. And KDE is not "far more usable", it's just more convenient in lots of small ways. I haven't used it for a while, but I found that for certain audio controls, or to allow certain window layouts, I've needed to install extensions. I also found the information it provides about wifi to be less than adequate, and I'd imagine that you'd need to install extensions to fix that. KDE provides a running graph of traffic to/from a Wifi endpoint, and other information that you might not have considered.

prmoustache 4y ago
I do most of my audio controls with pavucontrol (which is not a gnome extension) regardless of the DE and I don't think that running graphs to/from a wifi endpoint is something many people do on a regular basis. And if I want graph for any kind of metrics I usually use netdata. I think gnome defaults works for anyone that subscribe to their desktop metaphor. I like it, some don't, but I don't think that is because it is not complete. It is certainly less configurable out of the box than KDE though and I understand why some people would prefer KDE.
- cassepipe 4y ago
  I agree the graph thing is not very a "basic" example. I have another one : Someone asked me recently how to change the luminosity on GNOME. I looked at the keyboard but saw no sun icon so I turned to the system tray... No icon either. I, in turn, asked someone else "Oh, just click the volume icon" Turns out there is a whole panel of unrelated settings hidden you can see either clicking on the logout button or volume button... It's actually the same button. I am generally against hiding settings in menus and submenus but if you're going to, can it at least be a universal cog icon? Seems more like the product of an artist-architect willing to sacrifice everyday usability to commit to his "vision". In our case the system tray must look symmetric and bare. I do want tools not get in my way but not out of the picture.
  - prmoustache 4y ago

silisili 4y ago

Dash to panel/Dash to dock and Tray Icons Reloaded/TopIcons, I'd say at a minimum. I also added Openweather and Wobbly Windows, just because :).

3836293648 4y ago

Just Perfection. GNOME Animation speed is crazy slow. It takes almost a second to enter the overview. Just Perfection's Fastest option is also a bit too slow, but disabling animation entirely is too jarring Then for comfort I have Pop shell and hot edge.