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I notice a tendency with new interfaces that you need to know "secrets" in order to use them effectively. Things that aren't visible in the user interface. E.g.

I notice a tendency with new interfaces that you need to know "secrets" in order to use them effectively. Things that aren't visible in the user interface. E.g., in unity, to open two instances of an application, you need to shift-click the launcher. It seems to me that the more minimalistic the interface tries to become, the more you need to know to be able to use it. It also seems to take more effort to get what you want. It's easier to pick a program from a menu that to open a search panel, type the name, if you remember it, and find it in the search results. I use xfce on Ubuntu. The particular dislikes I have for Unity include the shifting of window toolbars so that the buttons are nowhere near the window that they relate to, and the launcher that doesn't function well as either a launcher (it doesn't have every program I may want to use) nor a way to quickly switch between open windows (without combining mouse clicks with keyboard modifiers).

khyryk 13y ago
You can middle-click to open additional instances of applications. I think it takes longer to find something when one has completely forgotten its name and description, but this isn't a problem 99% of the time, at least for me. Ubuntu makes much more sense when I'm using my laptop without a mouse available, primarily due to the super+# application switching, whereas I am usually more efficient with Xfce when there's a mouse around; I have both installed.
sixothree 13y ago
The thing that bugs me the most about the moved toolbar buttons is that they didn't feel the need to move the scrollbars but were able to come up with a solution that works and preserves our understanding of the interface.
csense 13y ago
> you need to know "secrets" in order to use [the interface] effectively I remember finding out, years after I bought the original Master of Orion, that you could use the F8 key to see which planets have incoming enemy fleets. It totally changed the game for me, and also made me decide that UI's suck if the "secrets" aren't discoverable by just moving around the UI and looking at tooltips and the like.

khyryk 13y ago

You can middle-click to open additional instances of applications. I think it takes longer to find something when one has completely forgotten its name and description, but this isn't a problem 99% of the time, at least for me. Ubuntu makes much more sense when I'm using my laptop without a mouse available, primarily due to the super+# application switching, whereas I am usually more efficient with Xfce when there's a mouse around; I have both installed.

sixothree 13y ago

The thing that bugs me the most about the moved toolbar buttons is that they didn't feel the need to move the scrollbars but were able to come up with a solution that works and preserves our understanding of the interface.

csense 13y ago

> you need to know "secrets" in order to use [the interface] effectively I remember finding out, years after I bought the original Master of Orion, that you could use the F8 key to see which planets have incoming enemy fleets. It totally changed the game for me, and also made me decide that UI's suck if the "secrets" aren't discoverable by just moving around the UI and looking at tooltips and the like.