What are you doing, Canonical?

[rtobyr]

I thought that these forums would be the best place for a critique. I offer this in the spirit that I want to provide feedback that will ultimately benefit the[*]Ubuntu family of distros. Please keep in mind that while I am savvy enough to change the UI to suit my needs, the luddite customers of mine that I persuade to switch away from Windows are not.

I spent six months struggling with the Unity interface. I thought to myself, "Everybody hates change. I just need time to get used to this." Well, after six months, I still hate it. So GNOME is officially ruined.

Out of necessity (GNOME was incompatible with certain projects of mine), I'd been using KDE. For the past decade, I've preferred GNOME despite having to use KDE regularly. Since 11.04, KDE has felt like a breath of fresh air. After finding no improvements in Unity as of 11.10, I decided to switch to Kubuntu today.

Canonical: You've now crapped up KDE as well. There is no way that a Windows luddite could make the transition to whatever the heck kind of interface that is. You're supposed to be the easy Linux. You're supposed to be the Linux that newbies can switch to. I think this is a case of not being able to see the forest for the trees:

You are a company of Linux developers and power users. Tapping the "super" key, and then typing the first few letters of the app that you want to launch may seem natural to you. The masses don't have the tech chops that is commonplace in your culture.

I recently submitted a suggestion to the KDE team that was received with fair enthusiasm: Create a guide for GNOME users to switch to KDE. Step one in this guide: revert to the "classic" KDE menu. Why? Because too many conveniences actually get in the way of user friendliness. People want a UI that works in a predictable manner... not some magic Unity thing that supposedly makes things easier--but unpredictable.

I've been doing some projects with PC-BSD and OpenBSD. Both come with GUI interfaces that I'd recommend over anything in 11.10 (I don't know about Xubuntu; I'm afraid to look).

As of now, I'm on the hunt for a new distro to offer the Windows folks that I often convert. Mint is out because they have no upgrade path that doesn't involve editing your sources.list file. OpenSUSE, PC-BSD, and Fedora are candidates.

If any of you out there agree with me, then please reply. If you disagree, then please reply. If any of you out there have other suggestions for a new distro for luddite converts, then please reply.

[mikodo]

I don't know what luddite converts are, but you should take a look at Xubuntu with it's Xfce desktop. It is older than KDE and is very mature and classical looking. It is something that gives us the familiar look, with panels, apt package management and synaptic ... on and on, that allows us to remain in a familiar 'buntu environment.

[gsmanners]

... (I don't know about Xubuntu; I'm afraid to look).

Everyone fears the rat, but you know rats are small and innocent, and even if they bite it isn't that big a bite anyway.

... OpenSUSE, PC-BSD, and Fedora are candidates.

Just use whatever you're comfortable with, and when people see how comfortable you are, they'll want to emulate that.

[3Miro]

Over 2 years ago I installed Xubuntu in Virtual Box and I couldn't understand what the deal was. Couple of months later, I got a somewhat weak laptop (lack of cash) and I wanted to play some wine games (Diablo II). I had heard of xfce being small and efficient so I decided to try it along side Gnome (not Virtual Box). Few weeks later, I had both my crappy laptop and decent desktop converted to Xubuntu. Now I have Phenom II x6 + 16GB RAM desktop and an i7 + 8GB RAM System76 laptop, both are using xfce exclusively.

XFCE takes more time to tweak and setup the way you want it, however, it can be setup the way you want and once you get it working, you get all the good features of Gnome 2 and things work much faster and more efficiently.

There is no reason to fear rats.

[drs305]

Since you are requesting other forumites' opinions, this thread is moved to Cafe. It will probably end up in Recurring at some point.

Please keep the discussion civil.

[3rdalbum]

Are these changes that Canonical has made, or changes that KDE has made?

Also, note that Unity is one possible desktop shell for Gnome. There are two others (Gnome Fallback Session and Gnome Shell) that are installable from the repositories.

[wolfgar]

[QUOTE=If any of you out there agree with me, then please reply. If you disagree, then please reply. If any of you out there have other suggestions for a new distro for luddite converts, then please reply.[/QUOTE]

There are a many Ubuntu users who agree with you! So don't feel like the "Lone Ranger". Do you want Ubuntu 11.10(Oneiric Ocelot), Classic Gnome with Compiz that works?

So do we!

Ultimate Edtion 3.2 coming soon! Beta testing is going great!
(See Attachments)

http://forumubuntusoftware.info/

[realitykid]

Are these changes that Canonical has made, or changes that KDE has made?

Also, note that Unity is one possible desktop shell for Gnome. There are two others (Gnome Fallback Session and Gnome Shell) that are installable from the repositories.

Ya, but new users, with little to no computer experience, aren't going to want to install shells. It's a big inconvenience.

Personally, I enjoy Unity. It has some problems that need to be ironed out. But I'm sure it'll come along greatly by the next release. I'm just gonna be patient until then.

There are a many Ubuntu users who agree with you! So don't feel like the "Lone Ranger". Do you want Ubuntu 11.10(Oneiric Ocelot), Classic Gnome with Compiz that works?

So do we!

Ultimate Edtion 3.2 coming soon! Beta testing is going great!
(See Attachments)

http://forumubuntusoftware.info/

I'm not trying to be a moderator here. but doesn't that sound like your spamming? I mean I've seen you post this same thing before in another thread somewhere else on the forums.

If I were you, I'd be a little more discreet about it, just in case.

Anyway, that's my tidbit.

[wolfen69]

I think this is a great time to be a linux user. There are many choices, and no one is forcing you to use anything.

[Viman]

Well, after six months, I still hate it. So GNOME is officially ruined

Keep in mind: Unity != GNOME, it's a shell built on top of that. GNOME Shell is likewise an interface built on top of GNOME3.

What was shown above in Ultimate Edition's screenshots is what GNOME3 really is - the logical progression from GNOME2.

Many cuss on Unity, blaming GNOME3 for it, when in reality it's more like the opposite.