[Ambassadors] Fedora is the 2º most used Linux s ystem

[Matthias Kranz]

On 11/28/2011 03:03 PM, Jukka Palander wrote:
> On Mon, 2011-11-28 at 17:24 +0800, Mathieu Bridon wrote:
>> For example, one feature of Gnome 3.2 was called "Fix minor
>> annoyances".
>> This was exactly about taking into account users' feedback.
>
> So what they have fixed?
>
> Give me one example. I cannot see anything of those not minor but
> rather major!

"GNOME is released every six months. Since the last version, 3.0,
approximately 1270 people made about 38500 changes to GNOME."

If you read

http://library.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/3.2/

you will see different sections describing the different types of
changes. Whether they are "major" or "minor" of course depends on your
personal classification.

> With current GNOME 3 you have much more mouse clicks than previous one
> and it is just one major lacks in there.

I doubt that.

> I give you an example: One needs to open 2 windows (applications)
> maximized and switch between them with a mouse (not with a keyboard
> because mouse is the one what "normal people" will use).

Well, now you set the rules. Do you write your emails just with your
mouse? Very likely not. The GNOME user interface designers thought about
how to improve the overall usability by combining the usual user input
devices.

I completely agree. GNOME3 is different. However, if you really *want*
to give it a try, you should try to use in the way it was designed for.
Why do some people love iPad and iPhones? Just because of their nice
look? Certainly not. They also provide some interesting user interface
ideas. Can you use them in the way you were used to use your 10 year old
Sony Ericsson brick? Certainly not.

> 1) "old" GNOME
>
> 1.1) Start you application by clicking the "application menu", hoover
> and open application.
> -move once into the left top and select application from menu and click
> to open
> -2 mouse clicks and 1 major movement with mouse on a screen
>
> 1.2) Switch between applications
> -move your mouse to the bottom and click another application active to
> be on top
> -1 mouse click and 1 major mouse movement on screen
>
> 2) "new" GNOME
>
> 2.1) Start you application by clicking the "activities" and then click
> applications and then search what you are looking fore and open
> application
> -move once into the left top, press click and select applications and
> press click and then search application and click to open
> -2/3 mouse click and 2-3 major movements with mouse on a screen even
> with the scroll bar

I hit the Windows key on my keyboard and enter the beginning of my
application name. In 90% of the cases it offers me the one I want to
start so I just have to hit Enter. Done. I always hated structered
Application multi-level directories where you have to click and click
and click until you finally find out that the application you are
looking for is in a different sub-menu.

> 2.2) Switch between applications
> -move your mouse to the upper left on activities, press click, move
> mouse into the window you want to open and press click
> -1/2 mouse click and 2 major mouse movement on screen

Alt-Tab and Alt-^. Works very fast for me. And I am using it on almost
all of my desktops (including Windows) for more than 15 years now.

In addition I have installed the Avant Window Navigator which gives me a
list of all my opened applications, too. And it looks stylish ;)

> I could give an another example with multiple desktops etc. Just try
> them by yourselves. Its all non-ergonomic and non-configurable. Why have
> the top-bar in there at all if you cannot do/put anything in it! Just
> hot corner is enough then.

Hmm. I used multiple desktops for quite some time, agreed. I liked it.
Do I really need it? No. Do I miss it. No. Does GNOME3 provide multiple
desktops? Yes, it does. Just in a slightly different way I was used to
it. But I can still have it if I want.

> I have said what I need(ed) to say and GNOME development will go on
> its own routes - I will continue with XFCE for a while. It is goodbye
> GNOME for now.

Isn't that great? This is exactly why Open Source and Free Software is
so great. No one is locked into anything. You can choose whatever works
best for you. And typically only the "best" (well, in the sense of
contribution and being loved by non-contributing users) products really
survive.

> Still, I am not dropping from ambassadors group so easily -at least
> not yet.

That's good. Because there is no reason at all to confuse Fedora
Ambassadors with GNOME3 user interface designers ;)

Cheers,
Matthias