Tuesday, May 21, 9:47 am

Understanding Gnome 3 – Without the min, max buttons

Written by anuradha.shukla on March 9, 2011. Posted in Software

While you are waiting for the Gnome 3 impatiently for the April 2011 release, you could attempt peaking at new shell. Those who have had a go at it come away excited at the substantial changes. The desktop design is spanking new and definitely appealing. New intuitive messaging, without have to switch, that allows you to reply are some of the distinctive and immediately identifiable changes. GNOME3 is essentially the next generation shell and several legacies of the GNOME 2 have disappeared because there is no room for them in the new shell design.

3 Features that are slashed

There is uproar about three simple design features that gnome-users are fond of that have disappeared, while some are in transition phase. Three issues – lack of dock/window lists; lack of applets, widgets and theming/customization limitations. Gnome 3 is powered to offer full customization in future with powerful extension system and the present limitation is only until the gestation period for Gnome 3 is completed. Applets are the core of Gnome 3 functions and therefore additional provision for widgets, framework is not available presently. However, Gnome 3 is open to provisioning them in the future if there is a drive for it. That leads to the most important feature- absence of mini overview-big mize and maximize buttons.

What happened to maximize buttons?

The maximize button is lost to the drag-to-snap motion as by default dragging causes one half of the screen to open. The windows are now easy to resize by dragging the title bar. This means dragging is the way forward for all kinds of resizing or snapping operations and this ensure operational consistency as well as being predictable. One eventually accepts that resizing is the future because most desktop operations are highly touch sensitive and early adaptation has its advantages.

How about minimize buttons

Most who are comfortable on the gnome 2 are going to miss the minimize button for the better. Retaining them would have surely ruined the design of the new shell. Since there is no list, dock that exists always on the desktop, there is nothing the minimize buttons can be placed on. If the minimize buttons were to be hidden, the question is where to hide it as there is only the overview in the new desktop design now.

The design element introduced to replace minimization is workspaces and the activities overview. This feature will take some time to adjust to but is truly effective as there is simply no clutter with organized workspaces.

Better capabilities sans buttons

What the loss of the buttons gives Gnome3 is a powerful yet simple user interface that quickly makes up the loss of any redundant buttons. The touch friendly title bar buttons are easy to use keeping to window control on the right enabling the windows to be read from the centre, vertically. The two buttons are traded for excellent user-friendly features. The User Interface is consistent in quality and there is definitely much expectation from this feature. It is very clear that it is only the buttons that have been removed and not the maximizing or minimizing feature.

* Screenhots : Gnome3 website

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23 Comment(s)

http://lordsofmaelstrom.thecomicseries.com/comics/ Zauber

This may be better for the future, but what about the present? How are new users coming away from Windows or Mac/OS going to know how to minimize or maximize applications?
PQL

I have my Gnome desktop fixed up just as I like it. I’m highly suspicious of radical newness for its own sake. Why can’t they make these things options, rather than forcing them on us?
- http://enteryoursiteURL... Zinovsky
  
  I agree with you, ubuntu also forced users to use the buttons on the left instead than on the right side, but now some scripts make it possible to change the location of these buttons. I think the same will happen with Gnome3.
  - Wayne
    
    sounds like the gnome fans are going to go thru just what KDE folk did with KDE4.
  - ninez
    
    Ubuntu didn’t force you to use them on the left it is just a default. no scripts are required either. either Ubuntu tweak or gconf-editor, under "metacity – will allow you to change the title-bar to have any arrangement you want ~ and it has been this way in linux for years and years. Gnome3 won’t be moving close to the left either, that is an Ubuntu thing.
unclutter

All I see are screens filled with icons, and folks seems to be awed by the clutter. What about those of us who enjoy a clean desktop.
Linux is all about choice. Gnome shell wants to remove our freedom to arrange our screen experience the way we like, because gnome knows best what I like.
I think that over all it is a very bad philosophy.
AC

This is easily the most moronic idea the Gnome team has ever had. Why make it HARDER to do something? I’ll be using XFCE from this point forward, Gnome has drank their own Kool-Aid, and driven off a cliff.

Unbelievably stupid.
Xav

Funny how Gnome and KDE finally agreed on one thing: make everyone use Xfce4 :)
- Nitroflow
  
  Just you wait untill XFCE5 is out! :D
http://enteryoursiteURL... Tom

Important article. I feel it’s really important that people are aware of the rationale behind all these changes; understanding a reason behind something makes it much easier to accept.

However, it is not always that ideas that sound good in theory, actually are so in practice. I can not make up my mind about this before I have used it for a few months.

But try it I will, as soon as it’s ready: New is fun, and keeps your brain cells alert :)
topo.ruggente

I don’t strictly agree.
I try Gnome Shell and i’m quite happy, is usable either on quaite old notebook.

I agree that linux must offer all the possibility of choices, but to many choices will result in a desktop impossible to setup.
Bald Surfer

what if you hate messaging while you are on line,

what if you hate icons all over your desktop
- http://enteryoursiteURL... gnme (gnomes not me)
  
  You now hate Gnome.
Johnny

I like corn, I like shit, I like eating corn and shit while playing with the new gnome shell!
http://linuxgeex.com Wil Barath

Let me translate this section for you, if you are not a native BORK speaker:

"What happened to maximize buttons?
The maximize button is lost to the drag-to-snap motion as by default dragging causes one half of the screen to open."

- Translation: The new Gnome Shell has a whole new paradigm for control of window size which involves "throwing" the window around.

"The windows are now easy to resize by dragging the title bar. This means dragging is the way forward for all kinds of resizing or snapping operations and this ensure operational consistency as well as being predictable."

- Translation: That’s right, instead of using a single click at a consistent location as the whole world has become accustomed, instead you’ll travel to the distant past of computing, grabbing and dragging the titlebar around like on MacOS 1.0. How 1984.

"One eventually accepts that resizing is the future because most desktop operations are highly touch sensitive and early adaptation has its advantages."

- Translation: Give it up! Your desktop has been changed, your freedom of choice is gone (well, you have the implied freedom not to use GNOME any more) and you had better get used to this GNU heavy-handed way of doing things. ;-) Throwing your Windows around is the Future! Haven’t you heard of Distributed Computing? Start distributing Windows now!

…

"The two buttons are traded for excellent user-friendly features. The User Interface is consistent in quality and there is definitely much expectation from this feature."

- Translation: Oh, c’mon, can’t you just BELIEVE? Giving up 16x32px of space for two icons allows for a whole new way of computing. REALLY.

"It is very clear that it is only the buttons that have been removed and not the maximizing or minimizing feature."

- Translation: It is very clear that [someone believed that] it is only the buttons that have been removed [not the user-friendly, comfortable appearance of said buttons] and not the maximizing or minimizing feature [even though I have explained to you already that mazimizing and minimizing simply no longer have a place in the new paradigm. But I'm hoping that by closing on a triumphant tone you'll have forgotten that already, and start with 'early adaptation' of Distributing Windows].
http://enteryoursiteURL... tertretertert

enter your message here…
the voice of reason

GNOME3 is not the massive departure from GNOME2 that KDE4 is from KDE3.x.

GNOME Shell is a Desktop environment for Small screen and tablet and touch devices, is ONLY A SMALL PART of GNOME3.

GNOME3 can be configured to provide the standard desktop that we are all familiar with, and which works much better on large screen and multi monitor devices.

Indeed, because GNOME3 IS SO MUCH MORE than just GNOME Shell Linux Mint 11 will be released with GNOME 3 as it’s default desktop….. BUT NOT with GNOME SHELL. Instead Linux Mint 11 will have the same desktop experience as Linux Mint 10 and Linux Mint 9, using GNOME 3 instead of GNOME 2.

There no need for the concern over GNOME3 being the same departure from common sense that KDE4 was and is, in spite of the fact that bloggers and even the GNOME developers have given the impression that there should be. In reality this is a storm in a teacup over what is a small screen/Touch/tablet DE…. GNOME Shell.
Diego

If you really want the buttons, they can be obtained from the gnome-tweak-tool package.. and I believe key bindings are still there as well

I like the new design and functionality of the overview mode, but I wish I could have more control of my workspaces and had more keybinding options.. hope those will be implemented by full release
OldOz

I am getting old and my hand movements are less coordinated than they were. My eyes do not follow all the tricky changes on the screen. I sit where my eyes can focus on one part of the screen then to focus on another part I have to physically move my whole head. I cannot abide the window going full screen at the whim of the desktop manager. Max and Min must be buttons. There is a whole lot of other unnecessary animation and tricky stuff that makes the Gnome 3 desktop like a game all built into these new interfaces. We should have a button that says, "Keep the old onscreen layout." Do whatever you like under the hood to make it all happen.
I am presently using Gnome 2 on Ubuntu, but when Ubuntu removes that option I will be forced to move on.
Both Gnome 3 and Unity suck.
Where do I go for a decent desktop?
B-i-n-go

Linux Mint still using the old layout, I am try this though
B-i-n-go

Linux Mint still using the old layout, I am try this though
B-i-n-go

Linux Mint still using the old layout, I am try this though
B-i-n-go

Linux Mint still using the old layout, I am try this though

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