I think Gnome should have a word under each icon, (including the left side ones) so I do not have to guess what the program is(or function) from a picture ( Guess what program is it? etc?! From a picture !). After all an icon is just a picture. And you should not have to point to that icon to see that word. For this reason Gnome 2 is a much better lay out than Windows 7. But Windows 8 is a better layout than Gnome 3 for the very same reason. When we went to touch screen design, we forgot to include a word under each and every icon(especially on left side). Remember , the first priority is to make the program easy to learn.
Other than that you all do a super excellent job.
Sorry if I sent this before.
