Experiencing Gnome-Shell as of Jan 02, 2011

[Onyeibo Oku <twohotis gmail com>]

I finally got Gnome-shell got the recent Gnome-Shell running.  Actually, 
I succeeded yesterday but discovered that success this morning. 
Messages on the terminal can be distracting sometimes :) So, this is the 
latest Gnome-shell?

Looking around, I observed more appealing shadows around the 
windows/dialogues and, hey! ... the maximize/minimize/close buttons now 
have life. I like the new favourites tab -- a single column -- cool. The 
visuals for the desktop search box is deadly (I mean wicked).  I love 
it! ... probably the best in the graphic upgrades so far. I can feel 
this work-flow amidst the odds (I'll point out later).  The System 
settings have been stripped down to the essentials and related 
administrative tasks have been grouped underneath. Nice.  Adding new 
desktops became more artistic with the docking tab at the right. 
Generally, I think this is much better except for the observations below:

1. I get a fantastic animation when I grab a window in Activities mode 
(the reduction in size is dramatic), but the exchange to neighbouring 
desktops misses the standard. The cut-outs representing the 
next/previous desktop is disappointing (took some time to realize they 
were indicators ... not intuitive, I'd say).  Maybe a faint outline 
sticking further out will do ... something with rounded edges like the 
existing tabs but glassy or totally transparent with faint gray outline 
fading away towards the edges of the screen. If it glows when the Window 
is being dropped, that is perfect!

2. This one is more of a wish:  It would be nice to be able to grab the 
current desktop in the Activities mode and give it a 'whirl'... and 
watch the desktops scroll away rapidly like a roulette and then *click*, 
'Stop! .. that's the one I want to see'.  You know what I mean? I see a 
lot of that effect on touch-phones these days but why not? The velocity 
of the scroll is usually dependent on the velocity of the 'whirl'

3. I think we should loose the gray background around the Window buttons 
and have the icons enlarge a bit on hover event. The minimize icon is no 
longer applicable since there are no task bars ... the 'dash' icon is 
symbolic of a button on a tab -- I believe the present concept doesn't 
agree with that.  So, I'd suggest we go for a different icon ... like an 
arrow pointing in the direction of the 'activities' button.  Trivial you 
might say.

4. The worst performance happens when I move to the 'Activities' hot 
zone (top-left).  I get the most awful animation.  This is more of a 
performance issue, I guess.  It drags and flickers ... not smooth at 
all,..No, I can't advertise that to my friends.  Is there no way to 
improve the performance on Nvidia Cards (using Quadro FX1600M)?  Is this 
an issue with Mutter?

5. The fonts at the top bar are still relatively huge.  I see a 
different font in the Mock-ups.  Can that be achieved with the recent 
builds?  What should I tweak?  I hope the users will be able to make 
adjustments as necessary in the end.

6. It seems to me that some elements should be mirrored.  I'd say freeze 
the Search Box, Applications,Windows and associated menus and mirror 
everything else. That way, one doesn't have to move the mouse across the 
screen much.  From the Activities button, you can reach the search box, 
the favourites, ... at the right. ***OR**** move the Search Box to the 
left (Argh!... but I like it where it is now). Having the activities, 
and other things, at the right side will deviate from the norm (which is 
a good thing IMHO) and will minimize mouse movements across the screen.

7. The Chat 'Toaster' still needs some tweaking. The input box is huge 
and messages are still on a frame having a gradient background.  I'd 
suggest we loose the background and have it all black with white text. 
As the text scrolls up, they should fade away making room for new ones. 
What if the User's Avatar is Bigger, exceeding the boarders of the 
'toaster' and with a bit of perspective to it?  I don't know what you 
guys think.

8. In Activities mode: The 'ALL' view in the Applications section is a 
puzzle -- like a serious jigsaw for older brains. It would help to 
separate the sections with a line to ease the search.

That is it for now.  Its my observations ... hope there were fruitful 
ideas in all that rant.  The project has evolved well. Great work.

Regards

Oku, O.