What People Are Saying About GNOME [Part 1]
Last week the 2011 GNOME User Survey began, which is an independent survey that was devised by members of the GNOME community to collect feedback on their desktop platform. With the GNOME Foundation not interested in hosting the survey, these survey creators came to Phoronix to host the survey. Some of the initial GNOME comments were shared shortly after the survey went live. This survey will be running for one month, but there were already more than 8,000 submissions in the first few days. Here's the first 1,000 comments provided by participants of the GNOME survey.
Due to the plethora of data being collected, the comments provided by these desktop users is going to be put out a chunk at a time, as it's unlikely by the time the survey ends towards late November you'll want to sit down and read what will likely be 10,000+ comments about the GNOME desktop. So to begin in a more manageable way, coming out today are the first thousand comments collected from this 2011 GNOME survey (for anyone that requests it, at the end will also be a PDF with all of the comments). These are just the responses to the "If you could change three things in GNOME, what would they be?" and "Do you have any comments or suggestions for the GNOME team?" questions. Any submission where the response was only a single word (e.g. just saying Scheiße) was ignored from printing. If you haven't already done so, be sure to participate in the 2011 GNOME User Survey.
1: GNOME Is Good!
2: I like GNOME a lot.
3: Completely rethink the 3.X series.
Completely rethink the 3.X series.
4: Gnome Shell
Gnome Shell
Gnome Shell
5: gconfd
normal configuration files
6: - Create a cleaner, more 2.x-like skin for 3.x that could be used as an alternative to Gnome 3
- Try to collaborate with AMD to get better proprietary graphics support (Gnome 3.x has had its share of troubles with fglrx)
7: More work on the fallback mode.
8: I really like where Gnome 3 is going. I haven't used 3.2 yet because I'm running Fedora so when Fedora upgrades, I'll upgrade with it. My three biggest complaints are as follows:
1) I know that "minimizing" makes "no sense" in Gnome 3. But honestly, I still can't live without it. I really really want it back. Perhaps it could be implemented in a Mac OS X kind of way.
2) The customization options have completely disappeared. Getting those back would be nice. Though I'd rather wait for them to be implemented as bug-free as possible before inclusion. So I'm okay with waiting.
3) GDM is still freaking ugly. Why?
Actually read and listen to this survey. I'll take it in good faith that you will, but just in case...
9: 1 Better support for GaduGadu chat protocol;
2 Give quick lists support for menu bar ( unity like, modidfied in desktop files own commands shown after right clicking an icon);
3 Totem should use old backend with no 3d card needed.
Keep up great job!
10: Make it usable for non newbie / productivity oriented users.
(Cut out some of the oversimplification crap that is severely hurting productivity of users.)
11: GNOME as default on Ubuntu.
GNOME as default on Ubuntu.
12: 1) port gnome 2 to gtk 3
2) put back old control-panel
3) put back old gnome-panel
13: faster
smaller memory footprint
better evolution connection to mailservers (namely Microsoft ones)
Make it faster
14: Default 3.2 theme is horrid, it needs a dark theme like Ubuntu's Ambiance.
Default 3.2 theme is horrid, it needs a dark theme like Ubuntu's Ambiance.
15: Minimize behavior in Gnome3 should create a large thumbnail of the application and place it on the desktop.
Alt-tab behavior needs to identify the selected window better.
Users should be able to re-arrange the order of workspaces in Gnome 3, and also create new workspaces in between existing ones.
Implement the changes I listed above :-) Also, good work guys, keep it up.
16: smoother, more rounded corners in the menus and less blocky
just more eye-candy in the sense that it's easier to look at. I hate to say it, but more mac :p
17: killall gnome3-shell
make gnome-panel
killall gnome3-shell
make gnome-panel
18: Focus on reduction of ressource comsumption and dependencies.
GNOME 3 just rocks! Doesn't need hours of configuration, just works nicely out of the box. Nice looking, but not too much bling. Congratulations!
19: 1) I'd have an always on screen window list (or at least application list as seems to be the trend these days).
20: more user configurable theme options
not sure what happened with loading directories with large numbers of files but this seems to need speeding up
21: - More keyboard shortcuts
- Tiling windows (ie *automatically* organize everything in a non-overlapping way)
- Tags (like in awesome or wmfs)
Tablets are in vogue, but don't forget that most users prefer keyboard interaction.
22: GNOME 2.x FTW!!!!!
23: More settings, more collaboration with other projects (don't reinvent the wheel), more window tilling features (don't limit tiling left or right but allow to tile vertically too, and more that one window per split)
24: Allowing users to customize GNOME
Great work!
25: I don't really know what I would change on gnome...
26: 1. Make gnome-shell working with old videocards (without 3D)
2. Some JS API reference would be nice.
3. Move tray to the top panel
Keep up the good work, guys ;) GNOME3 really rocks!
27: optimize vertical screen usage. bar at the top, bar at the bottom, window title bar... my fvwm is configured to maximize windows without decorations, and just has a bar at the left side. Full screen height for applications. and I don't even have one of those newfangled widescreens, but a good and proper 1600x1200 display. 1200 vertical pixels ftw. don't know how others can work with less than that, when not even all are available.
28: -Revert back to 2.x default interface
-Make more configuration options visible to the user
-Have it look better by default
-I don't like GNOME3 / GNOME Shell at all.
-After 4 years of being satisfied with Gnome on Ubuntu, 3.x + 11.10 has me looking at other distributions, desktop environments or even operating systems at the moment.
29: plug-in system in gnome 3.2
customize gtk look and feel
30: support Arabic language....
more simplicity
31: Bring back the bottom bar. Simplicity. Less visual effects.
32: - Developer's attitude towards users. Gnome 2 already had barely enough configurability, and in Gnome 3 there's even less options, to "protect the user from themselves"! Do you honestly think that anyone NOT wanting configurability would NOT be running M$ Windows?
- I switched away from Gnome because they forced their crap WM Mutter onto me instead of allowing me to use Compiz. Fix that and I might switch back.
- (better support for rgba transparency by default (i.e. with the cleanlooks theme) would be nice, but I can live without it)
- Fix your attitude towards your users. Gnome 2 already had barely enough configurability, and in Gnome 3 there's even less options, to "protect the user from themselves"! Do you honestly think that anyone NOT wanting configurability would NOT be running M$ Windows?
- Stop forcing your crap WM on to me, make Gnome 3 work without Mutter, please. I switched away from Gnome because you forced your crap WM onto me instead of allowing me to use Compiz. Fix that and I might switch back.
- (better support for rgba transparency by default (i.e. with the cleanlooks theme) would be nice, but I can live without it)
These comments may look harsh but I still think you guys are awesome, even though I am a KDE user now. If you fix those top two things I mentioned I will be back using Gnome again as fast as my Gentoo box will let me :-)
33: Replace Suspend option to Shutdown.
Add font configuration.
Add gnome extension.
Great work, gnome team, thanks.
34: I can't really say until I upgrade to Gnome 3.2 upon the Fedora 16 release
Keep up the good work!
35: Intergrating the gnome-tweak-tool to system-settings somehow.
Show application icons in the activities menu windows for faster access. More views (maybe easier custom views), can't think of anything else right now.
Keep up the good work.
36: 1. Better developer documentation, including examples and sample apps. GNOME is hairy and full of barely-documented stuff; getting started on GNOME dev. is hard!
2. IM notifications are not visible enough, I keep missing these integrated IM messages that stay hidden in the grey area at the bottom of the screen! I came back to Pidgin while this is broken.
3. Better multi-monitor support: some windows don't appear where they should, and the monitor chosen for bottom notifications and "systray" is inconsistent with the top bar
Keep up going your way and focusing on simplicity!
37: 1. The complete ignorance and incompetence of the Gnome developpers;
2. The toolkit;
3. The entire UI.
Yes, dig into the where computers came from ASAP:
1. Telegram devices;
2. Logic processors.
Therefore a computer is there for:
1. World Wide Web users;
2. Applications.
And not for:
1. Offline HTML 'apps';
2. Being a trophy for your shelf.
So what you need to do is:
1. Create a serious programming platform;
2. Make it a browser haven.
You think that Gnome is making it easyer for users, by applying (yet again, how not surprising) an abstraction layer. "Oh this must be easyer to understand than. *Beep!* WRONG!
Q: Why do you think that in 2011, people still don't know how to use desktops? And back in the day did know how to use the command line?
A: Because DE's are not making it easyer for the users, just more powerfull.
Conclusion:
A. Either make a very feature rich UI, or;
B. Make a graphical commandline without the typing.
38: No comment.
39: - Automated backups
- color profiles (ics) database where i can find THE color profile for my monitor. Possibly community managed
- better Contacts handling (Evolution is not using it, it messes my empathy contacts)
You've made a great job for gnome 3.x !
40: 1,2&3 make my laptops fan not turn faster while using gnome3/shell
41: In gnome-shell: add Shutdown back to user menu, make calendar show weeks start on Monday.
42: Keep rocking!
43: performance
e-mail client
IM client
44: 1 Improve look and feel integration with Qt and KDE applications.
When I use kde I want my gnome apps to render correctly and reverse.
2 Provide more possible customizations by system settings, some customizations are only available by gconf.
3 Support new projects to replace or improve xserver like wayland.
45: I no longer use GNOME because of the changes made for GNOME 3 which did not work well on my laptop since it has a old intel integrated video card
46: Place the menu bar in the Program Icon(next to the Activities button) so it would work like the Opera menu bar or the minimal Firefox menu bar.
Make it easier to delete or clear "recent documents" in the shell.
Make "Delete" the standard shortcut for deleting files in Nautilus.
It might be nice for more outreach programs, outreach for new developers that is, it does feel like a large mountain to climb for a prospective developer.
It's easy to say just git the project you like and try and solv an easy bug report, but that isn't the case, atleast for me. From experience I think a "mentor" could work, but that would be way to much work and demand way to much man hours, so an outreach program or events could be a possible solution :)
47: Keep up the good work!
48: Make the big ass window title area smaller;
Make it work in screens with 768px vertical resolutions or less;
Let me choose how I want to suspend/hibernate/shutdown my computer on lid close/open/connect to AC/on battery/button press/etc...
Gnome 3 is beautiful now bring back missing functionality please :)
49: 1. Keyboard, keyboard, keyboard (shortcuts, arrow keys, ...)
2. Tooltips/descriptions in applications overview
3. Documentation/help on-the-fly (tooltips suggesting available keyboard or gesture possibilities, for example)
While many people are critical of Gnome 3, I like it, and I especially like the directions it is taking. Please keep on exploring better ways to interact with the computer. I don't want just a better X11/twm and work like I worked 20 years ago. And I'm willing to chance some inconveniences to try out new ideas.
50: - Although I totally agree with sensible defaults, and that an user shouldn't need any configuration for its desktop; some more configuration options would not be bad.
- So, more configuration options.
51: - More means of customization: basic things like changing fonts/ font size
- add globalmenu extension to be easily installed (e.g. netbook users could benefit from it)
[even if GNOME developers have different design goals - making it an extension would not harm anyone]
- very much depending on personal taste: refinements of default Shell theme: seems a bit too flat for me, too comicy (if there is any word like that) with the gray borders
GNOME 3 is great: the recent design decisions seem very thought through an consistent!
52: applets compatible in new version og gnome
53: My dream is to bring GNOME 2 back instead of GNOME 3. Or in GNOME bring back possibilities to change settings and appearance that way I like and I need.
54: 1. too much mouse movement to find and start a program.
2. make it easier to switch between virtual desktops
3. render kde apps better. 3.0 does some strange things to some of the cards in kde's solitare. (using openSuse 11.4 and stable 3.0)
How people interact with a desktop machine is not the same as how people interact with a tablet, which is what everyone seems to be creating software for. You are not alone in this, look at the poor design of windows 8 for desktop use (tablet maybe better). I do not have nor do I want to have a tablet. I like my computer on my desk, and I like to control it with a keyboard and mouse, not hitting it with my middle finger.
55: Get rid of the dead space - too much desktop real estate wasted on large gaps in things like the tabs and menu bars. Example Nautilus - at the top where the navigation bar is, huge waste of space between the toolbar and the main window.
Following on, editing css for customising appearance is a pain, the way the config files seem to be split between 3 different places needs sorting.
Needs more native apps (tho, not really a fault with gnome per say). Things like GTK3 vim, firefox etc - with ideally everything tidy and gnome-a-like in appearance and behavior.
Fantastic product really, despite my complaints - fast, using it on an intel gpu.
Would be nice to see more apps pushed on, and more control given to the user in a similar feel accross all apps.
56: Make Gnome Shell more reliable;
Make Evolution a more reliable Exchange client;
Make Empathy integration a lot better.
Gnome Shell is the most innovative UI I've seen come out of a open source project ever. If it were more reliable and didn't eat up so much RAM, I'd say it were perfect.
57: 1) make settings easier to reach (if u want well placed and with good documentation in the dialoges) and stop this awfull "users are stupid" attitude
2) the current gnome desktop is not at all suited to convert people over from windows, as it is way to different and not customizable. gnome 2.x could be made to look like xp, and for a lot of people i did just that and that was all they needed to happily get onboard linux. however none of them likes adjusting to a new "way of working with a pc". so offer a way to customize your desktop to look like sth people are used to.
3) there is not a single gtk / gnome music player, picture viewer or picture manager that I find acceptable. amarok / clementine, gwenview and digikam are miles ahead of everything comparable on gnome. and qt apps still dont look very good in gnome. either get comparable apps with gtk/gnome style oder better support qt4.
1) make settings easier to reach (if u want well placed and with good documentation in the dialoges) and stop this awfull "users are stupid" attitude
2) the current gnome desktop is not at all suited to convert people over from windows, as it is way to different and not customizable. gnome 2.x could be made to look like xp, and for a lot of people I did just that and that was all they needed to happily get onboard linux. however none of them likes adjusting to a new "way of working with a pc". so offer a way to customize your desktop to look like sth people are used to.
3) there is not a single gtk / gnome music player, picture viewer or picture manager that I find acceptable. amarok / clementine, gwenview and digikam are miles ahead of everything comparable on gnome. and qt apps still dont look very good in gnome. either get comparable apps with gtk/gnome style oder better support qt4.
58: I'd would like it more if it has better possibility configure more things, like themes. Possibility to minizime windows, now i if i minimize they disappears.
Great work...
59: Sorry, but I cannot stand gnome-shell, it makes me a lot less productive, so I'm headed to KDE.
Do not take users for dumbasses. Users like to have options. Hide them if you want to, but give them to us.
60: - more customization options (gnome 3)
- more lightweight
- gnome shell shoudn't take all your desktop, I'd love merge it with unity, would be perfect.
Keep up the good work :)
61: Abandon gnome shell and make a normal desktop with a minimize button and task manager.
Gnome3 is eye pleasing, the notification system is great.
The visual design is great but the "no minimize" thing just keeps users away.
working with workspaces and meta key to switch windows is just not comfortable.
I support innovation but not in the cost of usability.
62: 1. Make the W-A-S-D keys work like the arrow keys in the Alt+Tab switcher.
2. Pull Evolution out... Seriously, choice is everything. I'm much happier with Thunderbird, and Evolution can't safely be removed from a GNOME system. It's a fine default, but it's way too locked in.
3. Add a "Disable screensaver" Accessibility switch, or better handle screensaver inhibiting with full-screen things and stuff like YouTube.
Push for inclusion of GNOME 3 (preferably 3.2) in Debian Testing (wheezy). This way I'll be able to use it more comfortably. Linux Mint (Debian Edition) will also benefit from this. (I'm using LMDE at the moment because of the sorry state of GNOME 3 in Debian, and the unstable state my Debian now is in because of it)
63: - No tablet interface on Gnome 3.x
- Better choice with respect to hiding, destroying options in Gnome
- Less developer knows best, the user should listen
64: 1. Remember window positions (reversion).
2. Close window on folder delete (reversion).
3. Integrate devilspie functionality.
Get rid of the GNOME bugzilla; you never use it anyway.
65: Forget gnome shell. Concentrate on 'fallback' mode.
Please reinstate gnome 2.32 functionality to gnome 'fallback' in 3
66: 1) Default Theme. GTK+ and icon themes are very, very dull and old looking.
2) Vertical waste of space. The current Gnome Shell theme loves to waste space.
3)Nautilus. Nautilus is still slow, poorly designed piece of software.
67: 1. Better Display Configuration Tool. ( In the current version its not possible to set an Primary Display )
2. Advanced configuration for the settings dialogs e.g. like VLC.
3. Many tools does not look finished.
68: I don't know about changing three things but one major lacking feature in Gnome3.x is it's dual screen support. I would use Gnome 3.x were the dual screen support full functional. Because of the lack of support, I have decided I will only use Gnome 3.x on desktops with one screen or a laptop. It is simply cumbersome on my workstation.
69: - stop believing you know the user better than (s)he does
- rethink configuration - build one central configuration where the user finds anything he wants and not 10 different tools (which are packed in one window)
- integrate ubuntu fonts as default fonts - They are much more beautiful :-)
- integrate mouse/touchpad-gestures like the ones in webos (they're great).
- look at tablets (I used a hp touchpad). They're so much easier to use.
Besides all this, I have to tell you that gnome is great. You did a marvellous job with gnome 3.2. I'm really looking forward to a tablet distribution ;-).
70: 1. create a documentation system that is helpful (searcheable, but also guides you through) and encourages to contribution (like a Wiki).
2. General project orientation towards "consumers". Put more emphasis on "producers".
3. Reduce resource usage at all levels. The time and level of resources it takes to start a terminal is insane, for example.
71: * I would like to be able to create a set number of desktops instead of the current 'create when needed'.
* Flexible bars as with Gnome 2.x instead of the current Gnome 3.x setup.
* Theming...
Listen to the users instead of doing what YOU think is best. You're Gnome devs, not Windows/MacOS devs.
72: alt+tab
change the on/off buttons
default wallpaper is ugly
Felipe stop doing useless surveys after a release that wasn't been used by any of mainstream distros
73: scrap gnome 3
74: Nothing occurs to me right now.
You could implement the ability to tile several windows from the activity view (e.g., by letting the user select several windows with SHIFT pressed on; and when released, these windows would be tiled up in the screen...).
75: Add support for themes that are easy to use.
Easely allow changing the size of icons/... .
Fix crashes
Don't add features that doesn't really work, like empaty or online accounts.
76: make more key shortcuts and mouse buttons work. e.g. there is ctrl+up/down but not ctrl+home/end!
gnome is great, but you can do more in the detail :)
77: 1. theming
2. plugin
3. better configuration/modularity of the interface
78: Better support for sharing desktop config across a number of devices.
79: Application browser/launcher, default gnome-shell theme, font/theme selector(not there at all).
3.2 is a very good release, mutter has improved a lot! keep up the good work!
80: Add Shutdown Option
More setting options by default
Network manager in gnome 3 needs option to add a vpn connection by a file (Gnome 2.x had this)
Better per-application websites with a user focus
81: - make it less tablet-ish
82: I would add more configuration options to power manager and add a theme manager like it was in 2.x versions of GNOME
Keep up the good job :)
83: I usually work with a single (heavily tab'ed) browser window and about 10 gnome-terminal windows , the current Unity/Gnome-shell way of alt-tab'ing is completely useless.at least in the past I could remember the specific terminal positions in the window list (in gnome-panel),now i need to search for it for a long time.
Gnome-do is in mono, Synapse doesn't remember user choices and Kupfer has other issues.
You should integrate their functionality in Gnome's launcher, especially the plugins.
84: 1. Make Ubuntu ditch Unity.
2. Remove the bloat.
3. Focus on reliability for a while.
Thanks for all of your hard work! :)
85: Itegrated OpenGL support (as if: without Compiz), but as far as I know it's already done in GNOME 3. ;)
The project could use something like a package building guidelines, that will help distro developers prepare new package versions quickly (it's October 2011 and Gentoo still doesn't have a stable GNOME 3 ebuild!! ;( ).
86: 1) Gnome sucks
2) Gnome is for brain damaged persons who are too dumb for settings
3) The GTK+ API is horrible
Please, simply take all of your sourcecode, mv it to /dev/null and forget about GNOME.
87: Configurability, multi-display suport (wallpaper etc. details), horrible_gnu_style_api_with_insane_function_names().
Hide features if you wish, do not _remove_ them. Don't assume all users are dump.
88: 1. Menu option.
2. Menu option.
3. Menu option.
As you might have guessed, my preference is for a menu based interface like KDE. In fact, I even modify KDE so I do not have to click on an ICON anywhere, especially in file browsers. I absolutely hate having to repeatedly click on graphical icons in order to get anything done. I would even take this further, preferring to type commands directly into a terminal in order to save time. On the plus side, I do use some of GNOMES programs from within KDE because I either like them or the equivalent is not available in KDE.
89: 1) GNOME OS is a good idea. Linux is the most advanced kernel. Focus on it and don't be afraid to use Linux specific features. Who uses FreeBSD/Solaris/whatever as a desktop anyway? Oracle can fuck off :)
2) Fix the magnifier in GNOME SHELL. It should emulate the magnification functionality in OS X or Compiz. I'm not even sure if this is possible given that the shell is built on top of Clutter, but if it is possible, it would be great. Performance improvements to the shell in general would be good too.
3) live.gnome.org is full of old stuff from 5+ years ago. It needs a good clean out. Finding information about an application that is up to date is difficult, and its full of empty or orphaned pages.
The FOSS community seems to not trust GNOME's leadership after the 3.0 release. Most of the difficulty seems to concern the design of the shell, or the manner in which it was designed. If the Shell designers could speak out in a public forum and request feedback it might go a bit to gaining the trust of the community back.
Another thing: in general, I feel the GNOME community does not respect the KDE community much. This needs to change. Don't know how, but it would be good to see more co-operation.
Also get cracking on the transition to Wayland. The sooner the better.
90: Make many of the feature sets that exist in other desktop environments work out-of-the box with a default install of GNOME 3. Even after following documentation to the letter, many of the desired, currently non-default features do not work... no error messages, just doesn't work. Most of these desired features are simple, like, alt-tab functionality, switching among GNOME Shell themes, setting GNOME shell hot-keys, et cetera.
Make many of the feature sets that exist in other desktop environments work out-of-the box with a default install of GNOME 3. Even after following documentation to the letter, many of the desired, currently non-default features do not work... no error messages, just doesn't work. Most of these desired features are simple, like, alt-tab functionality, switching among GNOME Shell themes, setting GNOME shell hot-keys, et cetera.
91: better configuration utility
better shell extensions integration
92: More customisation
More collaboration with the other DEs (freedesktop.org?)
Improve the default look (this is more a complaint about the 2.x series but 3.x only slightly improves the out the box look)
Even though I'm a KDE user it's always good having healthy competition
GNOME 3 might have pushed people out of their comfort zones but as with KDE 4.0 you need to keep pushing and improving things for your users
Collaboration like at this years desktop summit should be encouraged and happen more than every two years
There is a lot of disconnect between your user base atm with Gnome2/Gnome3/Unity this really needs addressed.
93: 1. Don't hide perfectly legal actions from users. Really, why I have to press ALT to get me a shutdown menu??
2. Fix multimonitor options. I work with two monitors attached, this is not a laptop with attached beamer or something. I really want to switch the workspace on both monitors simultaniously.
3. Introduce a good options menu/program. I miss many options in GNOME 3.x and gnome-tweak-tool does not fill in the gap. It's stupid to point at gconf for everything more advanced. Yes, I'm an experienced user, why must it be hard for me to find the options I'm searching for?
I'm using GNOME 3 now, but only because of the lack of a usable substitute. I miss many things in GNOME 3, but I miss more things in other DEs. You have gone too far in the 3.x series and cut down too much on options. Please reconsider your decicions and make GNOME usable again.
94: #1: How every major release is much worse than the previous. It took until GNOME 2.14 before it approached GNOME 1.x's usability for me. Simple things that were missing: "magnetic" window borders, GNOME 2.x applications, stability in Evolution.
#2: I would stop removing user customization options and forcing power users to use absurd defaults. If I wanted something to make me feel this dumb, I'd use Windows or a Mac.
#3: Personally, I feel that the GNOME desktop and Unity has diverged so far from my normal workflow and usability that I'm seriously considering alternatives. In all fairness, I would consider GNOME 3.x and Unity a failed experiment and revert to the GNOME 2.x user experience.
I know this is hard criticism, but seriously, I am not enamored of the new "user experience". I am also not a representative of the majority of Linux users these days: I actually use my computer for work, and disrupting my workflow is not appreciated at all.
Finally, the perception has been created that GNOME and Ubuntu will hand down the new user experience from "on high" with no feedback or choice from users. I realize that you guys have a vision, but my subjective reception is not favorable, and it feels like my current workflow and comfort zone has been labeled as "old" and "legacy". Think of it as requiring to learn a new programming language every 6 months because the old one is "deprecated".
95: more attention to gnome panel
usable desktop without sacrificing options (gnome 3)
96: 1) Gnome-Shell was the right move and it was a nice try but it's not user-friendly. That means: it pretty much fails.
2) Encouragement of using Vala. Gnome needs it's own development stack (its doing pretty good actually). Vala is the right choice for developing Gnome applications. It should be encouraged. It's fine if 3rd party apps use other languages ofcourse. That being said, it beats the hell out of me why Gnome-Shell uses JavaScript?!?
3) Stop hiding features. I understand the need for an accessible, clean and unobtrusive UI but if you don't stop removing features you will end up with a non-functional desktop which is basically what Gnome-Shell is. With out advanced-settings, shell-extension and gconf-editor it's useless. There is no such thing as a *sane/universal* default.
Criticism aside, Gnome has a lot of potential. Below projects make me hopeful towards the future of Gnome.
Clutter
Mutter
Zeitgeist
Vala
Gsettings
GTK3-4
Gobject Introspection
97: Add the ability to hibernate from the shutdown menu (when suspend is not available)
98: Make it as fast as as LXDE.
99: 1. Better Tracker Integration. It's getting better, but I still don't understand why every Program does its own stuff in that regard.
2. Integrate The Board into the gnome-shell. And while you're at it, integrate tracker into the board.
3. Expand on Epiphany. It would AWESOME if Epiphany would get support from chrome extensions. And gets notifications. The Web apps are REALLY cool, but to be fully useful, they would need notification support.
Rock on!
100: Further shrink the title bar in Gnome 3.
You guys are GREAT! Thank you!