Ubuntu Unity Interface

Nobody likes change.  Especially with user interfaces.  Facebook suffers this every few months when they make a change.  Ubuntu's Unity interface has been making waves for a while, but I had very little exposure to it, since my Linux distro of choice is still Gentoo.  First, I'll start off with a little background on why I had a late start with Unity.  The recent hard disk crash of my desktop has caused me to revisit the distro I use on my desktop.  I use my laptop far more than my desktop at this point.  I have a server in my living room that provides all of my services.  The desktop is really for a few special tasks that require a larger screen.  Those of you familiar with Gentoo will know that you have to keep your install up to date.  If you don't, then the next upgrade you do will be very painful.  Since I don't use the desktop as much as I used to, I don't want to worry about the Gentoo upgrade maintenance.  Also, I don't need the horsepower or bleeding edge software of Gentoo.

Now on to Unity.  I understand the desire to optimize for smaller screens, but this computer has a 19" screen.  My first thought (like everyone else) was "Where is the start menu!"  The launcher reminded me of a rotated OS X launcher.  I never really liked the OS X launcher, but its usable.  I don't mind having to type in a program name to start it, since I'm a terminal guy.  People who know me know that I tend to have dozens of xterms open.  Typing in a program name to search for it feels kind of natural to me.  Since there is only a handful of apps that I use from a day to day basis on that computer, I don't mind the limited space for pinning on the launcher.  Like I said before, I like xterms!  Having the ability to click on the Xterm pin to see all my xterms to figure out the one I want to switch to was a nice feature.

Overall, Unity is a nice look.  I still prefer the more traditional start menu and lanucher in IceWM and XFCE.  Given the fact that I don't use that computer very much, I think I will keep Unity around.