It's encouraging that restoring the ability for apps to have their
commands visible is an option in 12.04, but unless this becomes the
default I fear it may not be not enough.
Hiding the menus makes it difficult for new users to know that they're
there, and for experienced users it hinders the ability to acquire
muscle memory in accessing them because they cannot be aimed for.
I very much appreciate and support the interest in designing a cleaner
look, but menus are not noise, they're information. In fact, since they
represent the primary means of accessing most applications' features,
they're some of the most useful information on the screen.
No matter how good an OS is, ultimately its utility is defined by the scope of
applications that run on it. As such, an OS is really just an app launcher;
the term "application" itself is a good reminder for all of us, the means by
which a user applies computing to their work.
Quick and easy access to applications is a primary goal of an OS, and
Unity's Launcher does an excellent job of that.
The second goal of an OS is to stay out of the way and let the
application provide quick and easy access to its commands.
Good application designers spend significant time laying out their menu bar.
Altering or hiding it frustrates those developers as much as it hampers theirs
users.
Frustrated developers are less encouraged to port their applications.
Applications are the features Ubuntu needs more than anything else.
Accessing their commands is central to the utility of an OS.
"...most of our competitors are interesting in doing something different, or
want to appear new - I think those are completely the wrong goals. A product
has to be genuinely better. This requires real discipline..."
- Jonathan Ive
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/955193
Title:
Menu bar - add option for the global menu to make it always visible
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