- DESCRIPTION: I still use Ubuntu Unity because of the superior UX of app indicators, which GNOME refused to merge many years ago and still sucks to this day for it. However, one thing I miss a lot from GNOME is the far snappier application search/launcher.
The Unity Dash has some pretty poor ergonomics overall compared to GNOME's "Activities", but that is not what I'm concerned about right now. All I want is for the process of (1) pressing Super (or the "Windows key"); (2) searching for an application; and (3) launching the application I searched for to go at least as fast as it does in GNOME 3. Right now I use the crash-prone Synapse[0] instead of the Dash.
You might be wondering: "But isn't it really just as fast?" First of all, no, sometimes the Dash itself opens really slowly for no apparent reason; and second, strictly speaking, it's not the speed of opening an application that is problematic; it's the slow feedback loop of getting search results as you type. This feedback is instantaneous in Synapse, near-instantaneous in GNOME Shell, and comparatively slow as heck in Unity Dash. Disabling the extra features in the Dash helps a bit.
It's also very annoying that it doesn't automatically highlight the first search result (as it does in GNOME), which makes it ambiguous as to what will happen when you press Enter.
And it is awful that in order to select any search result after the first, I either have to: (1) keep typing to narrow the search down further; or (2) move my hand all the way over to the arrow keys, or worse, the mouse.
Pressing TAB doesn't cycle through the search results, it cycles through: (1) the "Applications" UI header; (2) the first result of the "Files & Folders" section (instead of the header -- why the inconsistency?); (3) the "Filter results" button.
I know Unity 8 is the priority these days; even if the Unity 7 Dash can't be fixed, I sure hope Unity 8 doesn't make the same silly UX mistakes.
- HEADLINE: Faster Dash
- DESCRIPTION: I still use Ubuntu Unity because of the superior UX of app indicators, which GNOME refused to merge many years ago and still sucks to this day for it. However, one thing I miss a lot from GNOME is the far snappier application search/launcher.
The Unity Dash has some pretty poor ergonomics overall compared to GNOME's "Activities", but that is not what I'm concerned about right now. All I want is for the process of (1) pressing Super (or the "Windows key"); (2) searching for an application; and (3) launching the application I searched for to go at least as fast as it does in GNOME 3. Right now I use the crash-prone Synapse[0] instead of the Dash.
You might be wondering: "But isn't it really just as fast?" First of all, no, sometimes the Dash itself opens really slowly for no apparent reason; and second, strictly speaking, it's not the speed of opening an application that is problematic; it's the slow feedback loop of getting search results as you type. This feedback is instantaneous in Synapse, near-instantaneous in GNOME Shell, and comparatively slow as heck in Unity Dash. Disabling the extra features in the Dash helps a bit.
It's also very annoying that it doesn't automatically highlight the first search result (as it does in GNOME), which makes it ambiguous as to what will happen when you press Enter.
And it is awful that in order to select any search result after the first, I either have to: (1) keep typing to narrow the search down further; or (2) move my hand all the way over to the arrow keys, or worse, the mouse.
Pressing TAB doesn't cycle through the search results, it cycles through: (1) the "Applications" UI header; (2) the first result of the "Files & Folders" section (instead of the header -- why the inconsistency?); (3) the "Filter results" button.
I know Unity 8 is the priority these days; even if the Unity 7 Dash can't be fixed, I sure hope Unity 8 doesn't make the same silly UX mistakes.
- ROLE/AFFILIATION: Software developer
[0]: https://launchpad.net/synapse-project