I really like gnome and how it looks. However every time I try it I find myself in need of more functionality and so I install a bunch of extensions. For example I can't live without a dock and some sort of system tray that shows which apps are running in background.
Sometimes the extensions have small UI inconsistencies or use more memory than usual. That's why I totally ditched gnome and switch to KDE.
Also I tend to think it's been designed for people who are more comfortable using a keyboard. I'm mostly a mouse person.
Do any of you run pure gnome with no extensions? How do you cope with the lack of a dock and system tray?
You're trying to use Gnome the way you're used to using a desktop.
If you try and learn the Gnome way, you'll have a better time.
To be honest I had the same problem when I first went from Windows to OSX, I was struggling, trying to make OSX familiar, but when I decided to learn the Apple way, everything became easier.
Well I think that's the issue here. It's not geared towards a group of people, but towards an ideal workflow which is the Gnome Way.
If you're someone that likes to have masses of applications or windows open you can certainly use Gnome, but the Gnome is more focused on one or two windows per desktop/workspace and I encourage you to embrace that way of working too
Again, it's not about people, but the intended user experience.
I remember when Windows first introduced My Documents folder and subfolders for images, music, video. To begin with I rejected this folder because I wanted my folders in the root C: as I had always done. Eventually I decided to use these folders and I learned to appreciate the convenience of this, including all the additional thumbnails and meta data that the OS provided automatically for those folders.
Have you considered Pop OS from System76? Pop OS has a GNOME-like DE where the dock is fully displayed. It's very much like the macOS DE. The current stable release uses a GNOME-like DE, and the developers at System76 are working to make it into their own DE called Cosmic.
I have extensions that do small QOL things. I can still use GNOME just fine without a single one of them enabled.
How do you cope with the lack of a dock and system tray?
I don't cope with that. I don't really see a huge benefit to having a system tray. Before GNOME 44 added the background apps view to the quick settings menu I just put anything that was 'background' into a workspace. Even after 44 I still have this habit and rarely actually need the background view.
As for the dock argument I'm not sure what an always visible dock would provide that the current dash does not. I think I might even prefer the current dash over an always visible dock. Whenever I want to switch windows I just go to the overview and pick out whatever window I want. It's a lot easier to hit a huge window than to have to target a small icon at the bottom of the display.
I understand that some people might disagree but I actually love what GNOME does (most of the time).
Keyboard centricity is a bonus to me. I don't like having visible UI elements that don't do anything for me (docks, task bars). I also dislike the trend of programs not closing when I close them (system trays).
In addition to these things, I value a degree of minimalism, and I'm a heavy user of virtual desktops.
I don't need to cope with any of these potential downsides, as they're not downsides to me in the first place. All of this said, the KDE community seems a lot more welcoming. I tend to suggest KDE Plasma for any people trying out Linux.
Hope this helps 👍
EDIT: I almost forgot to mention the most controversial one of them all. I love single click to open.
I found it preferable when I started exclusively using the keyboard and keybinds. Tho I ended up using a TWM so I'm definitely not the target audience lol.
I use Debian + Gnome without custom extensions and like it.
I don't use too many programs, so in the overview I have Firefox in position 1, signal in position 2 and steam in 3.
Then I use Win+1,2,3 to launch them.
For other programs, I hit Win and then start typing the name and hit enter.
For switching between windows, i use alt-tab or alt-(key above tab). If I have many windows or playing game in full screen, I hit Win-key once and choose the window i want.
I don't use workspaces, never found a good flow.
And I rarely miss a taskbar.
had an option to disable the activity BS on startup and go straight to the desktop.
But oh well, the GNOME team is more occupied with censoring comments on their blog and trying to re-invent the desktop environment experience with animations and whatnot instead of focusing on what really delivers productivity.
Desktop icons have no benefit for me and would look ugly. Opening in the desktop would mean that I would have to press super before launching all my apps, which would be annoying.
Since GNOME disabled desktop icons years ago, I liked it so much that I disable them in every OS I use, even on Windows.
They are just ugly and make the whole system feel messy. I do t need that. I can use the search or a favourites thing in a hidden drawer like the start menu or the gnome dock.
you're using it wrong. (tm)
activity should be treated as the "default" mode of gnome (also you need to go to it do launch anything anyway)
also desktop icons suck
I get understand wanting desktop icons even though I don't like them personally, but what's the advantage of starting at the desktop instead of the overview? It seems like you would probably want to open an application when you log in so it seems more convenient to already be in the overview
I do. I miss the system tray, to be honest. My way to deal with it is to just push applications I need running all the time to the last workspace and leave this alone. Sometimes I close them unintendedly, oh well...
Not having a dock is one of my favorite things about gnome. I actually use an extension to hide the top bar too. There's just something so satisfying about having 100% usable space on screen. I get all the info back in the win-key overlay, so I don't really need that stuff on screen at all times.
When you hit the windows key (aka meta-key or super-key) it brings up the app launcher. You get a dock at the bottom with pinned or running apps (like a taskbar), and all of your open windows are presented in a sort of mini-version that lets you switch between them or move them between workspaces. There is a search bar that you can immediately type into to open any app with a .desktop file. There is also a button to bring up the app grid which shows your apps kind of like a mobile device's home screen.
I use mostly pure GNOME on my PC. The missing system tray is very annoying, though I really don't care about the missing dock or desktop icons. I start programs by searching for them, not by clicking on a desktop icon or in a dock. That's my preferred method. And the alt+tab menu of GNOME is nice enough to find anything when I need it, together with having workspaces to organize everything.
I tried KDE, but it just felt more messy to me. For instance, I tried to move the bottom bar to the side of my screen, accidentally moved something on the bar itself, and then everything looked off and I couldn't figure out how to get it back. It all felt a bit janky and unrefined. On some systems I also use i3, but that's only for productivity. For daily use I prefer GNOME, where everything just seems to work.
The Windows style systray is redundant, I dont understand how you guys think you need it. Android style systray (system notifications) would be far better.
I've always found that the right click menu is the same for taskbar, systray, and app drawer. Main reason I say its redundant, at least with an Android like system the apps can display information and options in the notifications.
To answer your question about lack of dock and system tray, I use the top left hot corner to snap windows in Activities often, and I launch mostly from the built in Applications menu. Don’t use the dock much. As for system tray, it’s a fairly minimal work computer so I boot it every day, run slack, browser, etc. and I know there’s nothing really on the background. Don’t need an icon for slack, it’s always on my screen. In my GNOME-based work environment it’s either running and I can see it or it’s closed.
I used GNOME with no extensions for about 5 years. Recently I started using a window tiling extension but that's only for for convenience, I wouldn't say it's fixing anything that is broken.
I use dash to dock but I keep it hidden and make it the same size. It's just nice to be able to go down to click open apps sometimes. I still rarely use it but it's nice to have
I’m using pure GNOME with the exception of a single extension which tiles windows on my screen on a grid(gTile) because I have a massive screen and five windows. I also have an icon pack if you’re counting that. Rest of it is stock and I quite like it. It gets out of my way when I’m trying to work and the alt+tab and other features are always fast. Top left hot corner is a godsend.
I only use an extension for tray icons. I use it kind of like how I would use a tiling window manager with a keyboard based workflow and non tiling windows. I just hit the super key and type app names to launch stuff and drag windows around with the super key. Instead of alt-tabbing I hit the super key to see the overview and click on the window I want.
In the newest gnome versions, there's a menu that shows you what apps are in the background, so if you know what apps are already open. I'm not a huge fan of that but I wouldn't really care if my tray icons didn't work because its close enough.
I don't but i note increasing difficulty in upgrading/keeping prior extensions to the new version of gnome.
For example, "recent files" extensions for the top bar used to number in the threes I think. With the last gnome version there was only one which wasn't the most useful of the lot. I use it because it makes it easier beginning again the following day, rather than the extra step of opening the file mangler. I'll probably go with the majority and drop it once I upgrade to Fedora 39.
Looks like gnome is becoming more useful to people in basic guise, incorporating many of the extension functions within the main GUI, and so the once popular extensions are becoming unmaintained.