Some of these ideas have already been proposed (mainly the ordering of the dock-icons) but here goes...
Here is the mockup :
http://fav.me/d3fkdc6
And here is a more fleshed out description and reasoning behind the proposed changes:
Changelist:
Dock-changes: Launchers have
background-colors signifying their software-category (Online-apps,
Games, Multimedia, Office/Production, etc.).Workspace-switcher
launcher and mounted media-launchers are moved to the bottom of the
dock. Lenses are removed. Instead, the right-click functionality of
the “applications”-lens and the “Files & Folders”-lens
are moved to become the right-click functionality of the Dash-button
and the Home-folder launcher respectively. Because:
- It will save precious
launcher-space in the dock. The lenses take up 2 perfectly good
launcherspaces that could be used for other things before the amount
of launchers make the dock “fold”.
- Coalescing the lenses into the
already existing Dash- and homefolder-button makes sense. In a
sense, the Dash-button is the Linux-equivalent of a “Start-button”
in Windows, it doesn't make sense that launcher-buttons in the dock
open up the Dash-menu, especially not when they are so far removed
from each other and visually don't seem to be particularly
interrelated. The home-folder launcher is also close enough to the
corner/Dash that it warrants this kind of attention to a new user.
- Moving the Workspace-switcher to
the bottom along with the mounted media buttons will serve to tell
these functions from the normal application-launchers; they're
apples and oranges which shouldn't be mixed for sake of overview.
- Giving launchers a category-based
background color will serve as basic visual hint as to the
functionality of the application launched. This is less important
for experienced users, but a nice aid for new users. Also, it gives
people one way (currently there is none) to group things in a sane
way without making the dock look like a double-rainbow.
Dash-changes: Right-clicking Dash will
give users the Application menu, currently accessed by right-clicking
the “Applications”-lens. Covered above. Dash needs a major
overhaul, but is not covered in this particular list of
suggestions/mockup for Unity.
Global menu-changes: The Global menu
will be removed and window-menus will be restored (Classic Gnome-way
if you will), except when a window is maximized, in which case the
global menu will work as it does currently even on separate screens.
The tray-icons have their own little bar in the top-right corner,
which resizes itself depending on the amount of indicators up there,
and overlaps the Global menu if a window is maximized.. Because:
- The point of the Global menu is to
save vertical space on the screen, but when a user need the vertical
space, he'll naturally resize the window bigger and, if that isn't
enough, maximize the window. Point being: the Global menu currently
only serves a purpose when a window is maximized, so lets keep that
and let un-maximized windows keep their menus.
- Working with multi-window
applications like GIMP and Cinelerra (for instance) is a pain when
every window uses the global-menu. It makes the learning curve of
such programs steeper as the user cannot relate the menu-options of
non-active windows to each other.
- Dual-/multi-screen setups would
make more sense as the travel-time between menu and application
would be reduced.
- High-res monitors currently waste
a lot of pixels drawing nothing but a dull grey panel that is never
used for anything, blocking the nice wallpaper underneath, and
(ironically) is taking up vertical space.
- Basically, the Global menu is a
good idea that serves a purpose; but it is not something that's
supposed to be a rigid part of the desktop; it is supposed to be a
more covert way of saving vertical space when needed. If there is
enough space to run applications with a menu in a window, let them,
all is well; if not, maximize them and use the Global-menu-way of
saving vertical space. Call it “Maximode menu” instead :).
Desktop-changes : Tear out the
Empathy/Qwibber social combo and replace it with optional
applications/plugins which can be embedded in the desktop in a
widget-like fashion in the form of (for instance) a contact-list
supporting multiple protocols for chatting, irc'ing, voice-chat and
video-conferencing.. Because:
- Social applications need to be
visible in order to be useful. The current way tries to compromize
between users who want these applications (they're installed and
have a menu), and users who don't (the installed applications are
not really visible and still need to be opened and accessed through
the MeMenu), accomplishing neither users goal.