I am very disappointed with some of the features of Unity. Not being able to hide the bar or even modify it with different shortcuts (favorites in 10.04 netbook remix). I have docky installed and I would prefer to just use that. But I want to still have the system administration programs somehow. What packages would anyone recommend as a replacement for Unity?
Ubuntu – Alternatives to Unity for netbooks
10.10ubuntu-netbookunity
Related Solutions
Install gmrun
sudo apt-get install gmrunUse the Add button in gnome-keybinding-properties to create a new action with the command gmrun. You can then bound it to Alt+F2 or Super+R or any other combination.
This however is not as powerful as the Alt+F2 of the gnome-panel.
Other alternatives:
Install kupfer
sudo apt-get install kupfer
Install gnome-do
sudo apt-get install gnome-do
Install Synapse
sudo apt-get install synapse
Unity is a desktop shell for GNOME. This is not the same as a totally new desktop environment. A desktop shell is the interface that you use. Unity will still use the same GNOME apps and libraries that the current desktop does. GNOME shell is an example of another shell for GNOME.
Unity is developed by Canonical for Ubuntu. It is dual licensed under the GPL and LGPL (version 3). It was originally developed for the netbook edition but is going to be modified to be suitable for the desktop.
Currently, it is not suitable for desktops.
It consists of a top bar, similar to the normal gnome-panel but not the same. Instead of the Applications/Places/System menus is an Ubuntu icon that opens up an overlay called the dash which allows launching of files, folders and applications. It also has a global menu, that embeds the File, Edit etc. menubar from applications into the panel. It shows the menu of the currently focussed window. When windows are maximised, their controls (close, minimise, restore) are embedded into the panel as well. These are space saving features. The desktop edition is planned to not have the global menu because on a large screen it would move the menu far away from the windows being used and so the user would have to move their mouse all the way to the top to get to the menus.
There is a launcher and dock on the left hand side of the screen. This can't be moved. It is planned that for the desktop edition it will be detachable and be able to go on any side of the screen. It is also likely to have an autohide feature.
The expose style feature is like the scale plugin for compiz. It gives you an overview of your windows and allows you to switch between them.
Unity for the netbook edition currently used the mutter window manager. This has had some performance problems so it is being replaced with compiz for better performance. It is planned that it should gracefully degrade if 3D accelerated hardware is not available.
Unity netbook interface:
The interface for the desktop is currently being discussed: Launchpad Blueprint
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Best Answer
The 2D netbook interface from 10.04 is still there. You can use it if you install
ubuntu-netbook-efl-default-settings&netbook-launcher-efl(click the package names to install them, after installation there will be a new session choice in the login screen).I don't understand why Docky would prevent you from running system administration programs?