review by: Engadget. First First of all this review is copy & paste from here
. I thought it was so cool to play all is not lost in cyberspace but all merit are people that developed Genbeta one of the best reviews of the week for noobs. ---------------------
Ubuntu
Tomorrow Natty 11.04 Narwhal will be officially launched. This distribution is no more: the incorporation of Unity, the user interface for the GNOME environment
developed by Canonical, makes it a landmark in the history of Ubuntu.
Unity, which is already present in Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.10, represents a radical change in our user experience. For this reason, we will devote
Genbeta two special articles on Unity .
This is the first, where you'll find an overview of Unity, as well as the main keyboard shortcuts. In the second talk about how to configure and customize Unity, as well as some interesting tricks.
Overview Unity Unity
has four distinct areas: area of \u200b\u200bapplications, indicators, Launcher and Dash. We will see in greater depth those that involve more far-reaching changes in the way of working and user experience.
The
application area is the main area that visually dominates the screen, where we will have open applications. Area
indicators. You are at the top right of the screen. Indicators are persistent widgets that are present for reference and control of Ubuntu. Starting at the far right and moving clockwise are: control session, messaging control, clock, email and chat settings, control sound and playback, and networking. If you have a laptop, will the state control of the battery and power supply. The
Launcher Application Launcher or have the following shortcuts: home folder, favorite applications, switch workspaces, all applications, all documents and the Recycle Bin.
Dash (board) is a quick-access control (which is hidden) to applications, files and searches. It can be configured as through "lenses" (magnifiers) to establish search custom. Access to Dash explained below.
Using Application Launcher (Launcher)
If the application you want to use is housed in the launcher, with a single mouse click is enough to run it. If it is loaded into memory, along with others, and you click on its icon in the launcher, it will bring to the fore in particular visual program. The act of placing the mouse pointer over any icon will display a banner with the name of the program stands.
If the number of icons is more than can fit on the screen, the lower are arranged so that they appear stacked. Placing the pointer on top or lower, depending on where they are hidden icons, there is a vertical displacement (up or down) of the icons.
The Launcher is automatically hidden when you click on any of its icons. To redisplay move the mouse to the left of the screen completely and wait a moment.
When you run a program and its window is active, the representative icon remains flanked by two arrowheads. For the other running, only the left arrowhead and if you have several active windows in the same application, you are editing multiple instances, a check mark by each of them, always to the left of the icon.
button right mouse button on an icon displays a "balloon" with the name of the program and options. For example, on the Firefox icon, the option "Open in new window", the name, an option labeled maintenance on the launcher icon and finally, the "Exit".
There are special icons pitcher gray symbolize not applications. This is the case with access to the workspaces (a window divided into four), access to all applications (a magnifying glass with a + sign in the center), access to documents and folders (a magnifying glass icon in documents center) and the paper Recycling in the bottom of the Launcher, whether or not enough icons to fill the entire bar launcher.
Launcher keyboard shortcuts
Unity is of great importance in the Leclair "Meta" or "Super" (the Windows keyboard that symbolizes their logo.) Shows the launcher if it is hidden.
- Meta (simple click) shows the Dash. Meta
- pressed and held for a moment: it shows the launcher. If kept in a persistent manner, some numbers appear on each icon (and letters if the numbers are depleted). Meta +
- number: run the application.
- Meta + Shift + number opens a new instance of the application symbolized. Add applications
pitcher
To add applications to launch two methods. If you are running a program's icon will appear in the Launcher but not default. If you want that application forms part of the launcher, click with right mouse button and the "balloon" will see the option "Keep on the pitcher."
To order your position with the left mouse button marks, drag out the pitcher and place it in the desired position. The second method is to drag an icon launcher application directly from its location which can be accessed from the board as explained then either right-clicking on the gray icon "Applications" which displays the list of categories as you can see in the picture.
Using Dash or Dashboard
To access the board, we have to press the left mouse button on the Ubuntu icon located in the upper left corner of the screen, or as anticipated, with the Meta key, serves to show or hide it.
The board is an element of Unity integrated within a window can be maximized. It consists of a search box and an area of \u200b\u200bicons that represent shortcuts to features Special (gray icons) in the first row and under them, provided applications as favorites.
In the first group are by default: multimedia, internet, more applications and find files. In the second, the web browser, image viewer, email client and media player. It has a small white icon, type
home and a small arrowhead.
Clicking on any of these collapses or expands the window, leaving only the first case the text box. Search, which becomes the focus as soon as we open the board, change the items displayed as you type.
This makes
Find yourself a program is very fast Unity. For example, hit target and type "cal", then you see all the programs, or documents that have that sequence of letters ('cal'culadora, LibreOffice' Cal'c and Mail and 'Cal'endario Evolution), I case, I have no documents with the filtering criteria.
Running Applications in Unity
This is one of the biggest changes "sudden" Unity , if I may say, in the way they interact with applications and one that more time may need adjustment. So far, we have seen ways to organize items and really not far, relatively speaking, to find an icon in a horizontal dock, as in
XFCE.
With the exception of some applications that have integrated their own menu system, as LibreOffice or Blender,
in Unity programs are disconnected from your menu bar , which is housed on the top bar of the interface. At first, a little sidetracked. Do not forget that Unity was originally designed for portable mini screens to maximize vertical space, shorter in widescreen formats.
Take the example of GIMP, I've been using extensively to the images of this article. If you have the main window without maximizing and want to access any menu item, instinct takes you to the bar of the window and there's nothing there.
You must move the mouse to the top of the screen and then change the context and displays the program menu bar. Honestly, I'm finding quite uncomfortable. In a 24-inch screen is not normal mazimizar the drawing window to manipulate an image of 400 by 400 pixel, and for any action or release the mouse to operate the keyboard, or you have to climb a good bit pointer to access menu. Administration
Unity windows
There are several ways to pass a window another in Unity, which is more familiar with the use of the [ALT] and [TAB]. With the first press and hold, successive presses of TAB
are covering windows bringing the active foreground.
If you press [ALT] and briefly [TAB] for the same workspace, a dialog box in the middle of the screen with thumbnails of all open windows. If you do not loose [ALT], with the box open, successive presses of the [TAB] are alternating windows.
If you need to know all the open windows in Unity , regardless of the workspace where you have placed,
Meta + W will be shown full screen . Then you can use the arrow keys and hold Meta, to scroll through windows. Meta + W repeating a second time disables this functionality.
Unity Workspaces
The user of GNU / Linux are familiar with the concept of workspaces, areas where program windows can be grouped by any criteria.
In Unity we have four workspaces, which can be accessed with the "Workspace Switcher", one of the gray icon application launcher that I said. Clicking the icon
, are the four areas divided into a grid. From there, either with the mouse or with the keys cursor (which illuminate the working space), we can move from one to another. In the simultaneous display of space, you have a visual representation of the open windows.
selector Unity workspaces are accessible from the keyboard with the method described earlier to handle the application launcher (Launcher). Keyboard or mouse, the fact of choosing a closed space grid, again activating the switch, also closes.
There is a faster method of viewing still working spaces, since the switch, regardless of the icons contained in the application launcher, is assigned the letter "S". Meta + S, regardless of what you're doing at the time, active (or off) where the viewfinder grid spaces.
When we are in preview mode "grid" with the mouse is very easy to switch windows between different workspaces, you only need drag and drop. This feature is really handy. Conclusions on Unity
I am sure I will have missed any aspect which may be relevant, Unity is not an interface that is used with the wealth of others, I apologize in advance. The second part of this special, enter deep into the Advanced Configuration issue with the inclusion of some tricks. Also any details that you left in the inkwell. Come with the conclusions.
Unity is a bold and risky bet Canonical, is played a lot with their acceptance. If users we adapt to changes, originality can make the number of devotees from Ubuntu rise. Also, in case of dissatisfaction, which seek to take another distribution, such as Shell
Gnome. Time will tell. This article has been made entirely on the Beta 2 Ubuntu
11.04 Natty Narwhal, impeccable in his behavior.
What can not be doubted, in my opinion,
is that Unity is a high visual impact, full of originality . The drawbacks, regardless of commented on the breakdown of the menus, is the Achilles heel of all the latest technology, resource consumption, and the need for a graphics controller with OpenGL support. In Genbeta and I talked about that
Canonical publishes a list of compatible hardware , you may need to consult.
