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?
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.