Linux Mint Forums

To me there has always been a clear division of functionality- the desktop/operating system has it's controls on the bottom of the screen, and the application/window has it's controls on the top. This is philosophically why I have alway disliked top panels.

There's also practical reasons why I believe top panels are a bad idea. Manny applications have multiple bars across the top, and when they are maximized, or moved to the top of the screen, they combine with the top panel to make a cluttered mess. Adding a bottom panel while keeping the top panel also seem pointless to me, I cram tons of launchers and widgets onto a single panel, and always have enough space, even on my netbook. To me anything but a single bottom panel has always seemed like being different from Windows for the sake of being different from Windows.

So I guess this is kind of a poll- Do you think that in the future the Gnome 3 version of Mint should ship with a single bottom panel, dual panels or just the top panel. If your a fan of top panels, tell me what you like about them. If you agree with me, explain why.

The gnome version of Mint has always had a fully functional bottom panel only, and that was one of the characteristics that drew me to Mint on the first place. I usually set it to 36 pixels which is large enough that I can see it without using up too much desktop space. I believe that having a panel at both top and bottom is impractical and that mintifying the Gnome 3 to maintain the look and feel of previous versions is the way to go. I think this approach will gain the most favor among loyal Mint users. MATE may be the answer, once it is stable and reliable enough to use. Just my 2 cents worth.

I extremely dislike the top panel and the inability to move it, I use Linux to be able to have control of the way it looks / acts and that has been taken away in many aspects with 'Lisa' , (can you say apple?)
I disliked Ubuntu when they went with the garbage called Unity and its lack of control for the user.
With the new revision called 'Lisa' the same thing is happening, which is why I will stick with the Wonderful LinuxMint 11
Forget 'Lisa' it is like an Ex-Wife that wants control of what you do....

Having both top and bottom panels seems like a waste. But panel on the top or panel on the bottom, doesn't matter one bit to me. Either way is fine. (Just so happens that I'm typing this from within AwesomeWM, with the panel at the top.)

I like the top panel, just its placement is all wrong. Once it can be simply placed at the bottom and the second redundant panel eliminated, I'll be ready to upgrade.

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I prefer a bottom panel. What I cannot, will not, and never have accepted, is two panels on a desktop - you might as well save yourself money and buy a smaller monitor. Like MalsPa said, if the desktop coder has put the panel at the top I can live with that (I am now) but if anyone invents a way to move it back where is should be I will take advantage of that as soon as I find it.

In case you are tempted to give me another solution, I have tried 'docks' and I like those even less than a top panel.

When you using your web browser or a App you end up with 2 panels any way..... does not matter what operating system you are using.
Could be as many as 4 or more sometimes....

I am prefer bottom panel and I am always use MATE session in Mint 12.

I cannot STAND the top panel. The inability to remove it actually made me switch to XFCE as the primary shell. MATE is promising but is also essentially still an Alpha-stage product.

I understand it's useful to have the ability to put panels in all locations, but I'm a bit stunned that the panel was locked to the top in Gnome 3; why? It may be a simple thing, but a panel on the top for individuals who, like me, cannot stand something being there is reason enough to not use the Gnome 3 environment. How hard would it have been for them to add the ability to move it?

Mint LXDE allows panels where ever is your desire - top, right, left, bottom - 1,2.3 or 4 panels. Isn't that the best solution for the most?

Auto Hide Top Panel In Gnome 3 > http://www.muktware.com/articles/3059

They have now, created a Gnome 3 Extension called Auto Hide Top Panel, which hides the top panel and give you full screen - it not only saves time but also removes distracting elements. When you take the mouse on the top, the panel will appear. Since all the menus remain with the respective windows - there is no productivity loss.

Love my panel at the top.
Been keeping windows panels on the bottom and Linux panels on top, since the turn of the century
To be honest I don't think it matters much..... as long as we retain the choice.

Lanser

RamBurner wrote:I extremely dislike the top panel and the inability to move it, I use Linux to be able to have control of the way it looks / acts and that has been taken away in many aspects with 'Lisa' , (can you say apple?)
I disliked Ubuntu when they went with the garbage called Unity and its lack of control for the user.
With the new revision called 'Lisa' the same thing is happening, which is why I will stick with the Wonderful LinuxMint 11
Forget 'Lisa' it is like an Ex-Wife that wants control of what you do....

Well said.

Doesn't matter to me at all. When I left Windows, I went to Ubuntu 9.10 (after its support ended... was all that would work on the laptop I had at the time that I knew about) and I actually thought the two panels were kinda nifty. In fact, when I moved over to Linux Mint 9 XFCE, I actually set it up so I could have the two panels.

I do agree that we should have a choice in the matter, but I don't feel it's worth frothing at the mouth over. There are more civil and diplomatic ways to solve this quandary.

Language can be colourful sometimes.

We need to read between the lines... Linux is supposed to be flexible.
With Unity and two-panels without inherent options, Linux takes away the lines.

DaComboMan wrote:Language can be colourful sometimes.

We need to read between the lines... Linux is supposed to be flexible.
With Unity and two-panels without inherent options, Linux takes away the lines.

But there are other desktop environments to choose from. No one's putting a gun to your head and forcing you to use Unity/GNOME 3. In fact, I'm typing this from a Unity desktop that I installed onto Mint 12 which I put on there quite willingly (but then, I rather like it).

The choices are still there, folks.

True.

Does that mean that users can't have their say anymore?
Many if not most XP users were quite happy the way things were.
Does that mean LinuxMint has to become like Microsoft?

If it ain't broke...
Don't fix it.

So have you installed the extension which easily hides the top panel or was there not time for that with all the complaining?

Let's just say that a lot has happened since.

Have recently picked up of the tip in advanced settings to turn off "bottom panel extension" in "shell extensions"
which then places the menu in top panel:
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=86813

This tip suites me fine for now. Much easier to follow through.

Doesn't mean that i wipe away "don't fix it if it ain't broke!"

And don't get me wrong, i'm enjoying LM12 very much!

It's just that i sympathize with people like me (getting older) and find it harder to get used to the newer stuff and to have to look around for something that used to be there but ain't there no more.

So I guess this is kind of a poll- Do you think that in the future the Gnome 3 version of Mint should ship with a single bottom panel, dual panels or just the top panel. If your a fan of top panels, tell me what you like about them. If you agree with me, explain why.

Its just panels. As long as there is a reasonable way to configure them I really don't care what the default is. I am more concerned with overall stability and ease of configuration. Enjoy