First impression -
First thing i noticed was the GRUB menu was the correct resolution
i cant think of any other distro off the top of my head that actually used the correct resolution of my monitor for Grub (think chakra might of). I noticed there's no boot screen (mint logo with dots) not sure whether this is bug or just the way it is. Anyway then i arrived at the login screen which is LightDM which ubuntu 11.10 uses. Was glad to see that the LM guys have chosen this login screen rather than Gnome 3 because it looks more professional and cleaner.I'm using the LiveCD 64bit so like i usually do, i waited for the welcome screen to load then clicked the 'Upgrade to dvd edition' to get the codecs and additional applications. But nothing seemed to load so i clicked the 'Add multimedia codecs' but still nothing happened. So that was disappointing but all i had to do is just go to the activities menu and launch the appropriate program from there.
When i first read that there would be a bottom panel and a additional menu i thought it would be a great idea, but personally after using it just seems a bit unnecessary having another menu. So i launched Advanced settings and just disabled the bottom menu extension. I kept the window list extension enabled because not having a window list in Gnome shell was one of the things i didnt like about Gnome 3.
Since i have it enabled it seems that the activities button is over in the far right of the shell panel, which means im able to click on it and launch the activities menu, but im also still able to hover over the far-left of the screen and view the activities menu like this instead. I would of preferred having the activities button on the left but its rather handy being able to view it from both sides of the desktop.
Likes -
I like the way the distro comes with gnome-tweak-tool which is renamed to 'Advanced settings' which i think is more of a fitting name to give it and will make it easier to explain on the forum to users how to change stuff.
I like the extensions that LM comes with, the only ones im not using are Monitor statusm menu extension, bottom panel the rest i have all enabled.
The LiveCD was really quick and loading and getting to the desktop compared to any other Gnome 3 distro i tried.
I like the theme overall, it's not my sort of theme, but it does work well i think for a default theme, Glad to see the LM guys didnt just leave everything in default look, like some other distros are doing.
Glad to see the fonts are supersized and are actually a decent size, u notice this especially with Gnome shell panel,
Also the icons look great as usual and arent massive either.
Dislikes
As i mentioned earlier, i dont like the bottom panel but this just a personal preference of mine. personally i think they should just have one panel with the activities menu, windows list etc like Linux Mint used to be.
But i understand that Gnome-Shell limits this from happening so im still glad that LM is meeting users in middle by still providing them with the bottom panel.
I dont like the font used for the window list with the default theme, it doesnt seem smooth or as easy to read compared to the font used for the text used for the gnome-shell.
I dont like the icon for the update manager, think it stick out a bit and doesnt really go that well with the gnome-shell.
Also noticed the icon used for the volume notifications is really blurry, think this must be a small icon being used hence why it's so blurry. here's a screenshot -
Issues
Welcome screen doesn't work
During the updates the Gnome shell and window borders disappeared
was expecting them to reappear at end of updates maybe, but they didnt. Had to Ctrl-Alt-F1 then login as root then reboot the computer.The theme for the cursor doesnt actually change. This bug has been around for good while, think since LM10 theres a guide on how to change it manually somewhere.
Overall
Overall im rather impressed by this RC. It's rather fast compared to when i tried out the Gnome 3 editions of Fedora 15 or Fedora 16. I think users who miss Gnome 2 will eventually feel at home with LM12 when it's released.
I really like the extensions being included and that fact that LM12 isnt just Gnome-shell with a Linux Mint wallpaper
I think if was to use Gnome 3 as my DE of choice, it would 100% be with Linux Mint 12, it definitely seems like the best distro that can convience Gnome 2 users to make the jump to Gnome 3.
Here's screenshots just to show how i chose to setup the desktop.
