Better menu for GNOME/Ubuntu
January 15th, 2008 | Ubuntu, Linux by thOne thing I liked about OpenSuse was the better GNOME start menu. And I was delighted to find out I can easily get it for Ubuntu too! To install new menu in Ubuntu (7.10, gutsy), install package gnome-main-menu using Synaptic (or use: sudo apt-get install gnome-main-menu). After installing the package you can right-click on the panel where you want to place the menu, and select Add to panel… and select ‘Main menu’ applet (note: default menu button is also named as ‘main menu’ so make sure you select the right one).
To get Search box to the main menu, install Beagle (from Add/Remove applications). If you decide to use Beagle, remember to disable Tracker indexing from Control Center > Sessions.
“One thing I liked about OpenSuse was the bloated GNOME start menu”
Here, fixed for you
Well, it’s way better than the default menu. I like having all my favourite apps behind two clicks without cluttering the panel applet.
i dont really like beagle , it felt useless to me and kept starting indexing at random times on my laptop which ate my battery like me on fried chicken…
(i have my laptop rigged to not sleep when the lid closes because when it came back my wifi would not work so beagle would redline my processor while my laptop was in my bag)
not my thing but to each is own; thats what linux is all about.
Just open Beagle window and select Preferences, and uncheck the ‘Index data while on battery power’ and tadaa, Beagle no longer eats your battery!
I did the same and I got the menu no problem, however…
On mine the ‘Computer’ label is misaligned and the bottom of the ‘p’ is cutoff.
Any ideas on why yours looks so perfect?
I noticed the same thing with some themes, so I adjusted the panel height to 24px (normal is 21px).
This menu looks very bloated and like the MS Windows start menu where you cannot find what you need very fast.
I use Avant window navigator for my frequently used applications. It takes less space then the standard menu bar in the bottom of the screen.
http://code.google.com/p/avant-window-navigator/
I also use gnome-do to launch less frequently used apps. http://do.davebsd.com/
You’re kidding right? That’s not a menu, that’s a *monster*! It’s a copy of the Windows Start Menu, which has been getting bigger, fatter, chunkier and uglier with each release.
Something in Usability Land is very wrong when you feel you have to cram so many different things into one space.
Less is More!
Well, if you think this is a monster menu, you shouldn’t try KDE4’s Kickoff
*that’s* a monster.
Try gnome-do, or katapult (kde) - a nice way to start applications. No keyboardmouse switching - that takes a long time.
I decided to give it a go. It trashed my CPU for a few minutes, then gave me nothing I needed. I’m more of a Gnome Deskbar-kinda guy.
Whatever floats ones boat, I suppose
To be honest, I really like it and I’m not even a big Windows fan. I think that there is an aesthetic appeal to it plus it’s nice having frequently used documents and apps in one/two clicks. I also like the way that it groups the “control center” icons.
It’s not that monstrous - it also provides an excellent accessible blend between quick launching and more search depth. Quick launchers are okay, and I guess Avant looks pretty. But functionally gnome’s main menu is much more useful, and more usable.