unity

Ubuntu 12.04 final hasn't been released until now, yet, Ubuntu developers have already started the work on Ubuntu 12.10, from a design point-of-view, introducing new interesting features.

In Ubuntu 11.10 and 12.04, when an application have multiple instances simultaneously opened, its Unity launcher icon "gains" several dots (symbolizing numerous instances), when users left-click on that launcher icon, the windows are displayed in Spread mode, thus users can easily choose, observe, act upon them.

Unity 5.4 has just landed in Ubuntu 12.04, taking the LTS to another superior level in terms of design, interactions and overall polish.

What is new in Unity 5.4?

A new eyecandy view is to probably be integrated into Unity, named Coverflow, a fancy draggable 3D icon view, that is to, on-demand, expose Dash's icons in an horizontal view, easily manageable by drag and scroll.

This totally interesting, fancy addition, Unity Coverflow, has been "conditionally approved", and, is to probably be included in Ubuntu 12.04 if it meets certain design-based parameters (according to Ubuntu's John Lea):

Unity is a great interface, that definitely triggers creative minds in presenting alternative or complementary solution to Ubuntu's default shell.

Iloveubuntu reader, Frederico nq6 Mendes Araujo, sent us Unity mockups packed in a Youtube clip, where he expresses his vision about various parts of Unity, like lenses, social integration into the Dash, launcher repositioning and more.

Unity 5.2 has landed in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS just now, bringing important additions and bug fixes, resulted from rigorous tests performed against the "old" Unity 5.0, aimed at a better multi-monitor experience, details polish and the already-common "just works".

What is new in Unity 5.2?

Unity has been updated to 5.0 version just now, marking the first Precise-specific release.

Numerous issues reported in Ubuntu 11.10 have been addressed, along with speed improvements, as well as new interesting features.

What is new in Unity 3D 5.0?

• BFB/Ubuntu logo gained quicklist support, exposing now the installed lenses in its quicklist, allowing 1-click access to a specific lens

Unity shell is a gorgeous, fast and reliable interface that is to be "ported" to phones, tablets and various devices, but, being a relative young project, the developers have been focused on delivering a strong, finished and stable platform sacrificing the ability to easily in-depth configure Unity.

Consequently, a configuration tool was and still is asked by numerous user, although Unity is easily configurable via CompizConfig Settings Manager with clear options and decent space to maneuver Unity.

It is a fact that Ubuntu will be present on tablets, smart screens, phones, TVs in the future, objective expressed by Mark Shuttleworth few weeks ago.

Although there are various clips on the Internet that show Ubuntu on various devices, including tablets, the bellow video presents Ubuntu running smoothly on a touchscreen, Acer Iconia W500.

The interesting part is that the tablet runs on Unity 3D that "feels" quite snappy even when the Dash is summoned.

Ubuntu developers announced at Ubuntu Developer Summit (Precise Pangolin) Unity's multimonitor enhancements that are to arrive in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

According to Stewart Wilson (minute 47:34), Ubuntu's User Experience Architect, in multimonitor setup, Precise's Unity will probably feature:

Unity Music lens provides a large music base that can be easily searched (via the Dash) and accessed via Banshee in the default configuration, but can receive numerous additions by simply adding scopes (data sources), such as Clementine's, Rhythmbox's and Guayadeque's.