Do you ever feel like software is just changing back and forth for no good reason? Windows 8 dropped the Start button, then Windows 8.1 brought it back—both decisions being touted as big improvements. Windows 7 brought Aero transparency before Windows 8 dumped the transparency, and both decisions were proclaimed design improvements at the time.
Now, Microsoft is bringing transparency back again with Fluent Design.Open-source software isn’t immune to this temptation. Ubuntu moved its window control buttons—you know, the minimize, maximize, and close buttons—from the right side to the left side of window title bars in 2010. This was supposed to foster “innovation” that never really happened. Now, as Ubuntu gives up on Unity, window title bar buttons are moving back to the right.
This isn’t a criticism, really—moving the buttons back to the right makes sense. In fact, they arguably never should have been on the left in the first place.
Why the Move to the Left?
Traditionally, Linux desktops had window title bar buttons on the right side of windows—just like on Windows. In 2010, Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth, officially known as the “self-appointed benevolent dictator for life” of the project, decided this should change. The buttons would now be on the left side of the window title bar, like on Macs.
Ending a discussion about this on Ubuntu’s Launchpad issue tracking project, Shuttleworth explained: “Our intent is to encourage innovation, discussion, and design with the right of the window title bar.
We have some ideas, and others are already springing up in the community.”Eventually, as the Unity project evolved, it became impossible for users to even change the side of the window management buttons through hidden settings. That was just the way Unity was designed to work.
What Happened to All That “Innovation and Design”?
If you’ve used Ubuntu at all since 2010, it’s easy to wonder what that “innovation” is all about. It never really went anywhere, and it’s hard to picture how having the window buttons at the left side of the screen has improved the desktop experience.
However, one of Mark Shuttleworth’s blog posts from 2010 explains what was supposed to happen. Unity already has “desktop indicators”, which appear on the panel at the top right corner of the screen. These act like little notification icons, and it’s the closest thing…
The post Ubuntu’s Window Buttons Are Moving Back to the Right After All That “Innovation” appeared first on FeedBox.