One Week with Solus Gnome

brent

I'm still getting it. Certainly don't hate it.
Wayland dramatically improved last update.
When I get my brain over the whole "why am I constantly hitting superkey to find stuff, always stepping between two different worlds?" mindset I know I will have made it.

I installed dash to dock and extensions...neither I can find in the search box.

https://zacks.eu/gnome-customization-on-debian-complete-guide/
^^ this is an after-install gnome tutorial in line with my tastes. I have to populate my apps tab and dial that all in.

I foresee a modest amount of work to make this a portable laptop I can produce on.
@AlphaElwedritsch --I always remember your words about gnome is after you install you don't monkey around too much, you prefer the vanilla experience.
I am heeding those words while trying to make it more functional.
Having used Budgie the last several years, nothing under the hood is unfamiliar but Gnome is its own man, or woman, so to speak.
I should of done this years ago. Gnome is fun to learn in my spare time. I know I will create a functional work station in good time.
As far as Solus and Gnome, thanks for keeping it straightforward and simple.

AlphaElwedritsch

I generally take things as they are and adapt to the circumstances instead of spending hours adjusting everything. But that's a way of life I would never force on anyone.

SethStorm666

AlphaElwedritsch

How dare ya! 😃

Tinkering with the desktop is god send! That's half the fun using a DE 😛

brent

AlphaElwedritsch I generally take things as they are and adapt to the circumstances instead of spending hours adjusting everything. But that's a way of life I would never force on anyone.

the path of least resistance is mostly the smartest one. with this Gnome install I just want it mostly stock. Not there yet. thanks for responding

Original-Syn

AlphaElwedritsch Yeah, I tried that, but just can't. But, there is certainly nothing wrong with that approach. Even with KDE, which I, personally, prefer, they did a study and the vast majority do not actually change it up. That is on a DE that has insane levels of customization built-in. So you are certainly not alone.

For me, I have a specific layout that I prefer, and I use it whether I am using Gnome, KDE, Budgie, or any other DE. My Desktop essentially has the same layout. That way, my workflow is similar. The look and feel, is what I am feeling. I don't change it often enough to be a distraction, but enough to give me that change that re-energizes me from time to time.

brent

SethStorm666 Tinkering with the desktop is god send! That's half the fun using a DE

I know it is, it's awesome. trying to dial it back on this one. wish me luck

SethStorm666

brent

If you want tome bling-bling gnome extensions I can recommend:

Burn my Windows
Blur my Shells
Transparent Moving Windows

Sebastian

When my new laptop has arrived I will write a list of extensions I use and other tweaks I apply.
I try to have my GNOME as vanilla as possible, but some tweaks here and there that add some nice function without changing GNOME fundamentally I still do.
I don't use dash to dock for example, but hot edge extension.
It opens overview when moving mouse cursor to bottom of screen. That's the one extension I can't live without.

brent

@Sebastian @SethStorm666 @Original-Syn @AlphaElwedritsch

I want to keep this open and ask you all questions as I get Gnome to where I need it to be. I really appreciate what you had to say in this thread.

SethStorm666

Here's a trick I use on Gnome if you use Dash to Dock.

Switching the usual App menu button with a custom one.

Open the terminal and copy/paste:

mkdir -p ~/.themes/ChangeIcon/gnome-shell
touch ~/.themes/ChangeIcon/gnome-shell/gnome-shell.css
nano ~/.themes/ChangeIcon/gnome-shell/gnome-shell.css

Paste this into the terminal, but change the destination of the icons and icons name.

.show-apps .show-apps-icon {
border: none;
background-image: url("file:///home/storm/Documents/RetroRed.svg");
background-size: contain;
color: transparent; }

.show-apps:hover .show-apps-icon, .show-apps:active .show-apps-icon, .show-apps:checked .show-apps-icon, .show-apps:focus .show-apps-icon {
color: transparent; 
background-image: url("file:///home/storm/Documents/RetroRed.svg");
background-size: contain; }

Save = ctrl+o
Exit = ctrl+x

In Gnome Tweak you can now change Gnome Shell to ChangeIcon.

brent

SethStorm666 oh that's nice. will be doing that later

brent

Update:
I activated dash-to-dock so I felt I'm always in the same screen so the psych aspect I spoke about in the first post has disappeared.

I'm happy with settings, tweaks, and a vintage Tullamore wallpaper. Not going crazy. I like it the way I have it so far.

SethStorm666 In Gnome Tweak you can now change Gnome Shell to ChangeIcon.

can I get a link to that set in your picture ^^ with the gold circles? I want to download that and finish the Change Icon stuff after that. Thanks!

AlphaElwedritsch

It's only one extension, I'm using. Appindicator. Because I want to see the status of my nextcloud sync.
All other extensions are deinstalled or switched off.
And a custom wallpaper. That's all. Everything else ist default as it is.

SethStorm666

brent

Thanks for the interest. But it's not finished yet and it's one of my icon themes that are going to be on sale on my site.