On GNOME? Alt-tab, super overview, or click the dock icon. It's literally not any more complex than multitasking on an iPad.
That point would hold some water if the iPad were intended as a first-class multitasking platform, like a desktop OS. I don't know what the 'super' key in GNOME is, and don't much care, because if that kind of thing isn't obvious it might as well not exist. Having never used *nix on a graphical desktop before, I'm just blown away by how primitive the experience is.
Fortunately Claude Code was happy to install dash-to-panel for me when I asked it what the deal was with this particular flavor of airline food.
This is like having someone tell you that they refuse to use an iPad because the home button confuses them. That's your choice.
I've used GNOME professionally for 7 years now, and I've taught kids to use it at robotics workshops. If you can believe it, many of them are unable to use macOS and Windows at all, because their school districts don't buy them laptops anymore. I'm sorry that GNOME isn't a carbon copy of your favorite OS, but it's not hard to use whatsoever.
Or just linux?
I think the latter. And it might surprise you, but there are computers with no linux installed. I think the vast majority actually. So why the need for insults?
Guess what, I also only learned recently (some years now I think) after making it mire default, that on linux the windows key is called super key. And the person you insulted clarified he did not use linux at all.
So, how should he have known, despite working with computer extensivly?
I used some sort of *nix on a VAX terminal in college and ran SUSE on my machine once I realized I hated Windows 98 but all of that is ancient history at this point lol. All of that is to say that it is possible for someone to be peripherally interested in this topic and not be aware of what a super key would be even in context. Maybe someone that uses Windows could pick up on it earlier but I certainly didn’t:)
Most people that look down at their keyboard will be able to visually identify that icon out of the bunch, methinks.
I'm extremely experienced using and developing for Windows (and earlier) platforms, but it's true that I've never used a Linux machine before. I'm taking the opportunity to deliberately set one up and use it with Claude Code's help, in order to understand where the remaining sharp edges are, as well as the remaining dull ones. Desktop UX definitely qualifies as one of the latter.
Key point is that I don't want to press any keys to maintain my awareness of what's running on the machine. Processes with windows associated with them should always be apparent in one way or another. Ubuntu got the less-useful part of the taskbar right -- the quick-launch icons on the column at left -- while failing to do the important thing, which is to show, well, tasks.
I remember when they first started putting Windows keys on keyboards. If you think AI pisses people off, LOL... you weren't reading Slashdot and other Linux-adjacent sites when those keys started showing up. It's amusing to see that they've been embraced (if not extended) by the haters.
KDE and GNOME both solve this with a dock, the same way that Windows and macOS solve it.
> It's amusing to see that they've been embraced (if not extended) by the haters.
The haters by-and-large don't use it. Those haters use esoteric tiling WMs that don't bind anything to super by default.
The KDE and GNOME developers have a direct usability goal. With respect to Slashdot's opinions, the Linux desktop would still be stuck in the 90s if we listened to them. Your perspective as a DOS/PowerShell user is not any more valuable, considering you barely use Windows as-is.
Not by default, GNOME doesn't. Try installing Ubuntu. You get nothing but a blank desktop by default. The bar at left only shows shortcuts for launching tasks, not running tasks themselves.
Your perspective as a DOS/PowerShell user is not any more valuable, considering you barely use Windows as-is.
Those advocating an OS with 5% market share might do well to listen to other perspectives once in a while.
Clearly you're not a golfer.
The lack of desktop UI affordances in the leading "user-friendly" Linux distribution should be seen as a five-alarm fire by anyone interested in promoting wider Linux acceptance on the desktop. There are reasons why Linux can't get past low single-digit adoption no matter how badly Apple and Microsoft screw their users, and I'm sure the half-assed desktop UI is one of them.