I don't think the top panel offers enough functionality to justify its existence.Like, I get why it's weird for new users unfamiliar with the Overview paradigm to be perplexed by the lack of a taskbar. There's clearly a UI element stapled to the top of the screen that could easily have a taskbar on it, so, from their perspective, why isn't there one? It can't be because of space saving, because there's already space being taken up by what could absolutely be a taskbar.
I've fussed about it a lot in the past but I absolutely *despise* the menu bar in macOS, which is what I think GNOME is trying to be evocative of. That said, GNOME was smart to dispense with the menus themselves, but that leaves a bar with far less utility for the user. At a glance, the only truly useful information up there is the workspace indicator, the date/clock, and, if you're on a laptop, the battery level. I don't think there's enough there to justify it being stapled to the top of the screen at all times, unlike on macOS where it justifies it by having the worst UI element ever.
I *definitely* don't think it should have *more* utility (like a taskbar), I just don't think it should really exist in its current form. I'm not sure what I'd replace it with though
I have an extension to hide it so it only appears in the Overview, but that feels less than elegant. I dunno. Puppy is just big UX thinkin'.#GNOME #Linux #FOSS #UI #UX #macOS