azupan said: I already did, see screenshots in post #35 (http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=10768794&postcount=35 ). Windows Explorer is not the only application with menu hidden by default, but it's the first one that comes to my mind, because it's probably the most heavily used.
Then there are Google Chrome/ Chromium and Internet Explorer 9, which have menu hidden all the time. Actually, they have no menu in classical sense at all. If you want menu to pop out, you have to click a little button in the corner. Such UI design makes a lot of sense, because menu is very seldomly used. It therefore makes no sense to waste space with it in application window, let alone desktop.
If you take a look at ZarathustraDK's design you'll notice, that I'm not the only one thinking along this lines.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not against global menu/top panel at all- actually, I think it's very useful idea. There are a lot of apps out there, where menu is necessary, IDEs, and such. But, there is also increasing number of apps without menu, and that must be taken into account. I think you said it very well, though initially we were looking at two different types of applications.
Yes, I followed the evolution of Ribbons at the Jensen Harris blog with great interest, and recognize that Windows is finally getting around to using Ribbons-like UIs in other apps outside of Office.
Browsers are also evolving away from menus because of their nature and the nature of menus: menus are a means of accessing commands within an app, but on the Web most of the commands are within the page, so the app's own menus play a relatively minor role.
But as you noted, a great many apps, like IDEs, GIMP, Scribus, and others, a feature-rich applications, and for them menus play an important role; it's hard to find a more concise way to make so many commands so easily available.
That is, if they can be seen.
And there's the rub:
For apps that have no menus, Unity isn't hiding them since they're not there at all.
But for apps that have menus, it's a significant disservice to the user to hide them until the user figures out to hunt for them by mousing over the menu bar.
Sure, they'll get used to it, but why make them hunt?
And even after they get used to hunting for menus, because they can't be seen until the mouse is moved to the menu bar they can't be aimed at, lengthening the time to acquire the sort of muscle memory which has historically made menus so useful.
So there's a downside to concealment for both new and experienced users alike.
And the benefit?
It was initially proposed as having a cleaner look, but menus aren't exactly noise, they're information, and as a primary means of command access they're very important information.
If the goal is cleanliness at any cost, the simplest solution is to turn the computer off -- there, nice clean screen. :)
Fortunately Mr. Shuttleworth appears less enchanted with Unity in its current state than some, very excited by the potential but soberly acknowledging that there are details that need refinement: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=10774258
I'd be surprised if concealing menus from users remains the default in 11.10.
