Alesia

Going to give my thoughts here. One, the GUI on Windows is something I honestly hadn't thought of before - which is odd because I do a lot of UX work. I think you're right in that the range of acceptable thought on this has definitely be calcified by the "Windows aesthetic". Putting circledock, Nexus, and StrokesPlus on my PC have been absolute game changers, and I'm looking for a well functioning and aesthetic replacement for the file explorer. I think your GUI needs will be heavily dependent on who you are as a person and what you use a computer for. I disagree with some of the developers here that the command line is necessarily better than a GUI. The idea behind a GUI to begin with is that it's easier to visually get your bearings and click on what you want than it is to type out what it is you're after every time. Sure, the command line is faster for some things, but certainly not for any design/multimedia. My own personal workflow is a mix of that and code. I'm sorry, but having to type out every single request under those circumstances would make me blow my brains out lol I also think personal preferences play a heavy role. I disagree with Ross on dark themes, for example. I enable dark mode on everything I can find because I'm prone to sensory overload and it makes it easier on me. Likewise with desktop shortcuts - I find them to be clutter, and to a degree that gets stressful and slows me down. However, bringing up circle dock with my most commonly used programs in one place, arranged a circle (easier to scan with the eyes and find what you want than rows on a desktop), and with a visually pleasing frame removes a significant amount of stress. In the same vein, commonly used hot keys bound to a mouse gesture lowers stress - It's not looking at a busy keyboard. Additionally, Nexus dock being hidden unless I want it and customized to be visually pleasing when I do gives me more workspace, and less visual distraction/stress. That said, I understand that my needs aren't for everyone. Some people don't mind having a billion tabs, windows, and toolbars open at once with the brightest on high enough to rival a xenon headlight. And that's fine! They should be able to customize their system how they want to. The level of default customization on Windows is a problem for everyone. My personal GUI wishlist: Docks hidden unless I want them Docks must be highly visually pleasing Circles and curved shapes are less stressful for me I want a file explorer that's mostly dark, as few rows as possible (I like thumbnails better if I HAVE to have rows) and customized to look kinda Cyberpunk or like a Druid grove if I want to Mouse gestures for everything unless I'd have to go into powershell or something to do it, then some way to bind that to a hot key Dark theme on everything.