Published at LXer:

The Ubuntu operating system is to replace its application menus with a "head-up display" (HUD) box. Users control the HUD interface by typing in the command they want carried out. Developers of the Linux-based software say they will initially offer the HUD as an option, allowing users to "hide" their menu bars. They say that using the HUD is faster than "mousing through a menu" and makes applications feel more powerful

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I don't think this is a good idea when you think about Shuttleworth's goal to have 200 million users in a few years. Think about the people coming from Windows that complain that you sometimes have to type something on the command line, or even only the password. Now they have to type in the GUI also, oh no.

By the way: This isn't new at all, we have dmenu and similar programs for years.

1970's: Memorizing and typing commands is the accepted means of operating a computer.

1980's: Graphical interfaces are introduced as a means to provide easy access to the most commonly used commands without needing to type them out.

1990's: Graphical interfaces are polished and become the accepted means of operating a computer.

2010's: It is discovered that the most effective way to streamline graphical interfaces is by allowing users to type in commands.

hmm ...

When I think about it, I seem to be way ahead of time: Tiled applications in wmii, started with a menu like this "new invented" HUD.
The next thing Shuttleworth comes up with should be "inventing" a new paradigm for text-editors: Mode based, controlled by key-presses and typed in commands (vim). Or something like: Making applications interoperable with simply writing their commands after another, parted by a vertical stroke. That will become more powerful in the next version: Starting applications only if other applications have successfully done their job.

Wrong Again!

Have they lost the plot?

Which is why I don't use Unity on my PC.

I use the mouse to move around almost all the time, for example browsing, reading a document, studying a spreadsheet. Most of the time I am reading not writing. I only type when I'm writing a document or entering data, so it's inconvenient to take may hand off the mouse and type.

This seems to be the worst combination - type to get a list of commands then click the mouse to select the one you want - really awkward.

It might be OK if it's just an extra option to try.

My quotes are from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16731071