One of the biggest annoyance of Ubuntu users in recent times has been the emphasis of Canonical on imposing the Unity desktop on its users. For this reason users are switching to the Gnome 3 shell and also installing alternative desktops like Linux Mint 12.
While one can easily get the classic start menu by installing the Gnome Shell or Classic Menu Indicator, some may prefer merely acquiring access to common folders from the Gnome Panel. Indicator Places is an app-indicator menu applet, which provides access to the “Places” drop down menu in Ubuntu Unity. This includes access to the Home Folder, Computer, Network, Videos, Documents, Pictures, and Downloads.
You can download Indicator Places as a ZIP and GZ package from the Github link given at the end of this post.
Instructions:
Download and extract the compressed archive and run the indicator-places.py file. Once this file is executed, an option will appear asking you to display it’s content. Click Run to start Indicator Places.
One thing you might find a lacking in Indicator Places is that you cannot drag it across the Gnome Panel. This means that if you can only access the “Places” menu from the right-hand side of the Gnome Panel, which can take a little time to get used to, especially for users who just switched to Unity.
Let’s hope that Canonical brings some better customization options in Precise Pangolin to give a breather to Ubuntu users who are loosing patience with the current Canonical approach.
