They’ve been separate desktop environments from the start. From top to bottom they share nearly nothing. The compositors, window managers, toolkits and shells are all different.

They also are ideologically opposed. If they merged, which direction would they go? The more feature-rich KDE? Or the more streamlined Gnome? Such a merger would lead to infighting and stagnation.

This is before even talking about the actual code underlying both environments.

I think it’s better for everyone if they stay as two separate projects.

My guess is that some genres are going to be more problematic due to more extensive use of anti cheat. What are some of the games you’re having trouble with?

This kills the universe.

If I remember correctly, there’s already a system tray icon that lets you adjust volume on your current devices. The extension adds the ability to switch devices from that drop down instead of drilling into the settings app.

I feel like vanilla GNOME is intentionally a barbones common workflow, and that extensions are how you customize to fit your needs.

For example, I often switch between desktop speakers and headphones (where the dongle is always connected), and sometimes other audio devices. I installed the sound input/output chooser so I don’t have to go into Settings every time I need to switch inputs. It saves me multiple clicks. But I get that not everyone needs immediate access to change audio devices, so why clutter the UI?

I’ve used both vanilla GNOME and the post-Unity Ubuntu spin on it. In either case I’ve grown accustomed to the Activities screen, quickly accessing it pressing the Super key, and using it to switch windows and manage full screen apps on different monitors.

Removing or even refactoring old code can be very therapeutic.

That’s because these programmers are getting paid by the character.

This is also why Java dev pays so well.