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I'm currently trying out the new gnome-shell thing, because supposedly it will become the default in Gnome 3.0, and I was wanting to get to know it before it gets jammed down my throat.

Things I like:

• The new method of handling workspaces is pretty cool. When you are in the dock, (I don't know if it's called the "dock", but that's what I'm calling it) if you need another workspace, you click the '+', and you immediately get another. If you are no longer using a workspace, you click the "-" on an empty one, and it goes away. It's simple, yet reasonably functional.
• Programs can be clicked-and-dragged from one workspace to another, and it is done in a nice, graphical way.
• I like the prevalence of the search function, and it's reasonably fast.

Things I don't like:

• They only give you one panel at the top, and you aren't allowed to change it. That's just crap.
• Gnome-shell is too active. Opening the program list will zoom the desktop out so you can see every workspace at once, and it will then reorganise all of your windows so they are all immediately visible. Well, that's great, but I really only wanted to look at the list of programs.
• Gnome-shell is slow. Like, real slow. It causes my computer to lag, just by dragging a window around, and I have a pretty good processor, and the latest graphics drivers.... not that I should need either in order to get a responsive environment. Also, there is a 1/4 second delay between clicking the "Activities" button to open the dock, and the dock actually opening. Plus, all the animations are really slow. Look, the whole gobject-introspection concept is cool, but just because you can write a window manager in Javascript, doesn't mean you should.
• Everything in gnome-shell is too over-the-top. I like the search feature, but I don't like how it incurs that jarring zoom-out thing. I like that desktop reordering feature, but it has loads of unnecessary animations, and uses up the entire screen. Isn't there a more minimalist way of introducing those features to the already-existing Gnome environment?
• Too much emphasis on "Recently Documents". IMHO, there's no good use for the "Recent Documents" list in the window manager. If I'm editing an essay, or coding up something, that's only going to involve 1 or 2 files, and those will be in the "Recent Documents" list in the relevant application. Having all recent documents from all programs aggregated in a central list is just confusing, and pointless.
• When you are zoomed-out in the dock, you can't click those icons in the upper-right-hand corner. That should be a simple fix, but I thought I'd put it in here.

Conclusion:

The list of things I don't like could go on. Seriously, any positive features of this environment could be easily integrated into the already existing environment, and it wouldn't have been as visually jarring. Everything about gnome-shell defies the common-sense rule of UI design that tells you to stay out of the user's way. Instead, gnome-shell seems to be happy with getting in your face, making its presence known, and slowing everything down in the process.

Ultimately, I think the developers are trying to optimise the wrong things with gnome-shell. Very little time is spent reorganising programs on your desktop, but the gnome-shell developers are going through so much effort to revolutionise the way you can drag programs amongst the workspaces. Well, that's all well-and-good, but your solution is way too in-your-face given it's ultimately minimal role. Plus, in exchange for these questionable advantages, you lose all kinds of functionality and customisability within the Gnome desktop. Maybe the developers should stop reinventing Gnome's interface around an activity that shouldn't take more than a couple of seconds, and they should address the fact that the Gnome panel still can't embed a freaking RSS feed.

The more I think of it, the more I hate it, so I'll just end with this: Gnome-Panel better be off by default. If it isn't, I'm switching to Xfce.