One thing I missed from my previous list of gripes about Ubuntu 11.10’s interface was the loss of the GNOME 2 clock applet. It fell through the cracks, not because I’m happy with the replacement, but rather because my list was long enough already and it wasn’t the most pressing issue.

But I was reminded of how flexible and useful the GNOME 2 clock applet is by Monty Taylor’s post on the subject.

I don’t need information about multiple timezones as there are only a couple of people overseas that I’m in regular contact with. I can do the maths on my fingers, or Google for their local time if I need to. But those approaches both interfere with my workflow and distract me from the task in hand. With the GNOME 2 clock it just took a single click to check their local times, or to bring up a handy calendar.

It’s a minor thing in isolation, but the fact that Monty’s post is titled “Death by a thousand cuts” is no accident. The move to Ubuntu 11.10 brings with it lots, and lots, and lots of these minor things. Each one is a slight annoyance in isolation, but when combined they can quickly become too much for a user to take.