I started using Ubuntu 12.04 on my main PC a couple of days ago to keep an eye on the upcoming changes and today I noticed two major changes silently added to the 'User Interface' settings option. One of my grips with Unity was the lack of any customization of Launcher's size and position. I also wanted the launcher to stay visible all the time so that I don't have to wait for it to appear.

Two changes have landed on Ubuntu 12.04 daily builds that address my problem.

Under the UI settings there are now two tabs, in the first tab 'Appearance' the team has moved the options to choose wallpapers towards the right side. What is interesting is that you will notice a new option at the bottom which says 'Launcher icon size'. This was one of the most important features as will help users to control the size of the launcher - which will also save space.

The second option rests on the newly added tab called 'Behavior'. At the moment there are two options available. Enabling and disabling the 'auto-hiding' of the Launcher. So, now you can turn off the automatic hiding of the Launcher and can use it as the good old panel by adding favorite apps to it.

The second option is the define the 'reveal spot' of Launcher which mean when do you want to trigger the launcher -- when you take the mouse to the Left side or Top Left Corner. If you disable the auto hide feature of Launcher, it also disables the reveal spot as your launcher will be visible all the time.

Two items I would like to see in these settings is to be able to install custom themes and icons (just like Gnome Shell) and the button to disable Global Menu.

[Note: In the next article I will talk about HUD]