> It now allows you to switch between windows of the same application on the same desktop which has to be in the running for the most useless UI function ever devised.
Simply asking... WHY on earth would you find this useless?!
Agree, you wouldn't need it if you just had the ability to select a "don't combine taskbar buttons" option (last time I checked Unity didn't have this) - the first option that I select on Windows 7/8. To me different windows of the same application are technically "different apps/task" and I want them to show separately on the taskbar or at least have an easy way of switching between them. The whole "task based interface" current is the biggest UI/X fail in recent history imho, and a misnomer on top of it - applications aren't task, if I have two different web apps in two different windows (or simply two different sets of task specific tabs), they are two completely different tasks to me, I don't want them grouped by application goddamit!
Even philosophically, in the "UNIX way" tasks emerge when one combines the use of a number of small applications to get a particular task done, while in the "Mac/Windows way" of "big feature-full applications" an application can be used to work on multiple task simultaneously in different windows. 1 to 1 mapping of apps to tasks and the "combine windows on taskbar" philosophy only apply to very naive and inexperienced users that don't understand even 10% of the potential of the "tool" sitting in front of them, and they should not be catered for, they should be pushed and stressed to learn more whether they like it or not, because they can learn more, and they will inevitably get better at whatever they do by learning more - even Microsoft gets this (they know that if you are forced to learn more about their products and by learning more about them you become more productive with them, you will grow more dependent on them, whereas if something is "very easy" but limited, you'll be able to switch to a competing product that could give you even a minor increase in productivity at any time), even if would be suicide for them to admit it and put it in any marketing material since they market themselves as "easiest to use" :)
...overall, I feel like Unity simply cherry picked the worst features from Windows 7 and Mac OS GUIs. At least the Windows GUI can be very easily customized in all relevant aspects and allows me to be very productive with it, while the Mac OS one is well polished and tested and after I get used to it has a nice "flow". If you want to build an "opinionated" GUI, first make sure you are at least as competent as Apple's UI guys are, if not, just drop it make something clean and easily customizable with a Right Click -> Properties on any element so I don't have to hunt down a controll panel that, for Unity, doesn't even have the options I care about!
...thank god for KDE and XFCE!
EDIT+: added a couple paragraphs